In the race for New Orleans mayor, three candidates lead the 11-person race: Councilmember Helena Moreno, state Sen. Royce Duplessis and Councilmember Oliver Thomas. Currently, Moreno leads. The Tulane Hullabaloo reached out to Moreno to hear about her plans for higher education in New Orleans.
“I am a big believer in the power of higher education and interdisciplinary studies, which can expand the horizons of both individuals and whole communities,” Moreno said. “Where there are well-funded universities with cutting-edge curricula, prosperity follows, and it goes far beyond campus and the ivory tower.”
Moreno pointed to severe funding issues as one of the root causes behind New Orleans’ limited economic diversification.
“Over the last 30 years, big picture, I would give the state a D- for generally severely underfunding New Orleans’ public higher education at UNO, SUNO, and Delgado,” Moreno said. “This is one of the reasons why we do not have a knowledge-based economy and remain at the mercy of an unstable and unpredictable tourism economy.”
According to a new poll done by the University of New Orleans, 52% of likely voters believe the city is heading in the wrong direction, with 51% of voters disapproving of the job Mayor LaToya Cantrell is doing. According to the study, voters see Moreno as the “change” candidate.
“Without equitable and empowering education from pre-k through college, New Orleans will continue to struggle,” Moreno said. “I will always be on the side of kids and families because that is the city’s future.”
Moreno also talked about the so-called “Doubles to Dorms,” problem, in which residential housing near Tulane is being bought up by landlords to be turned into 10-bedroom houses, renting out to students for large prices monthly.
“It is a real problem,” Moreno said. “We cannot continue to turn two, three-bedroom doubles into a single unit with ten tiny rooms, each costing $1,600 per month, even if the place is falling apart.”
Since January, the Trump administration has cracked down higher education. The administration has attempted to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and threatened to withhold funding from institutions that did not follow President Donald Trump’s directives, including the removal of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and departments.
“I am deeply concerned about the current administration’s efforts to attack higher education and defund science taking place at universities like Tulane,” Moreno said. “I do not support these attacks. I believe that our colleges and universities are cornerstones of our civil society and should be held as sacrosanct.”
“These are unprecedented times, and the next mayor must have the guts to stand up against these practices,” Moreno said. “Recognizing that Tulane is our largest private employer, we rely on each other to be strong.”
The Tulane Hullabaloo also reached out to Royce Duplesis’ and Oliver Thomas’ campaigns for comments but received no reply.