Students gathered to watch the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris hosted by ABC News in Morrison Lounge Sept. 10, at 6 p.m.. Despite the maximum occupancy of 105, the crowd reached up to 120 people at its peak.
Even though this was the second official presidential debate of the 2024 election, this debate was the first presidential debate between candidates Trump and Harris. It was moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis.
Students sat on the floor, chairs and couches until every corner of Morrison Lounge was covered. The complimentary pizza sponsored by Student Leadership, Involvement & Community Engagement (SLICE) ran out within the first 20 minutes of the event.
Assistant Dean of Students and Director of SLICE Marcus Rodriguez said via email that he decided to host the debate watch event after noticing that there has been increased interest in the election since Harris became the Democratic nominee. He said that this was the first time SLICE has hosted a debate watch event during his time at Occidental College.
“It’s a safe space to gather, grab some food, watch the debate and hang out together,” Rodriguez said via email.
Ivy Batmale (sophomore) said that, as a politics major who transferred to Occidental because of how politically engaged it was, she attended the event because she believed it would provide a great atmosphere to share the experience with her peers.
“I love watching the debate, and I knew this would be a community that I would be able to watch the debate with,” Batmale said.
Batmale said that she has been supporting Harris for a number of years.
“I think that she is the best leader that our country can have at this current moment with the options that we have,” Batmale said.
She said that she was pleasantly surprised at how many people showed up to watch the debate.
“It’s a way bigger turnout than I even thought that it would be,” she said. “I think it’s so great to see so many young people engaged.”
Some moments during the debate sent the whole room into laughter. One included Trump’s statement about the Biden administration’s abortion policy.
“They do abortions in the ninth month, seventh month and eighth month and probably after birth,” Trump said.
Other moments that elicited laughter were his announcement that migrants in Springfield, Ohio are eating their pets, and his claim that Harris would take away people’s guns.
“She has a plan to confiscate everybody’s gun,” Trump said.
Statements from Harris also evoked a positive reaction from members of the crowd, such as her reply to Trump’s claim that crime was down all over the world since the Biden administration had let millions of immigrants into the United States.
“I think this is so rich, coming from someone who has been prosecuted,” Harris said.
At moments, various members of the crowd snapped their fingers after Harris made a statement or one of the moderators asked a question to Trump.
Jasmine Smith-Hughes (first year) said that as a first-time voter who just turned 18, she thought it was important to tune into the debate, although she was more interested in hearing Harris’ policies.
“I don’t really want to hear what Donald Trump has to say, but it’s always fun to hear him kind of try to articulate things,” Smith-Hughes said.
Smith-Hughes said she is rooting for Harris not only because she believes that Harris is the better candidate, but also because it is inspiring to see a younger, Black woman potentially become the president.
“I also think that she’s very personable,” Smith-Hughes said. “She just seems like a regular person, and I think that that’s really necessary.”
As someone who also works for SLICE, Smith-Hughes said she would consider the event a huge success.
“When I first came, there were so many people — like, I was actually shocked,” Smith-Hughes said. “I could barely get into the lounge.”
Smith-Hughes said that she would encourage all her peers to vote.
“I think that right now it’s so imperative to vote and have your voice heard as a young person,” Smith-Hughes said. “[You’re voting for] the person [that will be] controlling what the country and what society around you is going to look like for at least the next four years.”
Contact Michelle Teh at teh@oxy.edu.
