The St. Bonaventure chapter of College Democrats plans to hold a presidential debate watch party Mar. 9 in the Shay-Loughlen lounge. There will be free pizza at the event and anyone who is interested is welcomed to stop by.
Christopher Stanley, Ph.D., professor of theology and faculty advisor of the College Democrats, said he thinks the event is a great opportunity for students to learn about the Democratic presidential candidates.
“We thought that having a debate watching party for people interested in learning about and seeing Hillary and Bernie in action would be a great idea,” Stanley said.
The primary goal of the event isn’t to promote one candidate over the other, but to educate students so they can make an informed decision come voting day, according to club member, Ryan Nation, junior psychology major.
“While each and every member of the College Democrats has a candidate that they support, the goal of this party is not to profligate the views of one candidate over another, but to allow students to come to their own conclusions,” Nation said.
Stanley further commented on the educational emphasis of the event.
“Part of it is simply educating students about the candidates, helping them make the choice,” Stanley said. “The other aspect is going to be a kick off for a voter registration drive.”
Although the College Democrats don’t currently have any other debate watch parties planned yet, they will keep holding events regarding the election as it progresses.
“At this point we don’t have plans to hold another debate watch party. We do have plans to bring the Democratic congressional candidate [John Plumb, New York] to campus,” Stanley said. “Sometime in April he is going to be coming to campus to give a public lecture on national security issues.”
Nation also said he wants the College Democrats to continue to be proactive on campus as the election process continues to take place.
“As the election progresses, I would very much like to sponsor more events like this. Right now, in addition to the debate watching party, we are also planning on setting up a table to assist in voter registration in both the RC and in La Verna,” Nation said. “As the election season continues, we will definitely continue to sponsor more events.”
The College Democrats are also planning on potentially holding a mock presidential debate on campus.
“We are working on possible plans to have a mock presidential debate with the College Republicans where we would have two people from the College Democrats representing Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders and probably three people from the College Republicans representing Trump, Cruz, and Rubio,” said Stanley.
Although this event is only in the exploratory stage, Stanley would like if it could possibly become a big event on campus.
There is currently no set time for the watch party, but interested students should look at upcoming notice boards and posters on campus for when the official time is decided upon.
Free pizza will be provided for attendees of the event.
mackreec15@bonaventure.edu
