Feb. 13 the Louisiana Legislature officially opened a special session dedicated to closing the state’s $304 million mid-year budget shortfall. Proposals to close the gap are already on the table, including one from Gov. John Bel Edwards that includes using $119 million from the state’s Rainy Day Fund to shield higher education and health care from cuts.
Higher education funding will be a hot topic of debate as cuts are negotiated. For students looking to stay in the know, engaging with legislators and policy experts on Twitter is a great way to start a dialogue and ease into civic engagement, said Lance Porter, a Manship School of Mass Communication associate professor and director of the Social Media Analysis and Creation Lab.
Twitter’s open network format allows legislators to put forth their agenda and gain visibility for issues they care about, he said, allowing students to assess which issues their legislators are focused on. This open network is an ideal vehicle for marshalling resources to focus attention on specific causes, or to apply pressure to specific legislators, Porter said.
While social media is a springboard for engagement, it shouldn’t be the only outlet for engagement and should ideally result in action, he said.
“It can’t end in social media,” Porter said. “It has to create something that organizes people around something to do something.”
Here are a number of legislators and state administrators active on Twitter, so you can keep up with all things #lalege:
Walt Leger, D-New Orleans
@WaltLeger
Representative, District 91
Speaker Pro Tempore
Followers: 5,681
JP Morrell, D-New Orleans
@JPMorrell
Senator, District 3
Followers: 5,064
Dan Claitor, R-Baton Rouge
@DanClaitor
Senator, District 16
Followers: 2,260
Gov. John Bel Edwards
@LouisianaGov
Democrat
Followers: 18.8 K
Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne
@JayDardenne
Republican
Followers: 6,484
And, for a laugh:
John Jel Jedwards
@JohnJelJedwards
Parody Account
Followers: 802