On Tuesday night, students gathered in front of a large screen and waited in anticipation to cheer on their favored candidate in the second U.S. presidential debate. Approximately 300 students attended the College Democrats’ event in Sellinger Lounge, while about 40 students were at the College Republicans’ coinciding event in the Village C Alumni Lounge — but if you could be at both places at once, you would hear the same sorts of cheers for the respective candidate of choice, see the same critical and skeptical looks toward the opposing candidate and feel the same enthusiasm and genuine interest in what the candidates had to say.

“As this was a GUCR event, the crowd was pretty much entirely Republican, and so there were was obviously a lot of enthusiasm and support for Senator McCain — and the opposite for Senator Obama,” said Paul Courtney (COL ’11), director of campus affairs for the College Republicans. “It’s nice to only have one side represented
at the debate watch because there isn’t all of that commotion and you can really watch the debate and hear what the candidates are saying instead of having an antagonizing presence in the room.”

Likewise, the attendance at the Democrats’ event was mainly in support of Senator Obama. “I think there was a mostly decided Democratic vote,” Adam Feiler (SFS ’09), president of the College Democrats, said in regard to the makeup of the crowd in Sellinger Lounge. “I know at the first debate watch of the year, we had a lot of undecided voters there. Luke Russert from NBC News had come to film that night, and he interviewed a number of undecided voters, so they’re definitely at some of our events.”

The enthusiasm seen at these events was measurable even before the debates began. Both organizations saw significant increases not only in new members but also in the activity of existing members.

“There has absolutely been a surge of membership due to the election, since most GU students are very politically engaged and this is the best time to get involved,” Ellen Dargie (COL ’10), president of the College Republicans, said.

Feiler noted that in his three years at Georgetown, the College Democrats have grown from less than 1,000 to over 2,500 members. In past years, the increase had been steady, but this year the organization saw their largest influx of new members, with over 650 students becoming newly involved.

But while there is a certain atmosphere at single-partisan events, both sides agree that the more important and immediate role to take is in educating students on the issues at stake, not simply promoting enthusiasm for the candidate of the party that they represent.

Three weeks ago, over 500 students attended the Young Voters Forum, an event organized collaboratively between the College Democrats and College Republicans with this specific goal of educating the student body as a whole.

“The goal of our events is always to educate students about the issues that are affecting or will affect them, and hopefully make sure that when it comes time for them to cast their ballots, they will make informed and responsible decisions,” Dargie said. “We’ve had enormous success, and the Young Voters Forum was a perfect example.”

Feiler echoed Dargie’s sentiments regarding the importance of working together to motivate campus to become informed. “We have a good relationship with them [College Republicans],” he said. “I think it does transform the event from a partisan event to a more civic event trying to educate and inform the Georgetown electorate on the issues. I think we’ve been really good this year at trying to register people to vote together and also trying to educate and inform them about the issues so they can make an informed decision on Nov. 4.”

The days before the election are numbered, and the general excitement on campus is growing daily. “Campus is busier than ever, and the coming weeks will be a rush to the end with students educating themselves on others,” Dargie said. “People are excited, and the energy around this election will only increase as the big day gets closer.”

In another bipartisan event, the two organizations are teaming up with GUSA to address this increase in energy with the upcoming Georgetown Votes ’08 event, to be held on Oct. 15 on the upper level of Leo’s. At the event, there will be a panel of distinguished individuals from the Republican Party and the Democratic Party as well as Amar Bakshi, a political writer from The Washington Post.

“We’re all Hoyas, and we all have some affinity for politics, and we all have some connection to this election,” GUSA Director of Communications Samir Kapadia (COL ’09) said. “This event is not intended for Republicans to be against Democrats in this debate — this is about bringing Hoyas together to better educate ourselves and to come together on one of the most important nights of this election cycle.”

While this is a great opportunity for students both decided and undecided to hear from experts and understand their unique viewpoints, it is also an opportunity for students to become proactive in voicing their own opinions.

“They can learn from the youth,” Kapadia said. “We feel that the youth has such an important role in the upcoming election given the amount of recent registered voters. This is a great way to showcase Georgetown students — there are so many smart kids at this school and they all have their own perspectives on what the election is really about.”

With every day, with every debate and with every turn of events, the presidential race heats up, and Georgetown keeps up: “I think it’s particularly exciting with all the students who are engaged and energized by the process,” Feiler said. “It heartens me that I can help students who want to be involved and who want to participate in the political process — I think it’s good for our democracy.”