Monday night marked the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. SGA celebrated the occasion by hosting a debate watch party in the Brown Lupton University Union ballroom on TCU’s campus.

The watch party drew about 60 – 80 people to the ballroom. Three large screens showcased Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as they faced off at Hofstra University. Snacks, such as potato chips and soda, were available just outside the ballroom.

The crowd laughed at various points during the debate, but most listened intently to the candidates.

And many of the students at the watch party for Monday’s debate said they wanted more substance and less banter.

Students said Trump and Clinton needed to talk more about the issues and less about each other.

“I think that both nominees for the presidency need to focus more on issues, rather than debating about which person is worse or which person is better,” said Will Jezek, a 2019 Class Representative. “Instead of fighting on which person looks better on paper or who has the better morals, they should focus more on today’s issues in America.”

First year student Rachel Goodwin agreed that issues should have been emphasized more.

“I find a lot of it really comical, what they’re doing up there,” Goodwin said. “I think it should be more focused on issues in the country instead of them bashing each other.”

Other students said watching their peers’ reactions was more enthralling than the dialogue between Trump and Clinton.

“I think it’s really interesting to see student reactions because I think we have this impression of what college students believe, that college students are very liberal, but we’re in the South, which is normally conservative,” said junior Hayley Zablotsky. “I’m almost enjoying watching the other students’ reaction more than the debate itself.”

As far as how the debate panned out, Read More