Ronni ButtsMore than 200 N.C. Central University students filled the New Student Center lobby on Sept. 10 to watch what could be the only presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The crowd was enthusiastic, reacting to candidates to comments with laughter or expressions of surprise. Students weren’t afraid to take sides during the debate.
“[The turnout] was more than originally expected because our club is notoriously small,” NCCU Political Science Club president Sara Rugama said.
“Because it’s a night debate at about 9 o’clock, I wasn’t really expecting a lot of people to show up, maybe 25 to 50,” said Chantel Chestnutt, the club’s vice president.
Pizza and refreshments quickly ran out for the hundreds of students that filed into the Student Center lobby. The space was overflowing: all the chairs were taken, some students sat on the stairs, some on the floor, and some even on their friends’ laps.
Students cheered once the candidates took the stage and the room grew silent. “Everybody is actually sitting in here, focused. I see some people taking notes…” said Karleigh N’diaye, the 82nd Ms. NCCU and a field organizer for RISE.
N’diaye sparked RISE’s collaboration with the Political Science Club after hearing Artemesia Stanberry, an associate professor in political science, advertise the event in one of her classes.
“My number one thought is ‘wow’ because there are so many young people out here that are making sure that their voices are being heard,” said N’diaye.
Students reacted loudly when the candidates were asked about controversial topics like abortion, Obamacare, and the Jan. 6 insurrection, often prompting interjections and conversation.
Trump’s comment about Haitian immigrants eating Ohio residents’ pets garnered laughs and expressions of disbelief. J.D. Vance, Republican vice president nominee and the originator of this rumor, later confirmed that he was “creating a story,” in an interview on CNN with Dana Bash to bring attention to the “suffering” he claims that certain Americans are enduring because of the current administration’s immigration policies.
“It was very informational. It allowed me to really concentrate my thoughts on who I want to vote for this election,” said psychology major Tionna Shelton. “I think it’s important for us to vote, especially as young people. If we want things to change and for our opinions to be put into action, we need to vote for the people we want in office.”
The watch party was originally organized by NCCU’s Political Science Club, but the Student Government Association, Student Activities Board, and non-profit organization RISE later joined in collaboration. The watch party was also sponsored by a National Science Foundation grant “Build and Broaden 2.0” awarded to Stanberry and political science associate professor Jarvis Hall.
The watch party was promoted with a Political Science Club post on Instagram that quickly reached 200 likes. By that evening, the post had received 400 likes, according to Chestnutt.
“Wow. There is this many students coming out to watch the debate,’” said Chestnutt.
The debate, moderated by ABC’s David Muir and Lindsey Davis, followed the first presidential debate between Trump and President Joe Biden whose poor performance led him to withdraw from the race and endorse Harris.
At the watch party, students were directed to a voter registration table with sample ballots and voting instructional cards. Sha’Lexus Sanders, SGA Political Action and Community Engagement Director, assisted with student voter registration.
According to the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education, in the 2020 presidential election, only 69.4 percent of registered NCCU students voted on Election Day.
“What I’m trying to do this semester is break history,” said Sanders regarding NCCU’s poor voter turnout rate.
In addition to students, Calleen Herbet, NCCU Director of Community Engagement and Service, also attended the watch party.
“This was really great,” she said, adding that she was shocked to see the student turnout.
“I feel hopeful after attending this event,” said Herbert, who has worked at NCCU for nine years. She said the on-campus political event “was [one of the] larger ones I’ve seen.”
After what was widely considered to be a successful debate, Harris expressed her interest in a follow up debate with Trump. Trump has declined the offer on Truth Social, claiming that he won the debate.
