Gearing Up for the Presidential Debate

By Karolyn Castaldo on February 22, 2012

In Fall 2012, the University of Denver will be hosting Colorado’s first presidential debate at the Magness Arena in the Ritchie Center on campus and the students couldn’t be more excited.

Photo from Flickr.com by greatdegree

Chancellor Robert Coombe commented that, “The University of Denver is excited for this opportunity to partner with the Commission on Presidential Debates to bring this historic event to our campus, our city and our state. Debates are an important part of our nation’s election process, and, as the first-ever presidential debate to be hosted in Colorado, the national and international spotlight will be on the University of Denver and the entire Rocky Mountain region.”

Though this is the first debate to be held in this state, that does not mean that DU has not had experience with important events and speakers before: in 2007, Mitt Romney,  in 2008, President Obama and John McCain and in 2010, Sarah Palin all spoke in the large arena. There have also been many prominent non-political speakers, such as Noam Chomsky, who appeared on campus last spring. We have also hosted the Dalai Lama any many other Nobel Prize winners.

Though this debate was announced back in October, the hype for the debate has officially been kicked off this week with President’s Day. The event is being referred to as, “From President’s Day to the Presidential Debate: Countdown kickoff event to unveil the new debate logo, debate website and countdown clock.” On Monday, these unveilings caused great excitement around campus.

Unfortunately, though the debate will be held here, students and faculty will not necessarily be attending. There are limited seats and therefore, a lottery has been instituted for graduate and undergraduate students. In years past, for exciting events such as this, lines have wound out the door of the Ritchie center starting prior to 5am on the day of the event and many do not make it in.

But, whether you are in the stands for this historic event or are simply a Denver Pioneer, this is an exciting moment for all! For more information on the event, keep checking in with DU’s Campus Newspaper, the DU Clarion at (http://www.duclarion.com/2012/). For more information of student events go to the Facebook page, Presidential Debate – DU Student Events (http://www.facebook.com/pages/2012-Presidential-Debate-DU-Student-Events/223120047783228?notif_t=fbpage_fan_invite).

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