Attorney General and gubernatorial-hopeful Greg Abbott made a flashy campaign stop at 8^th Street Coffee House on Tuesday with Ted Nugent as his celebrity arm candy. While interesting, university students should be focused on what the future governor, whether he or she is Republican or Democrat, will do to improve higher education in Texas.

According to University President Jesse Rogers, state funding for Midwestern State University has been shrinking over the last six years, and the governor could play a role in reversing that trend, but students must make it known that funding for higher education is vital to the well being of Texas.

So instead of letting has-been rock stars distract us from issues that directly affect the nearly 6,000 students at MSU, let’s make it clear to the future governor that we are serious about the need for increased funding for public universities by signing campus-wide petitions and sending letters to the governor’s office. Use Twitter and other social media sites to push education funding to the top of the governor’s list of priorities.

Remember: the governor works for us.