What Bardians Hoped Would Happen During the Presidential Debate 

By Lauren Rodgers ‘27

The Tuesday night debate watch party hosted by Election@Bard and Democracy Matters was so packed that the Manor back porch had rows of chairs lined up with the windows open so people could hear from outside. Then a loud chant started: “5… 4… 3… 2…1!” The debate was on.

DISCLAIMER:
This article is a reflection of individual student views. Election@Bard, Democracy Matters, and Bard College are non-partisan.

On Tuesday night, I attended the Debate Watch Party hosted by Election@Bard and Democracy Matters at Manor House. My friends and I had been anticipating the debate all day, and decided to attend after hearing much buzz on campus. I arrived about 20 minutes early to an already full Manor dining room, where hosts were giving out ice cream, popcorn, and voter registration forms. The energy in the room was palpable.
The room became so packed, in fact, that both dining rooms were full of people by the time the debate started. The back porch was also in use; rows of chairs lined up outside of the back windows were filled with people, the windows open to hear what the candidates had to say. People even sat on the back steps, watching the debate on someone’s personal iPad. I had barely completed one interview before a loud chant started: “5… 4… 3… 2…1!” The debate was on.

I talked with six students during the debate watch party, including Tara Sachar ‘26, an event host and volunteer for Democracy Matters, Leonardo Vargas-Sanchez ‘27, Evelyn Finn-Wilson ‘27, Kateri Simmons ‘27, Amaya Herrera ‘26, and Brigit Brennan ‘27. Due to the bustling nature of the event, my discussions were brief but each person I spoke with had unique and thought provoking responses to my questions about the debate. Read their thoughts below.

How are you feeling about tonight’s debate?

Tara: I’m feeling all types of ways, I’m feeling all of the emotions. I can’t endorse a candidate with my organization, as we are non-partisan, but I love seeing everyone come out and get excited and be involved.

Evelyn: I’m feeling anticipatory. I think Kamala Harris is hopefully in a good spot to strike him intellectually, but also, as we’ve seen before, there's a large portion of this country who still supports Trump’s ideologies.

Leo: Hesitant, but I’m going to pay attention. It’s politics, man.

Amaya: I definitely feel excited. Regardless of how you feel about Kamala, I feel like we all know Trump is somehow going to fumble tonight and embarrass himself. I think you can tell from his recent campaign material that he’s a little off his rocker, like with the celebrity AI material and things he's been saying in other interviews. I think he’s in a delicate spot right now, and I’m hoping this is the final whammy.

Kateri: I’m feeling really excited because I think there’s a lot of energy around this.

Brigit: I was a little bit nervous at first, but I’m excited to hear Kamala talk more about her platform. I also think it will give both of them a chance to show what kind of speaker they are, though we know Trump is a bad one. I think that he is super scared, and I think we’re going to see that tonight. Recently, they’ve really been reigning in the usual hate speech he’s spewing all of the time, and censoring him some, so I think he’s terrified. And tonight we’re going to see that a lot.

AA: What core issue are you most concerned about this election?

Tara: I am most concerned about abortion. I am an abortion rights activist, and in Texas I would go to a bunch of rallies and speak at them, but then they slightly cut our right to protest there and so I've been doing a lot of my organizing here. I spread awareness through every platform that I can, like social media; I do it at Bard and I do it in Texas. I just really care about a woman's right to choose, and everyone's right to choose. That should be between a doctor and the patient, and no one else should be involved.

Evelyn: I think the recent rollbacks and restrictions on healthcare, especially women’s access to abortion, has been pretty concerning, just considering the fact that even under a democratic president these states have still been allowed to do that. So I hope to see if Harris has any sort of response to that, or a plan for actually protecting women’s access to healthcare and abortion.

Leo: I think that the issue of Israel and Palestine needs to be addressed. On the subject of policies, which I have less pessimistic thoughts about, stuff on tax reform will probably be brought up that I’d like to hear more about.

Amaya: I definitely feel like with abortion access and everything happening in Palestine right now, those have been the issues that people talk about the most. So I’m really hoping that they find the time to address things like immigration and inflation, because I think that those have been big issues in the past and they still are, but they kind of get shoved under the carpet because of everything else going on, which of course is understandable. Immigration is something I really care about, and in the past, the Democrats have been perceived to be a lot better on this issue, but in reality, when you look at their policies, it’s just a different wording and it’s not that great, so I’m hoping that they actually address that.

Kateri: I’m really most interested in hearing a discussion around what’s happening in Palestine. The way that Kamala has addressed it in the past has been disappointing, and I’m interested to see what she says tonight. It definitely feels like the most pressing issue at the moment, and I would like to hear Kamala take responsibility and discuss a plan to end the genocide.

Brigit: I think that the climate is a huge issue, and specifically in this election, affordability is an interesting issue, especially in the wake of the antitrust cases that are going on right now. It will be interesting to see how both candidates tackle affordability, specifically in tech as well, which I think is really unique to this election.

What do you hope the public takes away from tonight’s debate?

Tara: I hope everyone can see the candidates for who they are, and make their own decisions. I hope that this debate was informative, and I hope that people realize that the issues they care about are being talked about and to get involved and keep up the momentum.

Kateri: I hope Trump makes a complete fool of himself, like he always does.

Leo: I hope the public can actually see the policies that are being enforced. While Kamala isn’t exactly my favorite candidate, and while I’m not the happiest about the way this election has been going down, I think this will hopefully reflect a return to form when it comes to the focus on policy, which I feel has been missing from past elections- and especially from the Trump campaign. If you’ve seen any part of the RNC, it’s just posturing while tiptoeing around policy that actually matters to the Republican vote. I hope that, to some degree, we can get back to basics.

What would you say to someone who is unsure if they’re going to vote in November?

Tara: I would say that your vote is your voice, and if your vote didn't matter, no one would be trying to win your vote and no one would be trying to block you from voting. It clearly matters, and I think that the people have the power to make a change. As an organization, Democracy Matters wants to combat misinformation, we want to spread awareness about voting, and we want to encourage people to fight on issues that they're passionate about. My advice to those who are unsure about voting would be to find something you’re passionate about, and then vote in accordance to that, and what matches up to your values. Politics is a game, and you have to play it or it will play you. That's what I've heard before and that's what I go by. If you don't take over your own power, someone else is going to take it from you.

Leo: You gotta vote, man. If you want to write in someone else, then sure. But regardless, it’s important to have your voice heard. Our country is in a very tense time, and it’s been in a very tense time for the past decade or so. I feel like we can hope to have a sensible, democratic election. Exercise your right as a civilian.

Kateri: If you ever want to have the chance to vote again, you should vote in this election.

Thanks to all of the students for sharing their thoughts, feelings, and wisdom regarding the debate. A special shout out the Election@Bard and Democracy Matters for hosting an amazing debate watch party. For more information on voting on and off campus, or to register to vote, visit the Election@Bard website or contact them at [email protected].

Post Date: 09-13-2024