The political science, public administration and philosophy department in the College of Liberal Arts hosted a Presidential Debate Watch Party Tuesday in the Forum I of the Byron C. Wright Administration Building for the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Free pizza, refreshments and snacks were supplied to attendees.
Drake Hubert, senior philosophy major, said he attended the watch party because he is passionate about politics and wanted to see who should have his vote.
“I’m looking for at least one of them to keep it policy-focused, to talk about things that matter to the working class and to the average American,” Hubert said. “On a personal note, I want to hear them talk about Palestine and what’s going on in Palestine.”
He said he wants a candidate who does good for the working class and middle class.
“Let’s all hope that whatever candidate we get does good things for the working class, the middle class, that’s who’s in need right now,” Hubert said.
Trevor Bauer, senior finance major, said he wanted to see how the candidates currently view the economy and what it will become.
“I really wanted to learn more about what each of the candidates’ views on the economy are, especially considering how Donald Trump is wanting to do another tax cut, which some argue helped more with a massive corporation for store stock buybacks,” Bauer said. “However, Kamala Harris, she favors an unrealized tax gain of $100 million, which I think is outrageous. It would hurt a lot of publicly traded companies. Both hurt the small businessman or woman in the long run.”
He said he wanted to see how Harris would win over voters because he believes the media has affected what viewers see and know about the election.
“She has to go against Donald Trump, who almost was assassinated, and that definitely helped his clout to be a more popular candidate for the election,” Bauer said.
(Photo by Alex Mendoza)
Before the debate, Matthew Hanka, professor of political science, started the event with a discussion on critical thinking and civil discourse.
“Why is civility such a challenge?” Hanka said. “There’s several reasons why it’s such a challenge. You have emotionally charged issues where people represent a viewpoint that stirs emotions. Sometimes it’s misinformation. You are presenting your argument based on facts that are facts or missing information that’s wrong. Sometimes, we call this thing ‘confirmation bias.’”
He said critical thinking can be used as a tool to balance emotions and facts but also serve to identify errors in different arguments.
“Facts are our friend,” Hanka said. “That’s what we’re learning here, right? Information that you receive from professors and scholars like us, and that’s essentially the keys to building knowledge and wisdom. You can identify logical errors that are used to sway your opinions.”
During the commercial break at the middle of the debate, some students raised concerns about the programming thus far.
Elliot Rice, political science major, said Trump retaliated and went on the defense, while Harris concentrated on her policies.
“Kamala Harris has talked about her policies, and Donald Trump has really taken a sort of a more of a defensive stance on things, and did more defensive measures and defending himself in his past actions,” Rice said.
In her closing statement, Harris spoke on how she would like to move forward with her vision for the U.S.
“So, I think you’ve heard tonight two very different visions for our country,” Harris said. “One that is focused on the future and the other that is focused on the past. And an attempt to take us backward. But we’re not going back. And I do believe that the American people know we all have so much more in common than what separates us, and we can chart a new way forward.”
In his closing statement, Trump said the nation was failing, and if Harris were to go into office, the U.S. would be heading toward World War III.
“So, she just started by saying she’s going to do this, she’s going to do that, she’s going to do all these wonderful things,” Trump said. “Why hasn’t she done it? She’s been there for three and a half years. They’ve had three and a half years to fix the border. They’ve had three and a half years to create jobs and all the things we talked about. Why hasn’t she done it?”
Trump said the U.S. is “a nation that’s in serious decline.”
“We’re being laughed at all over the world,” he said. “All over the world, they laugh. I know the leaders very well. They’re coming to see me. They call me. We’re laughed at all over the world. They don’t understand what happened to us as a nation. We’re not a leader.”
When the live feed stopped and attendees began to leave, some students reflected on what was said.
Graham Jones, freshman mechanical engineering major, compared the closing statements.
“I think Harris has a lot more to talk about,” he said. “About the future and about hope. Whereas Trump made a lot more petty remarks. I feel like Harris has a lot more solidified plan to help try and propel America forward from her actions via debate and being able to keep her calm and her composure the entire time.”
Jones said he was concerned about how things on both sides stand now.
“I am definitely worried,” Jones said. “Considering you can see two sides. You can see one side trying to propagate fear, and you can see the other trying to do hope, and one going to petty remarks. And it’s concerning. Hopefully not have another Jan. 6 or another violent transfer of power.”
The upcoming presidential election is in 54 days.
“Get out there and vote,” Jones said. “This is an important election, no matter what side you’re on. Just make sure that you make your voice heard no matter what it has to say.”