2020 Gumbo Final - Book - Page 41
Professor Politics
Democratic candidate talks about her inspiration
and what she wants to do to improve students’ lives
Story: Kimsey Stewart
Photo: Ben Caplan
Design: Kacey Buercklin
L
SU Political Science Associate Professor Belinda
Davis has a picture of Rosie the Riveter drawn by
her son framed on the wall next to the computer
in her small office.
“This is what reminds me why I do everything I
do,” Davis said. “We need more women in the
legislature.”
Davis, a Democrat, is one of five candidates
seeking election to the Louisiana House of
Representatives to represent District 70.
Davis has taught political science at the
University for 14 years. Before, she taught
political science at Michigan State University.
This semester, she is teaching two courses.
She was previously an evaluator of various
Louisiana governmental services, including the
Department of Social Services, the Department
of Education and the Workforce Commission.
“They hired me to come in and investigate
whether or not a policy is working the way it’s
supposed to,” Davis said.
When the University offered Davis her job 14
years ago, she said she “jumped at the chance to
come home.” Davis grew up in Baton Rouge and
graduated from Baton Rouge High School. All of
her family members live in Louisiana. She said it
was important to her to move home and have the
chance to raise her three boys where she grew
up.
However, Davis said she’s become increasingly
concerned that her boys wouldn’t be able to
have the same opportunities she did because
of the lackluster education funding in Louisiana.
According to Davis, this was especially true
under the Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal’s
administration.
“Quite frankly, the Republican party has not had
the same dedication to investing in education,”
Davis said. “I’m running as a Democrat to help
the state reinvest in our youth.”
Education is an extremely important issue for
Davis. She believes that investing in education,
particularly early education, supports better
outcomes for children, which will lead them to
be more prepared for the workforce when they
graduate.
Davis is also concerned about rising higher
education tuition costs in Louisiana. As a
professor, she has seen students who miss class
to go to their jobs because if they don’t work,
then they can’t pay for school.
“When your economic situation is forcing you
to work in a way that interferes with your ability
to concentrate on your classes, we need to
be thinking critically about higher education
funding,” Davis said.
The opioid epidemic in Louisiana also concerns
Davis. Louisiana doctors wrote 89.5 opioid
prescriptions per every 100 persons in 2017, well
above the national average of 58.7, according to
the National Institution on Drug Abuse. While that
number was one of the highest in the US, it was
actually a historic low for Louisiana.
Davis believes better oversight of prescriptions is
needed.
“There is no believable explanation for why there
would be a legitimate need for 89 prescriptions
written for every 100 Louisiana residents,” Davis
said.
Better oversight of prescriptions is something
Davis believes needs to happen on a national
level. On a state level, she’s more concerned
about training people how to handle overdoses,
particularly on college campuses.
“I think that it would be great for LSU to be the
pilot university for implementing a program like
that,” Davis said.
She believes having life-saving medications that
can stop an opioid overdose should be in every
residence hall.
Davis said she is excited about running so she
can be a voice for education and educators in
the state legislature.
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