Students discover a more relevant debate

By Ryan Foley

The Daily Iowan

Some UI students who attended Monday night's political debate among members of Students for Bush, Students for Gore and Students for Nader said they learned more about the candidates' positions on issues that affect students than they did in the three nationally televised debates.

The debate, which was held in the Burge Residence Hall lobby, drew approximately 50 students. Two members of each student group answered questions from moderator Marc Krickbaum, a UI senior, dealing with abortion, the death penalty and the environment before fielding questions from the audience.

Krickbaum, the event's organizer, said his goal was to bring up issues that the candidates had not yet discussed at length and were "more relevant to people our age."

While UI graduate student Mark Dowdy has already decided to vote for Nader, he said the event was helpful.

"I learned a little bit more about the issues," he said. "I think the student debates are more effective than the national debates because they deal with student issues."

UI freshman Kodi Scheer has already voted for Al Gore, but she said she attended the event to learn more about the candidates' issues.

"The debate helped solidify my belief in Gore," she said. Scheer echoed the fear of UI senior Hope Welander -- who represented Gore in the debate -- that if George W. Bush is elected, he will appoint conservative Supreme Court justices who may overturn Roe v. Wade. The next president may appoint up to five justices, who would then serve on the court for the rest of their lives.

Christian Kurasek, the chairman of Students for Bush, told the crowd that even if Roe v. Wade is overturned, it will be in the hands of each state to decide whether to permit abortion.

"This should be decided by the people -- not a few politicians in Washington," he said. Kurasek said Bush will not use a "litmus test" to appoint judges based on whether they support abortion, while Gore has said he will.

All three sides discussed their candidate's view of higher education. The Democrats accused Bush of not making higher education a priority, while Kurasek countered, saying Bush believes K-12 education is important and that he has proposed a tax cut that will help college students fund their education.

Meanwhile, UI junior Peter Reed, who represented Nader, advocated his candidate's view that college tuition should be paid for by the government.

"Education should be free. Period," he said.

UI freshman Mustafa Samiwala said he attended the debate to learn more about Nader's policies -- and he did.

"I really like what Nader has to say," he said. However, he plans to vote for Gore because he does not believe that Bush is ready to be a president and Gore needs every vote he can get.

"I think Bush would make a great president in the future, though," Samiwala said.

DI reporter Ryan Foley can be reached at:

ryan-foley@uiowa.edu