As Democrats debated, students found places to watch and learn

Jack FitzGerald said he’s going to remember Feb. 11 for the rest of his life.

“You definitely pick up on things when you’re there that you don’t on TV,” he said. “They’re stomping their feet when they don’t like what they hear; they’re shaking their heads and they’re taking notes.”

He had a rare opportunity, along with 24 other UWM students, to watch the Democratic primary debate in person in the Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts. A political science major, FitzGerald was excited for his own program, as well as to be an eyewitness to history.

Democratic primary debate at UWM

While only a few students secured tickets through the lottery sponsored by the Student Association, hundreds more took advantage of opportunities in the UWM Student Union. Some joined in protests and rallies that lined Maryland Avenue and filled the Union concourse. Others poured into the Union Theater and the Wisconsin room to watch the debate on large screen with friends.

With the debate starting at 8 p.m., Luke Spinelli arrived a couple of hours early. He described himself as very politically aware, but said his friend Tony Sturdevant was normally less concerned with politics.

“The debate has got him into it, and it’s really cool to see,” Spinelli said.

Sturdevant said as a UWM student he felt compelled to participate, adding that the debate was too important to miss.

“How can someone not recognize that this is something quite large,” Sturdevant said.

Some students were working in the Media Room, where reporters filed their stories and heard campaign officials “spin” the debate. Reporters later interviewed several students from the debate audience.

As crowd sounds echoed from the live viewing rooms on the second floor, junior Cassandra Rasch made new friends among those crowding the Union.

“It was definitely interesting to hear the students’ feedback on the candidate’s answers,” Rasch said.

Rasch’s roommates did not join her for the viewing, but she went anyway, not wanting to miss being “part of history.” As a recent transfer from UW-Fon du Lac, she saw the debate as another advantage of UWM.

“The opportunities here are just endless,” she said.

Unique opportunities for students continued on Feb. 12. Gwen Ifill, who was a co-anchor the night before, taped a segment of PBS’s Washington Week With Gwen Ifill at the site of the debate, the Helen Bader Concert Hall.

Matt Campbell, a senior in Journalism Advertising, and Media Studies, was among those who received free tickets to the taping. The night of the debate, he had been in the Media Room doing social media for Media Milwaukee, a departmental news website.

Campbell said he was excited to watch the live taping of Washington Week.

“This is my senior year, and I’m just trying to get as many opportunities as UWM has to offer – and I’m learning that is a lot,” he said.

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