Students plan mock presidential debates

MARK ROGERS
DM Staff Writer

Ole Miss student political activists have planned two debates to mirror those staged by the major presidential candidates.

Keith Wright, spokesman for the Freedom Hills Green Party of North Mississippi, said he and representatives from campus Democratic and Republican organizations will debate the issues of the fall campaign Oct. 3 and Oct. 17. The debates are tentatively set for the Grove stage.

"We're very excited about the opportunity to bring the campaigns to the Ole Miss campus," Wright said, emphasizing his goal of increasing student interest in the political process.

Wright will represent the Green Party and its presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, who has been shut out of the televised debates by the bipartisan Presidential Debate Commission. Wright said he will mirror Nader's stances on the issues to highlight his views for students who may be unaware of the third party's platform.

Although many of the details of the debates have yet to be finalized, the three sides have agreed on a noon starting time for the Oct. 3 debate. The Oct. 17 debate was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. but will likely be moved up several hours so it won't conflict with the actual debate that evening, Wright said.

In addition, while a moderator for the first debate has not been chosen, Associated Student Body President Nic Lott has agreed to host the events and introduce the speakers.

Robert Foster, president of the College Democrats of the University of Mississippi, will represent Vice President A1 Gore in the debates. Foster predicted a huge Gore victory in the televised debates and is looking forward to drawing attention to the event as well as the issues of the election.

"Most [students] either don't know about the campaigns or aren't paying attention," Foster said.

Tori Danson, vice chairman of the local chapter of Youth For Bush, will represent the Republican candidate in the debates.

She said she is looking forward to seeing Bush in the real debates.

"This election is about issues, not campaigns," Danson said. "It's not about attacking a candidate."

The three participants said the format for the debates has been roughly finalized. The moderator for each event will ask all three speakers the same questions and allow approximately 60 seconds for responses, as well as a thirty-second period for rebuttals.

Danson said the three sides are hoping to allot a portion of time for questions from members of the audience. She said she is also looking forward to the interactions made possible by the inclusion of a third-party candidate, as opposed to the national debates.