Ball State University is considering becoming a venue for one of the three televised debates between the candidates of this fall's U.S. Senate election.
The Indiana Debate Commission announced two weeks ago it is looking for venues where the debates between the three U.S. Senate candidates — Republican Dan Coats, Democrat Brad Ellsworth and Libertarian Rebecca Sink-Burris — could take place.
Mitchell Isaacs, assistant director of student life, said although the application process could be competitive, he said Ball State would be a good venue and the debate would interest students to participate.
"It's been my experience that students are generally interested in debate," he said. "Our student population is smart -they can see past the rhetoric and spin which emanates from stump speeches and press releases. They want to see the candidates debate the issues."
A debate on campus and other activities the university is planning on doing this fall could encourage more students to vote in the midterm elections, Isaacs said.
"Many students feel disengaged from the political process," he said. "Bringing the candidates to campus could help the student population access the election in a tangible way."
Holding a debate live on campus would also help students realize the importance of the event.
"Modern communication is a wonderful gift, but it has the tendency to make real events seem abstract and distant," he said. "Hosting a debate can help people see the election as a real, and important, event which directly impacts their lives."
Besides the possibility of having a debate on campus, Ball State is planning other events to reach out to students and engage them in the voting process. Isaacs said Karl Rove is one of the fall 2010 speakers that will address students about the importance of midterm elections, and the university is planning to bring another speaker related to the elections to campus.
Ball State has had other candidates visit campus in the past prior to elections. President Barack Obama spoke in Irving Gym during the 2008 primary elections.
For the fall, they will provide voter registration education and training.
"We are also introducing a focus on civil discourse," he said. "We'd like to create a campus wide effort to teach students how to have civilized, yet vigorous, discussion."
The office of student life will be meeting with the chair of the political science department this week to discuss other possibilities Isaacs said.
Ball State will have until July 16 to submit applications to hold one of the debates, after which the commission will select the venues and dates.
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