National politics are breaking out on the Connecticut College campus in a big way. In what may be an unprecedented event for our school, Democratic Congressman Joseph Courtney and his Republican challenger, the First Selectmen of East Lyme, Paul Formica, will debating in Palmer Auditorium at 7 PM on the Monday, October 29. The College Voice’s own Editor-in-Chief, Meredith Boyle, will be sitting on stage alongside representatives of WNPR, The New London Day and CPTV, asking the candidates questions submitted by Conn College students.
The inception of this event came in September when President Higdon was downtown for his regular meetings with the head of the editorial page for The Day and was asked if the college would be interested in hosting the event. His response, according to Conn’s Director of Public Relations Deborah MacDonnell, was something along the lines of “yes, but we want our students involved.” A few weeks later, a proposal was made for a co-hosted debate in Palmer Auditorium, to be broadcast live on CPTV and moderated by the news director of CT Radio News, Steve Kotchko.
Presented with the question of student involvement, MacDonnell initially mulled over what that should mean, before generating a plan to both have Conn students submit questions for the candidates and assemble a peer committee to select the best questions to be read. Professor MaryAnne Borrelli, the head of the government/international relations department, recommended Sarah Flecke ’13. Flecke, an IR and Economics major and chair of the Government Student Advisory Board, was also asked to suggest a small group of other students whom she believed would make a good contribution to the committee.
“I recommended two other senior representatives on the SAB. In addition, an SGA member and the SGA president were contacted by Deb to be a part of this. The idea was to have a diverse, and engaged group of students who would bring different perspectives about the congressional debate to the table,” said Flecke.
Submissions for student questions were open until midnight on Tuesday, October 23 and were sorted over the course of the next two days. Flecke expressed that she and the committee are looking for “well-thought” questions that demonstrate the student had some clear understanding of the subject matter.
“We don’t want questions that are too easy for candidates to answer. At the same time, they should not be too lengthy – having a direct question will mean that the debaters must answer it, and cannot just repeat their platforms,” she said.
Courtney and Formica, each standing behind a podium, will face a table where the moderator and the three reporters will pose questions to the candidates. The reporters include Harriet Jones from WNPR, JC Reindl from The Day, and Meredith Boyle. The first candidate, determined by a coin toss, will be asked a question by one of the panel reporters and will have two minutes to respond. The second candidate will receive two minutes for rebuttal followed by a one-minute final comment from each candidate. Another reporter, who will have a chance to ask five to six questions, will present a question for the second candidate and the debate will continue in this fashion, alternating reporters.
“There are times when politics is deeply and richly theatrical,” beams Professor Borrelli, and those are times “[you] can’t substitute for direct observation.” She considers this debate a unique occasion to ask significant questions of the candidates and see their content and tone of response, “presenting how they will do business for you.” As a frequent observer of voting in this congressional district, Borelli notes, “this is a tight swing district…where individual votes really matter.”
It is a big deal that we are hosting an event that is part of the process of the election of a Representative for Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional District. Though there seems to be vague memories of a political debate of this caliber taking place on the Connecticut College campus, records of such a past event could not be readily found.
Understandably, MacDonnell and many in the administration are exceedingly eager for an event of this profile to come to campus, stating that this is truly an “opportunity for college to showcase its students.” MacDonnell also proudly pointed out that the college would not have to charge admission and had such a great facility for this event, remarking that though CPTV would here to check out Palmer on Monday in regards to cameras, the college would be providing most of the lighting, the podiums for the two candidates and the sound system for the audience.
Further, MacDonnell reminds students to get to the debate early because it will be a timed and taped affair. The doors of Palmer will close at 6:45 PM. Though Flecke and the committee might have a tough night or two mulling over student questions, Flecke is tremendously excited about Connecticut College hosting a “such a politically important event,” and deeply honored to be involved.
“I hope the debates will spark many discussions amongst the student body and inspire political engagement,” Flecke concluded.
