Tulane University professors Scott Nolan and Rosalind Cook joined the Tulane College Democrats in welcoming State House Minority Leader Matthew Willard to campus on Wednesday, Oct. 23. The trio held a conference to discuss Project 2025, a political blueprint created by the conservative political action committee Heritage Foundation.  

Nathan Jones, the vice president of the Tulane Democrats, moderated the event and asked the participants questions. “We were so glad so many students turned out to hear and engage with our brilliant speakers,” he said. “The stakes next week could not be higher, so everyone should make sure that they and everyone they know return their ballots.” 

The conference began with a discussion of Project 2025’s plan to privatize public environmental agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  

“This is a common move for conservative ideology to privatize government, which really puts it out of reach for a lot of people,” Willard said. 

“If you read how we collect weather data, the government has thermometers and buoys and all sorts of apparatuses in parks, in government buildings, on rooftops, at airports, we have just thousands and thousands of units of data collection that were put there by taxpayer money,” Nolan said. “You would have to pay for that radar…[and] now have to pay again to even see the forecasting, because it would be outsourced to places like AccuWeather.” 

The panel also focused on reproductive rights. 

“Louisiana certainly is not a progressive state for women to begin with,” Cook said. “As far as the number of female legislators, we’re close to the bottom.” 

“If you are in need of an abortion because of your health, you have to pretty much be near death[’s] door to be able to get an abortion at any Louisiana hospital, or you get turned away. Doctors don’t want to touch a woman because of the fear of being in prison,” she said.   

“There is an anti-abortion movement called Right to Life in Louisiana that pretty much can dictate how things go as it relates to women health women’s health care in Louisiana, and they basically said, ‘Don’t move this. We’re going to kill it, and you’re going to make people who don’t want to vote against this vote,’” Willard said. 

“Events where politicians visit Tulane demonstrate to students that politicians are relatable and in touch with their constituents, not just far-off abstractions they don’t meet,” Nolan said after the event. “Rep. Willard is passionate about Louisiana’s most pressing issues, and clearly ready to get to work for the people of Louisiana,” Nolan continued. “His clarity of vision, and sense of purpose and smart change, is a refreshing change from a lot of recent political action in Baton Rouge.”