More than 75 faculty and students sat quietly — with a few various giggles and deep breaths — in Sunwatcher Clubhouse watching the third and final presidential debate on Oct. 19.
From the minute the two candidates hit the national limelight this past summer, there has been a lot of discussion about whether the debates have been the candidates just bickering rather than answering questions.
“This debate was more informative, but the bickering gets on a lot of people’s nerves, because this is serious,” DJ Myers, psychology junior, said. “A lot of people take it as a joke and I don’t think they understand what is at stake here.”
Gabrielle Browning, special education sophomore, falls in the middle, saying both candidates bicker and provide information.
“This [debate] has been more informative than what I was expecting, but there was more bickering than what there needed to be,” Browning said. “They needed to focus on issues rather than what Trump did in 1987 that’s irrelevant to what’s happening right now.”
Others found that last night’s debate was better than its predecessors.
“The first two were not informative at all,” Marina Ramos, criminal justice sophomore, said. “I thank [the debate moderator] for making it more about the issues.”
During the debate Chris Wallace, the debate moderator, asked Hillary Clinton about WikiLeaks, a few of the attendees disagreed on whether it was professional.
Myers said, “He did it because he wanted to see how she would react.”
Myers also noted that it was ethical for Wallace to mention WikiLeaks
Ramos disagrees.
“It shouldn’t be around scandals, it should be around issues,” Ramos said. “It shouldn’t be about throwing shade at the other opponent.”
One of the more hotly debated issues surrounding this election season has been the the proposal of Donald Trump’s wall on the border of the United States and Mexico.
During the debate many students laughed at Trump’s wall remarks, but students tend to think that most aren’t supportive.
“A lot of people take Trump as a joke,” Myers said. “If Hillary said that people wouldn’t have reacted the same way.”
Both Browning and Ramos agree with Myers that people take Trump as a joke both adding that no one takes him seriously.
While most do agree that a wall is far-fetched, some think border patrol should be enhanced.
“I don’t agree that we need a wall, but we do need stronger border control,” Myers said.
Browning agrees with Myers taking a stronger stance on immigration.
“If we keep letting immigrants in, then it will go too far and they will take away the opportunities that we need,” Myers said.
Ramos disagrees with both.
“I don’t think we should have closed borders,” Ramos said. “My dad was an immigrant, I think the borders should be open. [Immigrants] will be able to help our country grow.”
According to the Oct. 19 forecast by The New York Times Hillary Clinton has 92 percent chance of winning the presidential election. Student’s did not seemed surprised.
“She seems to care more, it’s because a lot of people see Trump as a joke, actor and entertainer,” Myers said. “Hillary has experience and she has been there.”
Browning falls more in the middle
“She says the right things in the right way, and her policies sound nice,” Browning said. “Trump has good policies, but he needs to express them in ways that aren’t taken as a joke.”
At the end of the debate Steve Hilton, associate professor of art, took a straw poll to see who ‘won’ the debate. The majority of responses were in favor of Clinton.
Myers, Browning and Ramos all agreed with the results of the poll with Ramos adding, “Hillary won, but I am happy to say Trump actually answered questions.”
PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE WATCH PARTY
HOST: Steve Hilton
OPENING REMARKS: Kyle Keel, political science, and Bradley Wilson, mass communication
