Debate Reinforces College Students' Picks For Prez
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New Yorkers gathered at Baruch College Wednesday night to watch the debate where many students had already made up their minds about which candidate they favor.
"A debate is a competition, and I think the competition was won by Obama. Not because I am biased but I have to analyze everything and in my personal interest, Obama did a really good job," said one student.
"Obviously Romney has more at stake. And I would have liked to have seen Romney more aggressive," said another student.
The audience, mostly students, but also faculty and invited guests, watched the debate on C-Span in order to form their own opinions about what happened.
"We want students to be engaged, we want them to see political events without the filter of partisan commentary or even non-partisan media commentary," said David Birdsell of Baruch College.
But some viewers were disappointed they didn't hear more about the issue they care most about.
"It didn't go into too many specifics. I wanted more specifics as far as education. They were very broad about how they want good education. You know, everyone wants good education," said one student.
One elected Democrat who dropped by said Romney made a better than expected showing.
"Romney did pretty well with a rough hand. He actually managed something remarkable which is try to persuade a very large audience that he stands for the little guy," said State Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh of Manhattan.
If there was any fault with the debate viewing party, it was that space wasn't large enough to accommodate all the students interested in attending.
The college is switching to a larger venue for the next debate.