American University lounges were aglow with television lights on the night of Sept. 10 to watch the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump. Yet, students also had the opportunity to view the showdown in more lively partisan settings: AU College Democrats and AU College Republicans watch parties.
AU Dems and AUCR hosted their own on-campus watch parties on that Tuesday night, both open to all students. In Kerwin Hall terrace, AU Dems struggled to seat nearly a hundred students looking forward to hearing what both candidates had to say. Members of the club passed out bingo-cards of topics or phrases expected to come up during the debate.
Cathrine Volk, a freshman in the School of International Service, is a new member of AU Dems and sat front-row at their watch party. She explained that she was excited to see Harris as a candidate and also her debate style.
“I’m most looking forward to if she cross-examines him like a prosecutor would,” Volk said, adding that she sees Harris as a role model since she wants to go into law.
Volk was aware of AUCR's concurrent watch party.
"Good for them, I hope their members enjoy the debate,” she said. “I hope our candidate crushes their candidate, but it's all in good spirit."
Across the street on the second floor of the Don Meyers Technology & Innovation Building, AUCR’s watch party was a quieter affair, with half a dozen attendees.
Giacomo Sobrevilla, an AUCR member and freshman in the School of Public Affairs and SIS, said he chose to attend the watch party because its environment allowed for open discussion.
“I like to discuss politics with people that might have had a different background than mine but still have like-minded views,” Sobrevilla said.
Volk shared similar sentiments about the watch party setting over in Kerwin Hall.
“I’m excited to watch [the debate] with people who care about the same issues I do and are excited about the same candidate I am,” she said. “I’m from a very conservative area so having that type of community was something I was really looking forward to.”
Ajay Sivasegaran, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, attended AUCR’s watch party and said he thinks the debate will have a direct impact on the decisions voters will make, “especially in swing states.”
According to a small poll conducted by The Washington Post, of 12 voters who said they would most likely support Harris before the debate, five shifted their vote to “definitely” after the debate. Of the nine voters who planned to vote for Trump before the debate, none shifted to “definitely” for him after the debate.
Georgia Laganiere, AU Dems deputy membership director and a sophomore in SPA, said the AU Dems’ watch party turnout made her hopeful that young people will vote in the upcoming election.
“This room kind of shows you that people do show up, even if we are just college students,” Laganiere said.
Laganiere is also involved in Voters of AU, an organization which aims to educate and encourage young voters to register and vote. She explained that the club has seen a large registration turnout and is “confident that young people will vote in this election.”
“I think Harris is going to win the election, but I don’t think that it is going to be a landslide by any means,” Laganiere said. “It’s going to be close.”
This article was edited by Samantha Skolnick, Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Ella Rousseau.
