Examining Electoral Issues
Just before Election Day 2008, students and faculty gathered in the Burgin Center for the Arts’ Simon Theatre for an October 30 debate surrounding pertinent issues during this election season.

Democratic and Republican positions on various issues were voiced and defended by a team of three students from each side of the aisle; Becca Galey ’09, Ellis Mays ’10, and Coralie Thomas ’09 represented the Democrats, while David Hill ’09, Robert Forbes ’10, and Whitney Sternbergh ’10 represented the Republicans.

The debate format included a three-minute opening statement from each student regarding the war on terror, domestic issues (the economy/taxes, government spending, health care), or social issues (abortion, gun control, illegal immigration); a 10-minute open-debate period where the panelists posed questions to the other side; and a closing segment featuring questions from the student body.

Faculty and staff members Allison Stephens, Phil Kantaros, and Georgina Cranston served as moderators for the event.


“The six students who participated worked very hard and did a great job of presenting their side’s positions,” Kantaros says. “I was very proud of their willingness to speak before the entire school and to answer some difficult questions. We all knew that the hard work paid off when we heard that classes and lunch tables were almost universally discussing the issues after the debate.

“That was, and is, our primary goal; to create an atmosphere where students want to discuss the issues at the forefront of American political discourse.”

The event was the second on-campus gathering during the month of October designed to generate and further debate over important issues facing the nation in this election year. On October 4, an issues forum featured booths with students offering Democratic and Republican viewpoints (and in some cases, additional viewpoints) on specific issues.