The College Democrats and College Republicans went head to head in Farber Hall Wednesday night at the annual political science league debate.
Health care plans, international relations and the second amendment were all touched on during the debate.
Jordan Hanson, a senior political science major; Jaedon Foreman, a sophomore business administration major; and Nick Josko, a junior special education major represnted the College Republicans.
The College Republicans won the coin toss and kicked off the debate with an opening statement that contained their main values: American exceptionalism, a constitution as an “enduring covenant” that needs to be preserved and the government’s first duty to protect the people.
Malachi Petersen, a former editor-in-chief of The Volante and a first-year grad student studying public adminstration; Krista Homomichl, a sophomore criminal justice major; and Brett Ries, a sophomore criminal justice major, represented the College Democrats.
In the College Democrats’ opening statement, Ries said their goal was to have a civil debate and the Democrats fight for three things: opportunity, security and freedom, regardless of identity or background.
The debate lasted about an hour.
Marcus Ireland, a junior majoring in criminal justice, political science and philosy said he thought overall the debate was a good one.
“I think there were times when I thought both sides were being a little too aggressive with each other just to be aggressive with each other, but for the most part it was a pretty good debate,” he said.
Liam Gibbons, a junior majoring in political science and economics, is a member of the political science league. He said the debate was “pretty good.”
“I think both sides had a slight problem with talking about points that were kind of irrelevant and stuff like that, but that was kind of expected,” he said.
Kat Callahan, a first-year studying political science, said she believes the College Democrats won the debate, although she agreed with many Republican points.
“They handled themselves better because instead of targeting the other side, they answered questions based on the facts of their party,” Callahan said.
Julia Hellwege, an assistant professor of political science, said debates such as this one are important.
“(Debates) allow students to showcase and practice skills that they have learned. It allows for engagement with the students participants and the student audience,” Hellwege said. “It is also important to allow ourselves to talk about differences- instead of our similarities and our own political bubbles.”
Watch the entire debate on Coyote News’ Facebook page.
