University debate watchers overflow meeting space to witness Trump-Harris clash

From international students to university professors, spectators gathered at the University of Richmond on Tuesday night to witness the first head-to-head matchup between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

As the Whitehurst Living Room overflowed with more than 50 eager attendees, many had to be turned away for concerns of fire hazards in the watch party hosted by both the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement and UR Speech and Debate.

Sasha Hollister of the CCE spearheaded the event alongside other efforts to increase student engagement with the upcoming election. This is the first time co-organizing an election-centered event with a student organization, she said. 

“It does seem like a natural collaboration, and they really provide insights as far as debate strategies and technicalities,” she said.

Hollister invited people to participate in anonymous polls to prompt discussion on the different issues for the upcoming election. Speech and Debate club members introduced different debate tactics and rhetorical strategies to watch out for during the debate.

Kyle Giardine, president of Speech and Debate, emphasized the importance of creating a non-partisan and relaxing environment for event-goers.

“We understand that everybody’s going to be going in with their predispositions on which candidate they favor and the policy views they hold,” he said. “But we want to make sure it’s a very welcoming environment.” 

The event saw attendees with a variety of different political views, including many undecided voters.

UR sophomore Blake Russell, went to the watch party to gauge the quality of the current presidential candidates after watching the first presidential debate over the summer.  

“I’m hoping for it to be a lot better than the last [debate],” he said. “If I’m going to be honest I had no hope with either candidate”

“There were a lot of laughs and… snaps, you know, when somebody says something like they liked. There were a few ‘oohs’, and a lot of funny reactions,” said Michelle Bergman, a sophomore.

First-year students Lauren Duggar and Julia Messerman attended the watch party to gauge the various political views and to engage with the community of intrigued students. Since they were both first-time voters, they said they wanted to get a clearer picture of student voters. 

With conversations continuing after the debate, students displayed their continued interest in the presidential elections, prompting organizers to call the event a success.

“This seems like an SNL skit,” said Hays Stritikus, the Speech and Debate vice president. “To watch students actually engaging with policy in the democratic process was very refreshing.”