On Oct. 3, a group of twelve gathered in North Classroom for the first presidential debate watch party, hosted by COPirg’s campus chapter.
COPirg, a political activist group, plans to host more of these watch parties for the upcoming debates. Students from all three institutions are welcome to attend the events, which feature the debate via live stream.
“We want to promote education and engagement. We obviously want to register voters, but we want people to be more engaged on issues and learn about the candidates,” said Lindsay Jakows, the COPirg campus organizer.
Carl Baker, an MSU Denver junior, decided to watch the debate on campus because of the long bus ride home.
“I live in Longmont, so if I were to take the bus back home, I would miss most of it,” Baker said. “So, I just figured I would stay here until 8 p.m. That’s when the last bus leaves.”
Like Baker, other students attending wanted to watch the debate on campus so they wouldn’t miss it. Others chose to watch it in this venue so they could be in a room, accompanied by other people who had common interests.
“I really wanted to be able to watch it with other like-minded students,” said Quinn Marchman, a CCD student. “I don’t have a chance in the day to sit with people who are actively involved in politics, who are able to sit through an hour economic debate and take meaning from it. I just wanted to be in an atmosphere of people who actually appreciate it.”
Marchman said he was impressed with Mitt Romney’s performance, and he would give the victory to Romney.
“I’ve been ‘geeked’ on it since the beginning of the year, if not even before then,” Marchman said. “I can’t help but be a nerd about politics, and I understand how important it is.”
Although it was a small turnout, Jakows was happy with the outcome.
“I think it went pretty well,” Jakows said.
“I think it was cool to get a lot of people that hadn’t necessarily been volunteering. Professors, people from the media, student government. I think it was a good combination, and I feel like we all got something valuable out of the debate.”
People: Carl Baker, Quinn Marchman
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