Department Watches Presidential Debates
Posted Oct 23, 2012
This Fall, the Department hosted its quadrennial Debate Watches for Â鶹ÊÓƵ and the Jackson community. Over the course of the debates, Â鶹ÊÓƵ students, high school students, and some prospective Â鶹ÊÓƵ students watched the three presidential debates as a group. During the debates, the groups cheered their favorite candidates, followed the reaction to the debate on Twitter, and then discussed the debates afterwards.
Like most people, Â鶹ÊÓƵ students clearly thought that Governor Romney won the first debate with his strong performance. In the second and third debate, Â鶹ÊÓƵ students were more closely divided thinking that Obama did slightly better. Overall, the students, like most of the country, thought that the two candidates in the second debate was very hostile toward each other referring to the two candidates as "acting like kindergartners." In the third debate, the students thought that President Obama had a better grasp of foreign policy but thought that Governor Romney showed sufficient knowledge and an even temperment to be a legitimate Commander-in-Chief. However, most students did not think that the debates changed their mind over for whom they would vote.
The Debate Watches continues the Department's fall election activities. Earlier, the Department hosted viewing parties for the convention acceptance speeches of Congressman Paul Ryan, Governor Mitt Romney, and President and Vice President Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Next, the Department will host an election party where we will watch the election returns. Then two days later, the Department will host a forum on the election results.