Nearly 240 students gathered in the Simrall auditorium Wednesday to watch panelists from the College Republicans and College Democrats debate the virtues and flaws of Sen. John Kerry and Pres. George Bush.
The debate’s subject matter consisted mostly of topics from the moral pot, such as abortion, homosexuality and stem-cell research. Other topics included the war on terrorism, the military draft and the economy.
“[The debate] went really well,” said Dennis Durham, one of the Republican panelists. “Everyone was very friendly, both sides did good research on their subjects and I think the panels did the best they could to get the message of their candidates across.”
The audience was composed of Bush and Kerry supporters. Many audience members held signs in support of their candidates.
Panelists for the Republican Party were T.J. Harvey, director of the Youth for Bush campaign, SA Senator Edward Sanders and Dennis Durham of the MSU College Republicans.
The Democratic panelists were Nick Wilson, a member of the College Democrats, Brandon Bogard, current president of the College Democrats and Laura Rayburn, vice president of the College Democrats.
The debate was hosted by the Residence Hall Association, the Student Association and the Stennis-Montgomery Association.
Both sides of the panel debated issues for about an hour, answering questions from the audience.
Some Kerry-supporting students displayed their stand on issues with signs like “Bush Lied, People Died” and “Pro-Choice, Pro-Kerry”.
Bush supporters had signs of their own with a more subtle message like, “We love ya, Dubya”.
Despite the opposing beliefs within the audience, the crowd remained civilized throughout the debate.
Rayburn said that the audience was a surprisingly partisan crowd. “There weren’t a lot of uninformed people in the crowd. We were expecting more undecided voters to come, but it was great to have people who supported their party.”
The winner of the debate is a matter of bias and personal opinion for most.
“Kerry triumphed.” said Hank Hankins, a freshman international business major and supporter of the independent party. “[The democratic party] stuck with what they said and tried not to attack the republican panel. The Republicans were like bullies from high school.”
Others thought the Republican panel triumphed.
“The Republicans won tonight,” said Matthew Lehman, a junior mechanical engineering major and Republican. “They had solid answers to the issues presented. Their opening wasn’t as strong as the Democrats as far as delivery, but the subject matter was just as good.”
Students can officially decide on who the real winner is on Election Day, Nov. 2.