Virginia Senator Mark Warner visited Longwood University on Thursday with the intention of addressing student questions on topics such as student debt and cyber security.
Warner was the governor of Virginia when Longwood College became Longwood University.
Before the session was opened for questions, Warner gave a brief speech explaining his intentions, stating that he believes education is of the utmost importance and that it will increase in value.
Warner worries that students won’t have the same opportunities he did because they will be drowning in debt. He continued to state that there is currently more student debt than credit card debt.
Warner offered solutions which he believes will help solve issues, including bringing more transparency with higher education and income-based repayment for loans.
Warner also discussed the state’s vulnerability in cyber security, which has the potential of shutting down water, companies and more. According to USA Today, Warner was a telecommunications tycoon in an emerging cellphone industry and an early investor in Nextel, giving him a wide knowledge base on issues such as these.
Virginia is the state with the most open jobs. There are 17,000 open jobs in cyber security and according to Warner they can pay roughly $88,000.
Warner expressed he doesn’t want students to lack the opportunities himself and others like him have been blessed with, and that he doesn’t want his children or the everyday student to endure that.
Warner concluded his speech by answering a series of student questions.
“National security is a huge issue and you being on the intelligence committee, how do you think the federal government can balance national security and privacy?” asked Davis Gammon.
“ I think we need to have two parallel paths, we need to have a debate about privacy but at the same time technology is going to move forward, “ said Warner. “The next wave of what is going to come, the so-called internet of things … everything you use, from your refrigerator to your vacuum cleaner to your name, it is going to be hooked up into the network and be interactive.”
Warner addressed that there are 1,500 new apps added to the app store every day, half of them are foreign and almost all of them are encrypted.
He also noted how this offers a huge invasion of privacy.
“Frankly, tech privacy and law enforcement, they aren’t even in the same room, so we ought to have something similar after 9/11 where we put together a real bipartisan panel of experts and put the technologist, the privacy advocates, law enforcement, Intel and do a national commission to really come up (with) a digital security solution,” Warner said.
Warner fears that if they pick a single one-time solution and say that’s the law, technology is going to keep evolving.
“With the past sequestration of military bases, like in the Hampton Roads area, where do you see the future of military bases going in the state?” asked Kayla Augustine.
The challenge at the federal level right now is that the nation is $19 trillion in debt and both sides have contributed to that. Something which didn’t happen overnight.
“Our debt is a national security issue … so there is going to be constant pressure on the military to do more with less money, and I believe in a strong military but we have the existing threats, and we have these whole new threats that I think Virginia …did pretty well. We spend more than I think the next seven countries, eight countries combined on our military. It’s going to be under fiscal pressures,” said Warner.
Warner continued, “One of the things I’ve been trying to do is, you know, Virginia has done very well in Hampton Roads for a long time in Virginia because of our reliance on the military. We have to diversify our economy.”
“What steps is the Commonwealth of Virginia taking to help entrepreneurs in the state?” asked Alexander Magid.
“What we’ve got to challenge in Virginia is that we don’t have one single market where all the entrepreneurs can come to, and our opportunity is how do we make sure you don’t have to go to northern Virginia or Richmond to become an entrepreneur, but you can do it right here in Farmville,” said Warner.
Dem. Senator and former Virginia governor Mark Warner discussed political issues with students, on topics like student debt and cyber security.
Warner shakes hands with Longwood President W. Taylor Reveley, III.
Dem. Senator and former Virginia governor Mark Warner discussed political issues with students, on topics like student debt and cyber security.