College of Communication sophomore Devon Dunn said she attends viewing parties of the political debates to see the diversity of ideas exchanged among students.
“[Watch parties] widen the debate with people so you can get opinions on what the candidates are saying,” she said. “I think the discussions that people have about the debates are important to forming an opinion about what happened at the debate.”
Dunn said she looks forward to attending Tuesday night’s watch party as a member of BU Democrats.
“I’m excited to watch it with Republicans, too, and get their side,” she said.
BU Student Government will be hosting a watch party in BU Central for Tuesday’s presidential debate, along with BU College Republicans, BU College Democrats and Democracy Matters.
Margarita Diaz, deputy communications director for Boston University College Democrats, said debate watch parties allow viewers to see other viewpoints.
“If you’re watching it with other people there’s always an opportunity to expand your own views, to expand your own mind and to get into a discussion,” she said. “I think discussion always fuels ideas.”
Sophie Miller, president of BU College Republicans, said she does not see watch parties as necessary.
“I actually don’t think they’re that important, I think that they’re more fun than anything else,” Miller, a CAS junior, said.
However, Miller said there are some benefits to attending a watch party.
“You get to hear everyone else’s live reactions in real time and bounce thoughts and reflections off each other,” she said.
Dexter McCoy, SG president, said watch parties are a good way to encourage dialogue.
“I think a watch party creates a community around this idea of your civic duty to vote,” McCoy, a COM junior, said. “The watch party gets people together … starting a conversation together.”
McCoy said while watching a debate in a group prevents a personal connection with the debate, watch parties are good idea.
“I think it’s important that people really come out to get sense of what’s going on and what people are talking about on campus and this is a bipartisan-hosted event,” he said.
COM professor Tobe Berkovitz said the debate itself is far more important than the watch party.
“It’s important [to watch] because you’re watching candidates who are less filtered and less protected by all the handlers who work on their campaign,” he said. “It is the best way to take a measure of who are these candidates, what they stand for, what do they believe in, and so for those reasons debates are important for voters to make up their minds.”
Berkovitz said watching at a debate party can undermine the debate’s seriousness.
“If you’re watching with a group who all pretty much have the same political views, it can be sort of exhilarating, but to watch in a group where some people are Republican and some are Democrats, a few are sort of Independent, then it’s more like watching a … football game,” he said. “You root for the home team, you boo the opponent.”
Diaz said presidential watch parties at BU can facilitate discussion and even influence how some students will vote in the upcoming elections.
“It helps to sway undecided voters, it helps voters to see what the candidates are about and what issues they believe in,” Diaz, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, said. “I think bringing people together to watch these debates is always a good thing. It opens up the floor for discussion for people.”
Chelsea Gagliano, a COM and CAS junior, said the debate viewing parties would be exciting if attended with friends.
“It’s an interesting shared experience,” she said.
Jen Probst, a COM sophomore, said she has not attended a viewing party and likely would not.
“I don’t watch the debates, I just read about them after online,” she said. “I just like getting the recap of it, rather than sitting through the whole thing.”
Dunn said she looks forward to attending Tuesday night’s watch party as a member of BU Democrats.
“I’m excited to watch it with Republicans, too, and get their side,” she said.
Berkovitz said regardless of setting, it is essential to watch and think about the debate.
“Don’t just read what you agree with, try to read what your opponents or what you don’t agree with so you really have a good broad base of knowledge for any kind of candidate or issue,” he said.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
