Battle lines have been drawn, and tonight the College Democrats and College Republicans will duel in a battle of minds from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the EMU Fir Room. It will be the two student groups’ first joint debate this school year.
College Republicans Co-chairman Jarrett White said the debate is not going to be a shouting match, but a structured discussion with opening statements, rebuttals, closing arguments and question-and-answer sessions.
“It’s not going to be arguing or trying to yell over each other at all,” White said.
College Democrats Co-chairman Eric Bailey agreed, saying that the purpose of the debate is to inform students about the different sides of the issues.
“It’s obviously not to convince each other or try to change each others’ minds,” Bailey said.
Topics for discussion include President Bush’s economic stimulus package, the pending war in Iraq and the fate of affirmative action, focusing on the two University of Michigan U.S. Supreme Court cases.
White said Democrats and Republicans will each have a six-person panel, two for each topic. University alumnus Jeff Oliver will moderate.
White said students will be encouraged to attend the debate because it will educate them on the logic behind both sides of the issues. He added panelists will not be advocating their own personal views at the debate. Instead, White said today’s event is geared to inform students about the official Republican Party and Democratic Party stances on the issues.
“It’s important for students to hear what both parties believe in,” White said.
The last debate the College Republicans and College Democrats sponsored together was Nov. 20, 2001, and included more topics than national political issues. The two student groups talked about missile defense, education, student incidental fees, President Bush’s energy plan and the recession.
Bailey, the moderator for the November debate, said the College Republicans and the College Democrats decided to address fewer topics today because neither group felt there was enough time to sufficiently discuss all the issues at their last debate. He said that the topics were obvious choices because the media has given them steady coverage.
“All these issues are very close to people’s hearts,” he said. “So we wanted to give extra attention to each issue.”

— Jennifer Bear