College Dems and Republicans to debate in Posvar tonight

The College Democrats and College Republicans will battle tonight in Posvar Hall.

The student groups and Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, will host a debate on the War on Terror tonight in Posvar Hall Room 1700 from 8:30 to 10 p.m.

This will be the fourth debate the College Democrats and College Republicans have held this year. The first three focused on the economy, heath care and foreign policy with Russia.

“I feel that [the War on Terror debate] is very relevant in light that Iran is becoming a nuclear power,” Rachel Feinstein, president of the College Republicans and one of the debaters, said. “With the troop surge in Afghanistan people are interested but don’t have all the facts about the war.”

College Democrats President Andrew Sabo said he’ll focus on the mistakes former President George W. Bush made, particularly bringing in military contractors like Blackwater Worldwide.

The organizations decided what they wanted to discuss at a meeting with the groups’ leaders, but Pi Sigma Alpha will develop the debate questions.

The debaters have known about the topic for a couple of weeks.

Sabo said the debaters representing the Democrats met this week to discuss their main points. Though they generally convey the views of the party, the debaters are usually considerate when they speak based on personal beliefs, he said.

Sabo said he’s spoken with a debater on the other team who also favors closing the military base at Guantanamo Bay, as well as trying the 9-11 terrorists in civilian court.

“There are probably going to be a lot of agreements to be honest,” he said.

A maximum of four debaters can represent each side. The format has changed, but the debaters usually have a couple minutes to respond to the question with a chance to challenge.

Previously, debaters had several minutes to respond to the question asked by a moderator from Pi Sigma Alpha, and could challenge points made by the other side.

Now the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions.

Feinstein said audience members need to understand that they’re not debating and the moderator will limit the time they can spend asking questions.

Sabo said he anticipates the Republicans’ arguments.

“They might say that their tactics worked. They like to say that we haven’t been attacked since Sept. 11. But I don’t buy that,” he said.

Feinstein said the Democrats focus on old arguments.

“What happened in the past is unfortunate, but we need to look toward the future,” she said. “I understand that the Democrats’ arguments in the past are valid … but we need to get off that and plan for the future.”

Feinstein said the Republicans have been looking at the U.S. National Security Strategy and an article about new terrorism by Joseph Nye, former assistant secretary of defense during the Clinton administration, for arguments.

The Republicans also plan to discuss Iran’s efforts to become a nuclear power and the United States’ commitment to Israel.

Feinstein said the U.S. needs to be in Afghanistan and Iraq to prevent their governments from collapsing, as opposed to “leaving that place in shambles the way we did during the Cold War.

“That’s how we got into this mess,” she said.

Feinstein, junior Brian Witt and freshman Casey Rankin will debate for the Republicans.

Sabo, sophomore Ben Robinson, sophomore Matthew DiFiore and freshman Alex Severance will compete for the Democrats.

No debate winner is formally declared.

“We kind of let the audience decide who wins. That’s part of the fun,” Sabo said.