As I waited for Mary Hager, executive producer of CBS’s panel-based program “Face the Nation,” outside of the Anheuser-Busch Law Library, I heard the quiet buzz of a foundation airbrush machine and the quiet squabbling of a morning show host’s three assistants as they argued over how to arrange her morning newspaper collection.

Behind the glitz and glamor of talk shows lies a dizzying maze of cables, monitors and recording stations. Just as television personalities—male and female—get painted with makeup and doused with hairspray, the cosmetic appeal of filming locations relies on a careful balance of lighting, ambiance and sound quality. The sheer vastness of the construction requires miles of cables and wiring, a common thread that stuck with me as I traveled through the network of organization and planning that goes into the presidential debate.

There was no better place to show this balance of professional and human than Anheuser-Busch Hall this past Saturday, where CBS hosted a group of 12 undecided voters from St. Louis. The group, chosen to represent a diverse set of experiences, discussed the stigmas surrounding each candidate and the political issues at the center of their lives.

As soon as the door to the focus group closed and CBS host John Dickerson peeled off his microphone and closed the door, staff members quickly clustered and began gossiping. On the heels of an especially contentious and polarizing weekend, compounded by pure human nature, everyone felt entitled to their own opinions, including the guests on the show.

When Dickerson asked which candidate the group of twelve currently undecided voters wished would come to their aid in a case of roadside assistance, one woman replied “[Donald] Trump…I mean, he clearly likes women.”

The following morning, at the live taping of “Face the Nation,” invited guests, ranging from Bob Schieffer to Susan Page, commented on the recent Trump tape scandal and its impact on the general climate of the election.

“This language goes being ‘boys being boys.’ This is ‘pigs being pigs,’” Schieffer said.

While I watched the show, I realized the impact of real-time news on journalists in the moment. Just as the average person has hard-set opinions, so do journalists—they just have a bigger stage.

Later, during the debate itself, I sat in the media filing center and was again struck by the immense amount of coordination, communication and coffee that went into orchestrating such an event. Each network or station had a reserved table with a highly competitive—just ask the NBC woman I was sitting next to that does not know how to share—outlet.

International network reporters wandered around and poked cameras and GoPros into the faces of busily working writers and producers, highlighting the effect of American politics on the global community. A tired cameraman hustled past me with two glasses of Anheuser Busch’s special debate beer—Lily Lager.

Meanwhile, as I struggled over my physics homework—due at midnight—I realized that for journalists, this is the Big Leagues. The Dream. Seriously. When, no, IF, they go to the bathroom, they play the sound of the debate over their phones like a tiny radio. I suddenly felt the urge to shut my laptop, look around and take it all in.

As Trump and Clinton battled it out in between unnerving camera angles and never-ending sniffing, the media members around me reacted along with the rest of America. They laugh, scoff or boo—and then immediately go back to furiously tweeting.

Ninety minutes later, once I escaped the media center, I was immediately confronted by a wall of cameras, microphones and Facebook Live feeds.

Following the debate, surrogates, politicians and Washington University-specific “expert” professors spoke about different topics and participated in interviews with news organizations and lottery-ticket receivers. Spin Alley, famously named for the notably biased interviews—or “spin”—given by campaign representatives, served as a stage for criticism of the debate itself and political issues as a whole.

“Washington D.C. has created a crony, capitalist system that is largely rigged for its benefit. That is wonderful for Washington D.C, it’s wonderful for politicians…and is not wonderful for most Americans,” Steve Cortes, Trump’s political surrogate, said.

“The little people across the Western world feel very put upon—they feel the political elites, the big businesses, the big banks, in no way represent them or make their lives any different, and so they’re looking for something better,” Nigel Farage, former U.K. Independence Party leader, added.

Right after the first presidential debate, Trump made a surprise post-performance appearance in front of the media, setting a precedent for the debate last night. However, many remained disappointed when Trump himself did not attend, and instead Juanita Broaddrick and Kathleen Willey—two women accusing former President Bill Clinton of sexual assault—briefly made the rounds for interviews.

Trump and Clinton’s performances were met with mixed reactions from those in attendance. Trump’s few supporters in the crowd, namely his own surrogates, highlighted his ability to perform as a well-rounded leader.

“The American people are going to see a strong leader—a man who took on one of the more articulate leaders in the country,” Jeff Sessions, a Republican senator from Alabama, said.

“I think he made strides in trying to convince unconvinced voters, particularly women, that he has their best interests at heart. He’s not a man that harbors any hate in his heart,” Cortes said.

On the other hand, Richard Trumka, an organized labor leader and surrogate for Hillary Clinton, admonished Trump’s strategies.

“Donald Trump whines about everything…he started complaining ‘If I lose, it’s because the game is rigged,’ and look, nobody pays any attention to that kind of stuff,” Trumka said.

Tonight, while television stars jet off in chartered planes to prepare for their on-set shows in the morning, thousands of undecided Americans may be swayed by the performance of Trump or Clinton. As the media cycles through the usually craziness injected into this election, I urge voters to also take a step back and metaphorically shut their own laptop in order to see the current state of affairs in our country.