When politicians, members of the media and Republican supporters and protestors flood the College's campus for the Republican debate on Oct. 11, students will have the opportunity to be a part of the action -- whether by meeting public figures in classes or running into them on the Green.
CLASSES
Government professor Linda Fowler said she works references to the primary election into her American Political System class in order to illustrate larger points that are more relevant to the syllabus.
Government professor Deborah Brooks, who taught two classes over Summer 2011, invited several major politicians including Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City to speak to her classes in preparation for primary season, she said.
"I'm not teaching this term, but I wish I were," she said. "Professors should be modifying their classes to include discussion about the debate."
Marjorie Rose, an economics professor, said she hopes to link a number of upcoming topics in her macroeconomics classes to key topics that will be important in the primary race, such as the debate over reducing the fiscal deficit and entitlement reform. She is also working on bringing Bill Binnie, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2010 and serves as chief executive officer and president of the Carlisle Capital Corp., to speak to her classes about the upcoming election.
"He is a successful businessman, and it will be interesting to get his take on both the economy and maybe what the candidates bring to the table," Rose said.
Binnie owns local news outlet WBIN-TV, which is one of the four sponsors of the debate.
LOGISTICS
The Courtyard Cafe will be closed from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 11 and the music department offices and classrooms will be closed for the entire day, according to College Director of Media Relations Justin Anderson.
Student ensemble rehearsals will be moved to Rollins Chapel, he said. No other area of the College will experience closures for the event, according to Anderson.
"This is obviously a huge event in terms of significance and also in terms of logistical elements," said.
Although many debates in New Hampshire take place on college campuses, the schools are not normally in session and students are not present, he said.
"Dartmouth is a dynamic place with lots of different people who are going about their lives and work," Anderson said. "We're overlaying this major event in this community, which I think is just fantastic. Campus life is continuing without any sort of impediments. We hope that any disruptions that do happen will enhance students' experiences."THE GREEN
Bloomberg News, a co-sponsor of the debate with The Washington Post and WBIN-TV, will set up a platform just south of the center of the Green on Oct. 10, the day before the debate, Anderson said.
Satellite trucks that will broadcast both photographs and video footage of the debate will be parked along College Street, and reporters will be stationed on the southeast area of the Green, according to Anderson. Onlookers will be guided toward the campaign visibility area in the southwest corner of the Green, Anderson said.
"There is a ton to be learned outside of the live debate," Brooks said. "Go wander the Green and talk to the media or the people protesting. Candidates may be giving talks in the surrounding area."
STUDENT POLITICAL GROUPS
The College Republicans worked with the Rockefeller Center, College Democrats and College Libertarians to plan the watch party in Leede Arena, according to Parker Hinman '13, president of the College Republicans. The College Republicans will be passing out "awareness materials" to students entering Leede Arena and Spaulding Auditorium, Hinman said.
The College Republicans will continue promoting Republican candidates by going door-to-door in the Upper Valley in the weeks leading up the election, Hinman said.
The College Democrats will discuss the Republican candidates and current economic issues in their Monday meeting before the debate, according to College Democrats Communications Director George Helding '14.
The College Libertarians will host a series of dinners with professors from the economics department during the weeks following the debate, according to Joshua Schiefelbein '14, president of the College Libertarians. Discussion will focus on the economic topics that continue to confront candidates as they approach the New Hampshire primary election, he said.
VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES
Approximately 200 students are currently signed up to volunteer at the debate and the various events surrounding the debate, John Turro '12, Rockefeller Center student coordinator, said. Seventy-five volunteers will be needed, although Turro said more are welcome.
"There are so many different ways for students to help out," Turro said. "There are so many events going on Monday and the day of the debate. We need all hands on deck."
Students can volunteer as everything from media crediential table aids to Spaulding Auditorium ushers, Turro said.
In addition to mock audience members who will help camera crews adjust lighting and camera angles the Rockefeller Center is looking for candidate look-alikes to act as mock candidates, Turro said. Look-alikes need to be the same height and have the same hair color and skin tone as Republican primary candidates to aid camera crews in stage lighting and angles, according to Turro.
WATCH PARTY
Students who did not win lottery tickets to watch the debate in Spaulding Auditorium have the opportunity to view the debate through a live feed projected onto a large screen in Leede Arena. Tickets are free, and the arena seats approximately 2,000 people.
Candidates and other public figures who have not yet been announced will meet with students and speak at the arena following the debate, Turro said. The watch party will include speeches by leaders of the College Republicans, College Democrats and College Libertarians as well as performances by the Dodecaphonics a capella group, Decibelles a capella group and Matt Knight '11, also known as DJ Postman, Turro said. Free food from Everything But Anchovies will be available along with free t-shirts, according to Turro.
"Seeing candidates live is such a different experience than seeing them on TV," Turro said. "We expect all of the candidates to come to the arena like they did in 2007. They understand they are invited to a student-oriented event and they'll be talking about what needs to change and what they can offer as president of the United States."
Although 136 students won tickets to watch the debate in Spaulding Auditorium, Brooks said that attending the watch party will be an equally rewarding experience.
"Being in the facility is fun, but it's not that different from watching it on TV," Brooks said. "You can't really react in the room. The [watch party] may have a feeling that is more colorful. Last time, a fair number of students got to meet the candidates."
