On Oct. 4, Longwood University hosted the Vice Presidential debate. A survey was conducted to find what the students thought of the debate after the fact.
Three questions were asked on the survey: If the debate was good for students, if the debate was good for the school, and if they would like to see another big event hosted at Longwood. Each question had four options: yes, no, not sure and mixed feelings. Students were also given space to comment and expand on their answers.
When asked if the debate was good for the students, 58.8 percent of students yes, 26.5 percent had mixed feelings, 11.8 percent said no and the remaining 2.9 percent were unsure.
“I believe it was good for the school, not for the current students.” said Caityln, a junior biology major, who answered ‘No’.
“There was so much construction that we couldn't make it across campus or to class on time, but yet professors were still marking us late,” an anonymous student said.
“It was definitely an interesting experience, but blocking off a large section of campus making getting to class difficult was awful,” said Ira Walker, a freshman liberal studies major, who replied with mixed feelings.
The majority of students, however, said that the debate was a good thing for students with 58.8 percent voting ‘Yes’.
“I believe it was good for students but that some students perceived it negatively,” said Christie Mertz, a senior nursing student.
When asked whether or not hosting the debate was good for the school, all students surveyed either said yes or mixed feelings, with 76.5 percent of respondents replying yes and 23.5 percent saying mixed feelings.
“I think it got our name out there but overall I don't know if it had a big enough impact to counteract how much it all costed,” stated Rebecca Doody, a criminal justice senior, who had mixed feelings.
“It was great publicity for a small school in a little town that often goes unnoticed to the public as a whole,” said Katie Brandon, a freshman liberal studies major, who voted ‘Yes’.
Results were mixed when students were asked about whether they wanted Longwood to host another big event like this. Out of those surveyed, 39.4 percent said yes, 24.2 percent said no, 21.2 percent said they had mixed feelings, and 15.2 percent were unsure.
“It depends on the overall goal. If the intention was to engage students in a unique citizen leadership opportunity, then yes. If the intention was to do another large event just to be able to say we did, then no,” said Mertz
“Depends on what it is. I think it was a wonderful opportunity for students but not every type of big event would have the same effect,” said Doody.
Continue to follow the Rotunda for upcoming surveys.
