(The debate has been cancelled due to organizational issues.)

The Young Republicans and Democrats will face off in a debate on Monday February 29th. I joined the Republican’s meeting to see how they’re preparing for the upcoming debate. Alexander Kostandarithes and Richard Still, both juniors, are co presidents of the Young Republicans. Kostandarithes said “today is the final day for consolidating research and putting it into the thesis or argument.” The debate is structured around three main topics: income inequality, climate change, and immigration. Each team is given a three minute construct per topic followed by four minutes of questioning by the opposing side. Dr. K, the former Young Republicans club sponsor says that in the questioning you “must be quick on your feet. That’s what you want in that situation.” Putting ideological conflicts aside, I asked Dr. K what his goal is for the outcome of the debate. He says “our goal for this is to make more informed voters” and to get people “more informed about the issues.”