The current generation of college students has become disenchanted with politics and government as the elections have passed, but a group on campus seeks to reverse that trend. Common Sense Action held a debate between College Republicans and Witt Democrats on April 30. Four Republicans and two Democrats participated in the debate moderated by members of Common Sense.
The set up was simple: the debate would be split into three parts, with both sides having an equal chance at rebuttal.
The first debate saw the Democrats asking the Republicans questions, then vice versa, and the third having the moderators pose questions to both groups. Among the issues debated were inequality, success, and the effectiveness of affirmative action. This topic lead to passionate debate on both sides, ultimately culminating in the Republicans asserting for a repeal of affirmative action and the Democrats calling for raising minimum wage, as well as trying to clarify myths that are commonly used regarding affirmative action.
The second debate revolved around generational equality and the effectiveness and viability of social security. The debate was best summed with “How do we best invest in the future?” Universal pre-K and the “Head Start” system were brought up as a way to help the youngest Americans. The Democrats asked for a more progressive payroll tax, and the Republicans debated how effective and constitutional universal health care truly is. The debt ceiling was also discussed, but neither side had a solid solution to the issue.
The last debate focused on two issues: voter fraud and how to get young people more involved in government. Neither side saw voter fraud as an issue, and the Democrats claimed that voter ID laws were unfair to some Americans. Both sides agreed on campaign finance reform as a way to get young people more involved and as a way to say that their vote counts more than the money they throw at something.
Common Sense admitted that the set up wasn’t perfect, as they had run out of free Chipotle burritos that were paid for by the group as an incentive to come, but they had achieved their goal of starting a dialogue on campus of how best to get the students of our nation involved.
