Fiery words flew back and forth across the aisle at last night’s political debate.
The Bearkat Democrats took on the SHSU Republicans in the LSC Theater at 6:00 p.m. on Monday night, and around 50 people turned out to watch the debaters do what they do best.
Each team was comprised of three members. The Bearkat Democrats brought their President, Kendall Scudder, Vice President Emily Rice, and Membership Vice Chair Beca Staten. The SHSU Republicans were made up of their President Uresa Forbes, Vice President Chelsi Nelson, and member Justin Beiser. Jeremy Trepagnier moderated the heated debate.
Before the debate, both Scudder and Nelson agreed that the most important issue last night was that political activeness be promoted on campus.
“We just want the students to be informed, that’s the most important thing,” Nelson said.
“People’s political ideologies are formed in college, so it’s important that they are aware of the issues at hand,” Scudder said.
That was about the end of the issues that the two groups agreed on that night. The topics debated were The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the D.R.E.A.M. Act, the recent healthcare bills, and United States Diplomacy policies. Both sides had passionate stances on all of these bills, and the crowd, which was majority Democrat, showed their support with applause.
The heat was turned up as the topic was moved to hate crimes, and only got hotter as immigration (D.R.E.A.M. Act) and healthcare were put on the table. More than once the crowd’s eagerness to participate could be felt in the air.
The debate was concluded an hour after it began, and all parties involved shook hands and hugged as soon as the moderator closed the floor for further discussion. Afterwards, several attendees shared their thoughts on the arguments, issues, and debaters.
“After tonight, I learned that I am definitely a Republican. Tonight really sparked a political fire in me,” said Trey Williams, a junior.
“I think that Kendall and the Dems were more on top of their research, and the Republicans research was good too, but irrelevant to the issues being discussed,” Sophomore Leroy Brooks said.
Ramiro Jaime, also a sophomore, said, “I’m glad this is happening, but I wish that the debate was more focused on the issues that were brought up during the discussion. The topics were just too broad for a timed event.”
“The way the students were able to break down the issues at hand was amazing. I thought the Democrats did a particularly great job of defining the issue of the D.R.E.A.M. Act,” an attendee that wished to remain anonymous said.
When asked about how the debate went overall, the presidents of the organizations couldn’t agree more that it went very well.
“Our main focus tonight was not to attack the other party,” Forbes said, “But to shed light on critical issues that are affecting individuals of the world today.”
“I think the audience really understood what each party is fighting for today,” Scudder said, “And that the Democrats are about putting your country before your party.”
