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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Debate watch draws 200 Democrats

It was a full house Tuesday night in the Marvin Center as the College Democrats assembled for the second presidential debate held at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.

The room, which seats 200, was almost at full capacity as members of the GW community sat to watch presidential nominees Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

“The make-up of the audience really shows how important this election is to people,” said senior Amelia West, vice president of the CDs.

Unlike the CDs, the College Republicans chose not to hold a watch party for the second debate. Senior Brand Kroeger, chairman of the GW and D.C. Federation of College Republicans, said they are holding many other events like a “NObama” barbecue Wednesday and Thursday.

Despite a tense atmosphere at the last debate when several Democrats laughed at Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin, Kroeger said that was not the reason they did not participate in Tuesday’s watch party.

“The College Democrats are a bit obnoxious, but that comes with the territory,” said Kroeger adding, “We’re a bit obnoxious sometimes too.”

West said the CDs like to hold watch parties to make the debates as accessible as possible.

The second debate took a slightly different tone than the first, with a “town-hall” format that allowed undecided voters to pose questions to the candidates.

Obama’s comments on energy policy received much applause from the Democratic crowd while jeers followed McCain’s comment about how people don’t know “Obama’s secret” and how his “tax increases will increase taxes on 50 percent of small business revenue.”

The CDs will head to the swing state of Ohio later this month to canvass for Obama in the state’s capital.

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