After much anticipation, hype, and speculation about the debates, they’re finally here. Take time to enjoy it and absorb the collective political energy now on campus, because you’ll probably never have a similar experience.

The debates provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students to see the whole political process up close. Legislators are here, the media are here and, of course, the candidates are here. Even if you’re not a debate volunteer, open events like Rock the Vote and “Crossfire” afford an opportunity to be a part of politics in action.

Depending on your interests, being part of politics in action now is great experience for later. Clearly, student journalists love having national news in their backyard. But leaders of political groups will also benefit, being in good position to meet officials from the various political parties and to gain experience organizing and recruiting voters. Finally, student government leaders exercised their event planning skills in promoting student involvement in the debate.

On a related note, students will benefit from networking opportunities. With all the power-players in town, you just might make the right connection to land an internship or even a job. The Career Center stresses the importance of networking in a job search, and this could be a golden opportunity.

There’s the increase in students’ political knowledge and awareness, too. The debates sparked Project Democracy to register 650 voters and Student Union to allocate $65,000 for debate-related events. Political education and discussion are everywhere: at SU’s Educate Yourself series, in classrooms and even over coffee in Holmes Lounge.

The University will benefit mostly in terms of publicity. While Chancellor Wrighton wishes that the national media mentioned the debate being “at Washington University in St. Louis” rather than just “in St. Louis,” the true benefit won’t come from ABC or Fox coverage; it’ll come from MTV. With MTV’s Rock the Vote concert, the University should get substantial publicity targeted right to a key demographic: high school students. There are few better ways to get young people to think you’re cool than by being highlighted on MTV.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recounted how a debate tour convinced one senior to apply to the University when she’d previously been looking solely to the Ivy League.

Additionally, grade school classes toured the debate site this week, generating interest in the University. As conventional marketing wisdom says, get ‘em while they’re young.

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