When I signed up last March to live in my fraternity’s on-campus house, I could not have even imagined that I would be living through the 2016 presidential debate on campus. But in the first weeks of classes, news began to trickle in that Upper Row would be within the security perimeter.

Behind the glitz and glamor of talk shows lies a dizzying maze of cables, monitors and recording stations.

Following early morning concerns about security on campus, police and security forces were posted at most campus entrances to check identification and credentials, but bolstered security presence and barricades did not prove entirely effective come post-debate.

A select group of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff will find themselves close to the action this weekend as volunteers for Sunday’s presidential debate at Washington University.

The past two weeks of preparation for the debate have seen an incredible lack of communication between the administration and students. While Student Life understands that this is partly a function of rapidly changing logistics, we are disappointed by Washington University’s lack of transparency in explaining how the day-to-day operations of the debate will directly impact students.

Next week, multiple media outlets will swarm our campus in preparation for debate No. 2. Seeing as we hardly have dorm space for our freshmen, we can’t help but wonder where exactly the Big League Chews like CNN and Fox News will spend their on-and off-hours.

If that’s how wild St. Louis got for a measly couple of hours hosting Biden and Trump, just imagine what the security is going to be like around campus during the presidential debate on Oct. 9.

As a particularly controversial election season enters its homestretch, Washington University is preparing to play a major role in some of 2016’s history-making moments. Pulling off an event like this is no small feat, but as a five-time host, the University has a pretty good idea of what it takes—and what it offers to its students.

In anticipation of the fall 2016 Washington University-hosted presidential debate, student groups can now apply for funding from Student Union for politically related programming. A total of $75,000—which was earmarked for debate-related programming through SU’s budget allocation process last semester—will be available to both undergraduate and graduate student groups.

Mark Glenn will serve as the Washington University Police Department’s new Chief of Police, the University announced Friday. Although Glenn has long-term goals focusing on community involvement and advocacy, his first major task will be to prepare campus for the frenzy of protests and political activity that many anticipate to arrive with the upcoming presidential debate Washington University will host this October.