The Young Democrats and College Republicans faced off in a heated debate Monday night, which featured topics ranging from unemployment to the environment, but never strayed far from criticisms and defenses of President Barack Obama.
The debate was moderated by The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies. Three members from each group responded to previously unknown questions.
The College Republicans were represented by Anthony Dent, Jason Sutton and Zach Dexter. Sam Hughes, Amit Rao and David Murray represented the Young Democrats.
On the agenda: social security, unemployment, taxes, health care reform, the environment, foreign policy, human rights and the situation in North Korea.
In an overflowing Dialectic Society chamber in New West Hall, an enthusiastic and left-leaning crowd supplemented a very spirited debate.
In fact, the crowd was often asked to rein in its cheers by the moderators, who were also kept busy reminding the debaters to keep their responses within the allotted time.
One comment that particularly riled the audience was Dent’s apparent criticism of Obama’s 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, after being asked about this year’s award to a Chinese dissident.
“I’m glad to see that someone who actually deserved the peace prize won it this year,” he said.
The rest of the debate didn’t stray far from the current president, as a major focus of the debate became how to view Obama’s actions in office as a result of the previous administration.
