University of Colorado (CU) Boulder students are petitioning the Republican National Committee (RNC) to allow a representation of the student body at the upcoming presidential primary debate.
A mere 1,000 seats will be available for audience members in the 11,000-seat Coors Event Center. CU was only given a total of 50 tickets to select people in the university’s administration, according to the Boulder Daily Camera.
A group called the Student Voices Count have taken to social media to advocate for student representation at the debate. The students also created an online petition calling the RNC and CNBC to make at least another 900 tickets available to students, so that they make up 50 percent of the audience.
“We believe that students should be represented better in the audience on such an occasion in our democracy, as we face unique issues that candidates should be addressing at a debate that is centered around fiscal/monetary policy,” the petition reads. “Students also deserve more than a measly 50 seats as it is our tuition that is paying for the maintenance and operation of the Coors Center.”
The petition has gathered almost 400 student and faculty supporters so far.
“Given the fact that the Republican presidential primary debate could occur in a television studio anywhere in the country, we believe the RNC and CNBC are missing opportunities afforded by the debate being located on our campus,” said Aaron Estevez-Miller, one of the CU Boulder students behind the Student Voices Count movement.
“It’s no secret that political organizations struggle to engage the youth vote,” the student continued. “The RNC has the opportunity to include the student body, which is actively seeking to be engaged.”
The CU Boulder Student Government is acting as well.
“CU students call for the University of Colorado, the RNC, and CNBC to rework the Oct. 28, 2015 debate contract,” reads a resolution passed by the CU Boulder Student Government. “A minimum of half of the seating available should be made open to CU students and faculty.”
The student government demanded that if no agreement is reached, the university should remove all sponsorship from the event.
The RNC has emphasized that the event is not made for a live audience.
“These debates are designed for a television audience and the millions of people who will tune in,” RNC spokesman Fred Brown told Red Alert Politics in an email.
A university spokesman said they have requested more tickets from the RNC, but are doubtful that any more will be provided.
“We share the students’ concerns about the number of tickets being distributed to students. The Republican National Committee has increased its allocation to 100 tickets for CU, up from 50 previously,” said CU spokesman Ryan Huff.
“We have requested more, but we anticipate that few, if any, will be forthcoming. We understand that this is primarily a television event and CNBC has limited the audience of the 11,000-seat Coors Events Center to about one-tenth of capacity due to the setup of the stage, lighting, camera equipment, etc.,” he continued.
NBC Universal’s CNBC network will be broadcasting the live Republican presidential debate nationally, on Oct. 28. The debate is titled, “Your Money, Your Vote,” and will cover economic issues including the national debt and unemployment.
CU anticipates the attention the event will bring will benefit the university in the long run.
“[The university] is cognizant of the national and international media attention and branding value this event will bring,” Huff said. “More than 20 million people around the world watched each of the previous two debates.”
This article is from Red Alert Politics’ Campus Correspondent Program. Would you like to contribute a story from your school? Apply here to be a Campus Correspondent for RAP!
