Students with laptops and Facebook pages open gathered in the Walter Cronkite School’s First Amendment Forum Wednesday to watch President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney spar in the first of several televised presidential debates this month.
The Cronkite School will also show the vice presidential debates on Oct. 11, the second presidential debate on Oct. 16 and the final presidential debate on Oct. 22. Weil Family Professor Leonard Downie Jr., the former executive editor of the Washington Post, will lead a discussion after the final debate.
Journalism senior Amina Ziri said the debates are an exciting time for college students.
“(I’m) excited about the election,” Ziri said. “(It) is incredibly important (because) we are being affected as we get older more and more by these issues.”
Ziri said that while she believes Obama has done decently and should have more time, she thinks his domestic policies are weak. When asked about Romney, she said he “lacks leadership” and is not very strong on women’s rights.
Journalism freshman Elise Anaya said it is important for students to stay informed regardless of political affiliation.
Anaya said that if she does decide to vote this year — and she does not think she will — it will be for Romney.
“I still think it is interesting to see what each one wants to bring to the table,” Anaya said. “But honestly, we are going to have to deal with whoever is elected for the next four years.”
Cronkite School Dean and Downtown Vice Provost Christopher Callahan was present for the start of the event and roamed the forum as students watched the debate.
“We did this four years ago,” Callahan said. “This building — the First Amendment Forum — was designed very much for nights like tonight where we can have a common gathering place for students, faculty and community members to come and interact.”
Callahan contends that even though the students present are journalists in training, they are still American citizens who should be part of the process, and added that it is an important way to be informed about the issues of the election.
Just above the regular students, nestled on the balcony between floors two and three, were a group foreign graduate students who were getting their first taste of American politics.
“This is a great time to be in the United States,” Hubert Humphrey Fellow and Serbian Broadcasting Corporation anchor Branko Veselinovic said.
“This is the first time for me to observe in this way your elections,” Veselinovic said. “This is a bigger show, you know, the candidates are like movie stars … that is not a thing in my country.”
The students in the Humphrey program, selected by the U.S. Department of State, are all mid-level professionals who have at least five years of experience in their respective countries as journalists.
Another Humphrey Fellow and broadcaster, Fatima Talib, came to the Cronkite School from Pakistan and is seeing her first election in a country where there is political awareness in students and citizens.
“Youngsters are very much involved and aware over here; in my country, we are not this way,” Talib said. “Most of the students don’t even know the names of politicians.”
Contact the reporter at john.nussbaum@asu.edu
