O-A News article: "College Democrats cite ethical reasons in pullout from debate"
Amy Weaver / Staff Writer
October 11, 2006
A debate scheduled for Tuesday between the College Republicans and College Democrats at Auburn University is not going to happen as planned.
Brandon Costerison, campaign director for the College Democrats, said his organization for ethical reasons has pulled out of what has become an exclusive two-party debate. He said the Democrats will take part only if the Republicans allow the College Libertarians to participate or agree to debate the Libertarians before the Nov. 7 election.
"The goal of our organization is to educate voters, and that cannot be done in the format of the debate that we had been forced into," said College Democrat President Jeffrey Ioimo.
The campus political groups hold debates annually to inform students of the issues by party, but Kristy Cottrell, chairman of the College Republicans, said last year’s three-party debate was "too confusing." Answers were not clearly defined by party, she said, making it hard for students to understand where each group stood. To avoid any confusion this year, Cottrell said, the Republicans argued for three two-party debates. No one else agreed, so the Republicans planned to face the Democrats only Oct. 17, while the Libertarians and Democrats agreed to debate Oct. 26.
College Libertarian President Grace Toles said Republicans were invited to the latter debate as well but declined the offer.
Cottrell said Republicans plan to debate the Libertarians but not until February, three months after the general election. She said there was no need to debate them before Nov. 7 because there is no statewide candidate on the ballot. Loretta Nall, the Libertarian Party of Alabama’s candidate for governor, is a write-in.
Dick Clark, the Libertarian nominee for the state House of Representatives, District 79 seat, will be on the ballot against Republican incumbent Mike Hubbard and Democratic challenger Carolyn Ellis, but because not all Auburn students will be able to vote on that race, Cottrell didn’t see the need to debate it.
Costerison called that reasoning "pathetic."
"As an organization, we cannot and will not sit idly by while the AU GOP excludes a political party with candidates running for office right here in our district," he said.
The issue last year boiled down to the format of the debate. Toles said the Libertarians organized a meeting to discuss the matter and invited the other two parties, but only the Democrats agreed to take part.
Toles said she is baffled by the actions of the College Republicans, saying that an open debate involving all three parties would be in the best interest of the campus community. But she is pleased with the Democrats’ move for equality.
"It shows that the minorities on campus aren’t going to let the majority push everyone else around," she said. "If we want to do what’s right for Auburn students and the Auburn family, we need to inform them so they can make the best decision when they go to the polls."
Cottrell said the College Republicans will have to decide in the next couple of days what they will do to educate students before the election. She said they could have a Republican-only presentation Tuesday, try to get the Democrats back into the debate or scrap the whole event.
The Republicans hosted a voter registration drive Tuesday night on the lawn of Cater Hall. On Thursday, the College Libertarians are hosting a candidate forum for Clark and Nall at 7 p.m. in Room 202 of the Foy Student Union. The College Democrats are hosting a candidate forum of all statewide candidates at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 in Room 113A of the Lowder Business Building. All events are open to the public.
(The original article can be found here.)
