By Joseph D’Andrea
Over 100 Adelphi students of various majors and years joined in Blodgett Hall room 109 for a watch party of the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on Sept. 10.
The event was organized by Stephanie Lake, an associate teaching professor of sociology and director of the criminal justice program, and Traci Levy, an associate professor of political science and international relations and director of gender and sexuality studies.
The September debate followed the one on June 27 that saw Trump and President Joe Biden exchanging ideas and insults. Since then, there was a failed assassination attempt on Trump, Biden suspended his campaign for reelection, and Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for president. This debate was not only the first time Americans were able to see Harris and Trump go head-to-head; it was also the first time the two nominees met in person.
For many voters, their minds are already made up about whose name they’ll be checking off on Nov. 5. But for some college students who will be participating in their first presidential election—regardless of which side they align with more—living through such a consequential election is especially exciting, and student interest was shown on debate night.
Before the debate began, the professors made sure that the students who gathered in the classroom were getting the most out of the evening. To educate about fact-checking and misleading information, each student was handed a “New York Times” article titled “Politicians Can Bend the Truth. Here’s How We Bend It Back.” Professors Lake and Levy spoke on the importance of these topics and asked the crowd questions about the purpose of debates, why voters should stay informed and general expectations for the night.
The students were polled pre-debate on different topics: 60% said they were firmly decided on which candidate they support; 16% were leaning towards one over the other and 18% were undecided. Prior to the two candidates walking on stage, students were posed with who they were predicting to “win” the debate, with 57% choosing Harris, 29% picking Trump and the remaining 14% being unsure.
After the debate, more students were impressed with Harris’s performance, with her numbers for the “winner” poll jumping to 78% after the debate and Trump’s dipping to 18%.
Sophomore Paulette Leune was in the majority camp. A cognitive neuroscience major and biology minor in the Honors College, Leune is the president of Accessible Community Centered for Empowering Student Success, a student organization focused on disability and accessibility awareness, empowerment, advocacy and education.
“I appreciated each question that the moderators brought up but did not appreciate the obfuscation and runaround that both candidates did, although Trump was worse with flat-out refusing to answer questions like that about the outcome of the 2020 election,” she said.
Leune voiced her concerns about the nationwide reaction to the upcoming election’s outcome; the 2025 Presidential Transition Project commonly referred to as Project 2025 from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C.; and the securing of rights for those with disabilities and part of the LGBTQ+ community.
“The decision comes down to who would I rather fight for justice under,” she said.
Janae Raymond, a sophomore business management major, was left uncertain about which candidate got the best of the other during the debate.
“I feel like the debate could’ve gone slightly better,” she said. “The moderators could’ve asked better questions and there was a lot of back and forth.”
Raymond noted that gender may play a role in the election’s outcome due to the prominence of reproductive rights during this election cycle, as well as race, saying it will “determine people’s opinions on them based on pre-assumed assumptions.”
Syd Drane, a first-year student majoring in criminal justice, had hoped that the conversation would delve deeper into specific policies, especially with issues like climate change and those related to the Second Amendment. “At the end, they just started attacking each other, which makes sense when the two sides are so far left and right, but I think they could’ve talked about more.”
Sarah Eltabib, an associate teaching professor in the General Studies Learning Community & Levermore Global Scholars Programs, also helped out at the event. She acknowledged the positives and negatives the country experienced under both the Trump and Biden administrations. Although uncertain about who “won” the debate and who will come out on top in November, Eltabib said Harris’s chances can benefit from her optimism and appeal to the younger voters and immigrant communities.
“It’s hard to figure out what’s going to happen,” Eltabib said. “I think, unfortunately, that the media—especially social media—has killed our elections, completely changing the way we vote… But I was happy to see all the thoughtful students from my class who showed up tonight.”
Lake also commented, saying this new matchup energized the election, making it look more like a contest than when Biden was still in the race.
Dean Theodosiou, a parent of an Adelphi student, also attended the watch party.
“Usually, people who watch the debates want to see their team win,” he said. “They're not there to be convinced. I think those days have long gone. Right now there seems to be no end in sight with respect to the division and that’s a sad thing. But you see this is why it’s important to have a forum in a place like Adelphi and other colleges to open up in a safe place different ideas where they could be discussed and evaluated, and that's where the persuasion could take place.”
To keep things interesting, students also played along with debate bingo, with squares reading phrases like “I’m speaking,” “Kamala laughs,” and “candidate accuses the other of lying.” Prizes were given out to winners, including political and historical mugs, pins, finger puppets, masks of former presidents and pocket-sized Constitutions. There were also “Vote” cookies, cupcakes, candy and other treats for students as they sat back and watched the candidates verbally duke it out.
Additional reporting by Hussein Ali Rifath and Celeste Arbelaez
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