Srihita Bongu, co-president of the Carolina Economics Club, said the purpose of the series, entitled “The Major Economic Issues in the 2016 Election,” is to provide an open forum that will spark discussion about important economic issues pertinent to this election season.
“We’re trying to bring back the focus to what really matters here,” she said. “The numbers, the facts and how this affects peoples’ welfare is what’s important, and I think that would be the main takeaway for students.”
The series is aimed to be purely academic and non-partisan, so attendees can understand more about economic policies and make informed decisions.
“Most people don’t know that most of the wealth in America is concentrated in less that one percent of the population of this country...” Bongu said. “And that just goes to show the disparity between what actually is happening in the economy and how much people know about the economy.”
For their event, the Carolina Economics Club partnered with other campus groups, such as UNC College Republicans, UNC Young Democrats and UNC’s Public Policy Majors’ Union, who will support the event through publicity.
“Young Democrats thinks that it’s really important that everyone who votes, votes intelligently,” said Courtney Sams, president of UNC’s chapter of Young Democrats.
“It’s really important as college students that we get informed, and this is one of the best opportunities that we’ve seen to do so.”
Abbey Kinnaman, co-president of the Public Policy Majors Union, said the series will be a way for students to hear from experts and then enter into a conversation about what policies are important to them.
