Last Sunday, the second presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was held. The world watched as our final two major candidates fought it out again. I was fortunate enough to be part of a campus where being politically involved is encouraged. Our Student Activities group hosted a non-partisan debate watching party. I decided to go, and it wasn't what I expected at all.
I showed up right on time for the debate, and was shocked by how few people were there. I was proudly rocking my "Make America Great Again" hat, and walked over to the very few students from the Republican group on campus who actually showed up. Both the College Republicans and the College Democrats were set up at tables, handing out freebies and trying to get sign ups. The mood was light, and political jokes were flying, but in good fun. When the debate got started, figured more people would show up; college students are always late.
As the debate started, I spent much time people watching. I didn't know many of the students there. Student Activities was doing voter registration, and didn't seem to be registering many people. The College Democrats had four or five people come over to sign up and take some signs and stickers. The College Republicans had none. As I mentioned, I was wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat, since Donald Trump is the Republican nominee. I only noticed one other person supporting a candidate, and it was a young woman in an "I'm With Her" tshirt giving me a rather harsh stare.
The reactions to the debate itself were also interesting. Most people were quietly listening to what was being said or having small talk with their friends. When the statements made by Mr. Trump regarding women were brought up, there was laughs and groans from the Hillary supporters in the room. When the moderators interrupted Mr. Trump repeatedly, his supporters responded with frustrations and visual annoyance. Of course, when the viral Ken Bone asked his question, people immediately started snapchatting and tweeting, making this man the sensation he now is. What struck people the most and caused the most commotion in the room was the last question. When Senator Clinton and Mr. Trump were asked to name one thing they respected about each other, there were gasps in the room. People seemed to show more emotion to these answers than many of the others.
To me, this event was eye opening. I can say I am truly worried for the future of our country. There was about 30 people total who stopped in to watch the debate. Very few showed interest in getting involved with either party or even getting more educated on it. How are more people not politically involved on my campus? Granted, there could have been other politically involved students who watched the debate on their own, but I feel that coming out to get educated and show your support is important. Overall, I am happy I chose to show up to my schools debate watching party. It was an interesting experience and I was happy to find a few like minded people. It was scary to see that, at least on my campus, people aren't as excited and involved this election season as they should be.
