As the second mock student debate hosted by the Longwood Politics Club, the stage now included a three-party panel rather than the original two-party debate right before the Vice Presidential debate. The debate took place on April 5 in Jarman Auditorium. In the first debate only the College Democrats of Longwood University and the College Republicans of Longwood University participated in the debate. For the second debate there was a third party added, Longwood for Liberty.
Many students were pleased with the addition to the mock debate such as Senior Jason Dryer, a history major with a minor in political science.
“I think it was a really great debate. I think having the Longwood Liberty club and providing them the opportunity and platform to be, was pretty cool because normally it’s just a Republican versus Democratic debate,” Dryer said.
On the panel for the Longwood Democrats were Junior Brenda Pereira, a modern language major with minors in both international studies and political science, and Junior Kyle Stone, a history major with minors in both political science and communication studies.
Debating for Longwood for Liberty were Senior Kyle Dobry, a political science major with a minor in history, he is also the President of Longwood for Liberty, and Senior Stewart Gosler, a senior political science and history major.
The two members debating for the Longwood Republicans were Junior Dallas Looney, a junior History major and Freshman TJ Wengert, a communication studies major with a minor in history.
Each question was asked to one of the parties in which they were given one minute to respond to the question followed by the other parties getting 30 seconds to deliver their rebuttal. Each party was also allowed a one-minute opening statement and at the end they were given one minute for a closing statement.
Questions ranged from the College Republicans views on Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos’s view on the voucher system and the increase of education standards, which was a topic that got all three parties very engaged in the subject, to whether or not the College Democrats believed that Planned Parenthood should be defunded. There were also questions asked at the end that were sent in by the audience via Twitter.
All three parties were respectful of the rules set at the start of the debate, with only a few instances of interruption when things got especially heated during the discussion of certain topics.
The discussions were civil and that made an impression on those who were involved, such as Senior Christy Tagg, a political science major and president of the Longwood Politics Club.
“I think it went very well and I think it went even better than last semester because the debaters were all civil and easy to work with,” said Tagg.
When asked if they would want to see anything changed pertaining to this event, the presidents of the clubs involved agreed that the event was successful. Freshman Megan Garrett, president of the College Republicans and who is a double major in political science and business, requested a change for upcoming mock student debates.
“I would like to see maybe more of the audience’s questions and more audience involvement into it, but other than that I think it is awesome the way it is,” said Garrett.
Sophomore Joe Hyman, a political science major, commented that the debate was civil and a lot of important issues were covered even if the parties did not agree with one another.
“They might disagree with them, but at least they’re actually talking about them, and they are having civil discussions unlike a lot of political America right now,” said Hyman.
Longwood for Liberty was declared the winner based on a ballot that was given to members of the audience as they walked in. They were asked to place their vote after the questions were finished.
According to Tagg, she hopes that this event will continue to be held every semester and if not every semester, then at least once a year.
On Wednesday, April 5th, two representatives from the College Democrats, LU for Liberty and College Republicans participated in a Mock Debate. Some of the topics that were up for debate included: reverse racism, immigration and a voucher system for our education.
On Wednesday, April 5th, two representatives from the College Democrats, LU for Liberty and College Republicans participated in a Mock Debate. Some of the topics that were up for debate included: reverse racism, immigration and a voucher system for our education.
On Wednesday, April 5th, two representatives from the College Democrats, LU for Liberty and College Republicans participated in a Mock Debate. Some of the topics that were up for debate included: reverse racism, immigration and a voucher system for our education.
On Wednesday, April 5th, two representatives from the College Democrats, LU for Liberty and College Republicans participated in a Mock Debate. Some of the topics that were up for debate included: reverse racism, immigration and a voucher system for our education.
