In the filled Strom Thurmond Auditorium of Clemson University on Tuesday, Oct. 22, Clemson College Republicans (CCR) and Clemson College Democrats (CCD) participated in their first debate, sponsored and mediated by the Clemson Political Science Association (CPSA). This debate was formally scored by a panel of faculty judges based on the presentation and debate skills demonstrated, not the political merit of the arguments themselves.
CCR, led by now Chairman Alex Carter, senior biochemistry major, focused their arguments on not so much the existence of programs commonly endorsed by the national Democratic Party, but the way in which they are run. They generally focused their argument on relegating several national level programs to the state and local level; the most detailed example of this regarded the No Child Left Behind program, which CCR and CCD both disagreed with.
CCD, led by Ansley Birchmore, senior political science major, opened the debate with a strong focus on legal precedence and the heart of American ideals. Upon moving to the next topic, the focus shifted to the ineffectivity of current government systems (such as No Child Left Behind and the American health care system) and proposed alternative solutions.
The debate was broken into four broad topics: Immigration, Health Care, Education and Minimum Wage. When asked about how the debate went immediately after, both sides’ respective chairmen were proud of both the turnout and performance. Later, the official scores from the judges revealed three topic wins for CCD (Immigration, Health Care and Education) and one topic win for CCR (Minimum Wage). The atmosphere of the debate was very respectful and both sides are looking forward to the next debate.
“I’m personally very interested in doing another debate. Environment is a very common issue…” said Chairman Carter, when asked about further debates. “I know Ansley’s also talked about basically doing a debate around the environment as well.”
In response to the future of debates between CCR and CCD, Birchmore said “I think it’s a fantastic event for bi-partisanship here at Clemson, so I hope it continues in the future.”
Matt Haase, the freshman political science major from CPSA who orchestrated large parts of the event, looks forward to future debates and noted an anticipation for continuing this new tradition for the elections next year. Both Carter and Birchmore echoed this anticipation.
