More than 80 Elon University students sat in small groups in Daniel Commons at the Danieley Center on Wednesday night for the third presidential debate watch party, captivated by a large projector showing presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton debating their policy proposals. The event was sponsored by the Danieley Center Neighborhood, the Colonnades Neighborhood, Elon Votes! and the Kernodle Center.
This was the final presidential debate before Election Day on Nov. 8. It was the last chance for the candidates to earn voter support for their policy standpoints in a formal setting.
To some of the students, the debate was no different in its style and most of its content than previous ones. The mental resilience to change and adopt new views, the bloated focus on ad hominem attacks and social issues instead of covering the political action items they're planning for the presidency and the contentious, emotional disagreements evidently dulled the crowd's mood and unearthed unsavory behavioral patterns that are underscored in both of the candidates.
The crowd was attentive after the occasional and unintentional comic relief that's derived from snide, sometimes outrageous remarks from the candidates and hence ending the conversation at hand.
Spencer Wagner, a junior political science and policy studies double major and member of SGA, shared these sentiments.
"I think it's demonstrated the patterns that the candidates have, and that Hillary has a temperament to be president," Wagner said. "Donald Trump is very unfit. I think Trump has very much thrown away what we typically expect of a candidate for president."
Colin Donohue, director of student media and instructor of communications, said that he had a similar reaction to this debate as he did to the previous two.
"It has been difficult to gain any kind of insight into a lot of policy decisions," Donohue said, adding that this one felt more antagonistic, with more name-calling and animosity.
Wagner and Donohue agreed Clinton had an edge over Trump in this debate.
After helping with this and the previous debate watch parties, Wagner was still proud of today's turnout. He said he likes to, "be with other Elon students, being able to watch and kind of discuss what was talked about."
Donohue said he was, "generally pleased" with the turnout and the way that the crowd listened to the debate.
"There's not generally a lot of talking," he said. "There's not a lot of reacting all the time to some of the points that are being made, and that's been nice for all three of the debate watches on campus."
SGA plans to host an election night viewing in the Global Commons Great Hall with the help of other organizations. They also plan to create and promote campus-wide voter registration drives and host discussions with elected officials.
Editor's Note: The original version of this story incorrectly listed the hosts and sponsors for the event. The party was sponsored by the Danieley Center Neighborhood, the Colonnades Neighborhood, Elon Votes! and the Kernodle Center.