Some 150 to 200 free tickets to the first presidential debate in October will be distributed to DU students through a lottery.
The lottery was announced last week by the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and director of Student Affairs Carl Johnson. A USG committee has been tasked with handling ticket distribution for the October 3rd event.
The final number of tickets to be made available to students has yet to be officially announced, but the decision will eventually be made by the Commission of Presidential Debates, a nationwide organization which handles the presentation and broadcast of all presidential debates.
Johnson said they hope to find out the official number of tickets when the committee visits campus on March 6.
“They have debates on college campuses to energize the student base,” said Johnson. “But it’s more about putting the event on TV and less about the campus it is held at.”
Ultimately, he said the commission is not as concerned with the audience who will witness the debates live as appealing to those who will see them on TV. Consequently, the commission will be providing only 200 tickets to DU students, a university with over 12,000 students. It is also unsure where exactly in the Ritchie Center the debate will be held, meaning it is also undetermined how many seats in the Ritchie Center, which can seat 8,000, will be open to viewers.
“It is obviously an honor and privilege to attend, but this is a broadcast and the audience is there for effect,” he said.
However, students will have the opportunity to increase their chances at receiving a ticket. USG will hold several debate-related events in the weeks before the debate. Each event that a student attends will add their name to the lottery an additional time, meaning stronger attendance will give a student a stronger chance to win a ticket. The events being considered include celebrity speakers, the USG debates and additional credit classes about issues surrounding the election.
“The goal is really to bring more people in and help get students more politically involved,” said USG President Pro Tempore Sam White.
“The lottery system has been well received by other universities to host the debates,” said Winter Wall Walker, the project coordinator for the debate. “We really thought about how to make it most fair.”
USG is also aiming to spark student interest and excitement with the events through getting students involved.
The USG committee does not plan to give preference for tickets to any students on campus, regardless of their group affiliations. They will apply this standard to themselves as well.
“Just because someone is volunteering doesn’t mean they automatically get a ticket,” said White. “The process needs to be overseen, and I will ensure that no students are given priority.”
Students who do not receive a ticket will still have the option to attend a Debate Fest, which will be a watch party on-campus with live music and food. This will be open to all students for free.
Those that are not being handed to students will be designated for media and candidate sponsors and affiliations. Additionally, there is much more to be determined regarding exactly where in the Ritchie Center the debate will be held, how many total tickets will be distributed and how the final set-up will appear.
“There is just not very much we know right now,” said Johnson. “Hopefully, the Commission of Presidential Debates will be able to answer some of our questions when they come.”
