Scott BresslerOnce again, the University is filled with excitement after the announcement that Washington University will host a presidential debate for an unprecedented five consecutive times. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced that the University will host the vice presidential debate on Oct. 2, 2008.
“It is a privilege to play an important role in the American electoral process and to be chosen from among 19 applicants to be one of the hosts,” said Chancellor Mark Wrighton at a press conference announcing the debate.
The University of Mississippi at Oxford, Belmont University in Nashville and Hofstra University in New York were chosen to host the three presidential debates.
According to an Associated Press report, Washington University was offered the debate after Washington State University declined the offer to host the vice-presidential debate.
“We had an offer to host the vice presidential debate,” said Vice President of Equity and Diversity Michael Tate at Washington State. “But we decided, with the focus we had right from the beginning of getting one of the three presidential debates, that we were just not in the position to accept the vice presidential debate.”
According to Steve Givens, executive director of university communications, the University is in the preliminary stages of preparations and has started to create a steering committee that will oversee the planning of the debate.
Givens, who served as the committees chair the last two debates, said the committee is comprised of faculty that represent different aspects of the University and student representatives.
“We try to keep the students involved by having their representatives involved,” he said.
Givens said he anticipates the planning to run smoothly because many of the steering committee members have worked on the committee for previous debates.
“The great thing about this is that we have a great number of people here that have been through this numerous times. That doesn’t mean it’s not different, but we have been through this enough that we know what we have to do and if there are changes that we have to do, it is easier for us to adapt to changes,” he said.
The steering committee, according to Givens, can be considered partially responsible for the Commission on Public Debates (CPD) choosing the University for an unprecedented five consecutive times.
“We have a strong team which is certainly why the commission chose us again. They know our team,” said Givens.
In order to host these debates, the University paid a $1.35 million fee up front to the CPD, who then uses this money for the operating costs of the actual debate.
Based on past experiences, the University anticipates spending an additional $500,000 on miscellaneous expenses such as facilities upkeep and amenities.
According to Givens, the University hopes to do the same as in past debates and partially raise these funds through donations by local corporations.
“We always felt like it’s a worthwhile investment in bringing this to the University. We think it’s a tremendous opportunity for our students to see an event of historic significance right here on campus,” he said.
Although this is a vice presidential debate, Professor of Political Science Randall Calvert said that because of the tremendous amount of power that Vice President Dick Cheney has had during his two terms, the debate will likely garner more public attention than usual.
“Cheney has played an unprecedented role in this administration so I would assume people are going to take an interest in the vice presidential role as a result of that,” said Calvert. “People have a whole new idea of what a vice presidential role will and can do. I think the questions that they will ask the vice president will reflect that.”
All three debates that have taken place at the University-and the vice presidential debate that will take place next year-have occurred in the Field House.
Senior Ian Pearson was on campus for the 2004 presidential debates and said that it is an opportunity that students should take advantage of.
“Don’t watch it on TV, [but] actually go and live it,” said Pearson. “It was probably the most politically active I’ve seen people on campus.”
Underclassmen are also looking forward to the prospect of being part of such a highly publicized event.
“It will definitely raise my awareness about the presidential election and the issues that the candidates are handling,” said freshman Jerry Porter.
Despite the anticipation, only three hundred students will be able to attend the debates. Similar to the previous debates, tickets will be distributed through a lottery system for which students register online.
Even though Washington University was not chosen for a presidential debate, Givens said the University is excited to host the vice presidential debate.
“The fact that it was a vice-presidential event and not a presidential debate did not dampen our excitement at all,” said Givens. “At the end of the day it’s not just the debate that happens on campus; it’s all the excitement that leads up to it.”
-With additional reporting by Sam Guzik
The “Gold Standard”
History of Debates
Washington University has hosted three presidential debates and has been selected in five consecutive election cycles, leading Commission on Presidential Debate executive director Janet Brown to name the University the “gold standard” for debate sites.
In 1992, the University was chosen as an alternate site and received the debate on one week’s notice. The debate on Oct. 11 was the first nationally televised three-person presidential debate, between President George H. W. Bush, then-governor Bill Clinton and independent candidate Ross Perot.
In 1996 the University was selected as a debate site; however, then-President Bill Clinton pulled out of the debate because of a disagreement about which candidates would be included in the event.
In 2000, the third presidential debate between Vice President Al Gore and then-Governor George Bush was held at the University. On Oct. 17 the two candidates discussed questions posed by undecided voters in a town-hall style.
In 2004, the third debate at Wash. U. featured President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry. Like the 2000 debate, the Oct. 8 event was held in a town-hall style.
-Sam Guzik