On Sept. 11, as I reflected on the people who died 10 years before and the effect that those events had upon our country, I felt very patriotic. I was proud to be an American, and I thought about how, despite the strong differences of opinion that many Americans have, we are all in this together.

Now that the 2012 election has officially begun, I think it’s important to say a few things about the nature of our political debate on campus before things begin to get crazy. Moreover, what does it really mean to be a democrat in the small-d sense of the word?

Washington University confirmed that they have applied to host a presidential debate in 2012. The University hosted the 2008 vice-presidential debate, between then-candidates Sarah Palin and Joseph Biden. Before that, the University hosted presidential debates in 1992, 2000 and 2004.

An old-time cowboy and a suave Washington lobbyist faced off in Graham Chapel Tuesday to discuss the future of coal. The Great Coal Debate, hosted by Student Union and organized by the Washington University Climate Justice Alliance, brought two opposing men into the same debate.

Student Life conducted an interview with Chancellor Mark Wrighton after the most recent quarterly meeting of the board of directors on Friday. The discussion involved a review of major events that occurred during the semester.

The other night, my suitemate made the claim that the movie “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” directed by Stephen Norrington, is better than Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.”

In light of your open letter to Professor Peter Benson (“A response to Peter Benson,” Oct. 2), we feel that it is necessary to state the position of Controversy n’ Coffee, as a student group dedicated to fostering dialogue in the Wash. U. community.

There are some moments that make me think Wash. U. and the rest of the country are two entirely separate universes.

We live in a society that encourages debate, and yet arguing whether rape is acceptable is very much not for debate—and for good reason, because the position is indefensible. Nobody can justify such a horrific act, and nobody ought to justify such a horrific act.

As I watch Washington University prepare for the vice presidential debate tonight, one question keeps haunting me: Why host the debate on a college campus?