OC’s Up to Us campaign motivates students to address national debt

October 24, 2021 - The students in Oklahoma Christian University’s student-led public relations firm, Eagle PR, want their peers to let elected officials in Washington know it is time to solve the nation’s federal debt crisis, which is now more than $28 trillion. 

For the next month, the team will encourage students to reach out to elected officials and stress the need for national debt solutions in a campaign they’ve titled “Policy Above Parties.” One campaign event to help do that is a special Taking Sides debate chapel on Nov. 4 at 11 a.m. in Baugh Auditorium, which is free and open to the public. Other activities include setting up information tables at events around campus and a social club pledge competition. The three social clubs with the highest percentage of members to contact their elected officials will win $200, $100 and $50, respectively. 

The Taking Sides Chapel debate will feature Sonia Coffin, an OC graduate and current volunteer for Rep. Stephanie Bice’s campaign, and OC senior Brighton Frost, a political science major. Coffin will argue for conservative, supply-side solutions, while Frost will argue for demand-side solutions. Both are experienced debaters, and Coffin is a Newman Civic Fellow now in law school.

The goal of Eagle PR’s campaign is to educate students and the community about the harmful effects of national debt, its unwelcome impact on current and future generations and how the current college generation can make a difference. The campaign is a partnership with the national nonprofit Up to Us, which is primarily supported by the nonpartisan Net Impact organization. Up to Us helps students nationwide to take action against the national debt crisis. Additional funding for Up to Us comes from both Republican and Democratic supporters. 

Up to Us encourages voters to take a pledge asking elected officials to address the nation’s debt problem. Those pledges are sent to each student’s legislators in Washington, D.C., based on a person’s zip code, making it easier than ever to get involved in addressing the debt crisis.

"Our government's debt is truly a national problem that will harm current and future college students, and reducing the debt will require bi-partisan solutions,” said Josh Watson, associate professor of communication and faculty sponsor of the campaign. “Gen Z college students dislike labels and parties more than previous generations, and they are key to helping our nation get out of the divisions that previous generations like mine have created. I have a lot of hope and respect for the ideas Gen Z college students have for reducing national debt. They can show their collective power by telling elected officials to take action now."

Eagle PR’s student director, Danica Hammack, welcomes the challenge of reaching her fellow college students and the community. 

"As a current Gen Z student, I believe this is a great way for our campus to take the initiative regarding national debt,” she said. “Managing finances in college is difficult, especially with the prospect of student loans and other debts on the horizon. Through Up to Us, we can learn how the national debt affects us and possible solutions on how to solve our debt crisis. We can also take the pledge to encourage our elected officials to help build a better fiscal future for us and the generations to come."

Hammack and her Eagle PR team encourage all individuals to take the pledge and learn more about the campaign at www.uptousOC.org.