With all of the excitement around the vice presidential debates this October, it is easy to forget the effect this event has on Washington University’s neighbor, Fontbonne University.
In honor of the debates, Fontbonne will host debate-related events and cancel classes today.
Many students are excited to have a national event so close to home.
“It’s definitely a great, great thing that Wash. U. is going to be hosting the event,” Elandra Dillard, a graduate student at Fontbonne University, said. “I think that it’s a wonderful opportunity for students at Fontbonne to take part in that.”
Peggy Musen, Fontbonne University’s vice president for enrollment management, agreed with Dillard but felt Washington University should extend the opportunities that the debate affords to others in the community.
“I think [hosting the debate is] a great opportunity for St. Louis and I think it’s a great opportunity for the University environment,” Musen said. “It would be wonderful to be able to open it up because St. Louis has so many universities. It would be great to get a cross-section of students from all these universities—perhaps do a lottery for each school, allotting two [tickets] to us, two to Saint Louis University, to help us get involved.”
Although Fontbonne University’s students are unable to attend the debate, the university has plans to encourage involvement in the event.
Associate Professor of History Jack Luzkow will be a faculty facilitator at one of Fontbonne University’s discussion forums following each major debate, which are open to students and the surrounding community.
Julie Paszkiewicz, a graduate student in the process of forming a College Democrats group at Fontbonne, is looking forward to the debates. She hopes they will spark greater interest in politics on campus.
“We’re [in] such close proximity to Wash. U. so we get the energy and the flavor of what’s going on across the street,” Musen said. “Our student government and our student affairs office will be hosting some type of campus activity around the debates, even if it’s just on the large screen where we can view them and maybe have conversation about them afterwards.”
However, having national debates so close to Fontbonne University’s campus does present some downsides. Most importantly, noted Musen, Fontbonne will be closed down on Thursday and Friday because of the severity of traffic.
Because Fontbonne is greatly a commuter campus, its students will have greater difficulty getting around than Washington University students, most of whom are residential.
Dillard, however, does not mind the traffic disruption.
“The traffic is worth sacrificing in order to see the vice presidential debates,” she said.
Fontbonne has yet to provide additional security on its campus during the debates.
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