State Senator Eric Fingerhut, D-Cleveland, addressed student concerns such as tuition costs, the environment and Ohio’s job market when he visited Ohio State yesterday.

Fingerhut said incorporating the thoughts and ideas of students into his policies motivated his second visit to OSU.

“What I want to find out is how can policies in Washington benefit (the students) in Ohio,” Fingerhut said.

Although he said the national economy is to blame for pricey tuition, he offered plans to either reverse the trend or to aid students in spite of it.

“Affording higher education is a huge problem in Ohio,” he said. “Public universities are the backbone of the national education system.”

To help students contribute to the economy after graduation, Fingerhut offered two solutions: The state could reinstate a past law to make student loans tax deductible, or the state could allow students a five-year grace period on their school loans if they’re starting a business.

“We want students to pay their loans before they pay their taxes,” he said.

Fingerhut also said more money should be pumped into the state’s research programs in search of inventions that could revitalize the economy the way automobiles once did.

“The next big thing … will come from research of universities and hospitals around the state,” he said. “This also creates jobs for graduates and research assistants.”

Another hot topic was the condition of Ohio’s environment. U.S. Senator George Voinovich and his supporters maintain that overhauling Ohio’s factories and emission standards will cost jobs, Fingerhut said. But he disagrees.

“If we modernize plants, they won’t produce pollution and it will help them compete internationally better,” he said.

Other conversation centered around generating publicity for Ohio as a center for arts and culture, as well as implementing incentive-based tax breaks.

Because of today’s blanket cuts, a person can buy stock in a company that hurts the economy – possibly by sending jobs overseas or polluting the environment – and the buyer gets a tax break. Under the an incentive-based system, buyers are rewarded with a tax refund for purchasing stock in particular companies – usually those that benefit the economy, Fingerhut said.

The event drew about 20 students to the Memorial Room of the Ohio Union; the small, intimate setting encouraged students to openly express their thoughts and concerns.

“His ideas are sensible,” said Nadir Danishmand, a senior in international studies and history. “He seems to be willing to take the risk of change and try new things, since the status quo is not working.”

Today, Fingerhut will deliver the Democratic response to Gov. Bob Taft’s “State of the State” address. He will run for a seat in the U.S. Senate in November.

“Campus has been asleep for a long time, and it can really wake up in 2004,” said Alex Goepfert, spokesman for Fingerhut.