The Bruin Republicans and Bruin Democrats held a debate Tuesday
at the Northwest Auditorium, discussing current but contentious
issues such as Social Security, secularism, abortion, gay marriage
and gun control.
Debates between the two groups take place once a quarter and are
“a pretty long standing tradition,” said Matt Knee,
president of the Bruin Republicans.
The issues discussed were determined by representatives from
both student groups. “We find a set of issues that is
acceptable to both sides and is interesting to students,”
said Scott Nenni, executive board member of the Bruin
Democrats.
In this case, most of the issues were influenced by the Bruin
Democrats’ “Separation of Church and State Week”
and President Bush’s State of the Union Address.
Among those in attendance were members from both student groups,
members from UCLA L.O.G.I.C., who wore stickers with a range of
phrases such as “Altruism Kills” and “Just Say No
to Socialism,” and other students simply interested in the
topics to be debated.
The turnout was lower than for the debate prior to the November
election, some members noted.
“More came than if we had it in Royce. We should have
advertised better,” Nenni said.
Discourse between both parties was formal, though interspersed
in the conversation were comments aimed at stereotyping Democratic
and Republican platforms.
During the debate, Gabriel Rose, a first-year political science
student, attacked the Republican position of privatizing Social
Security.
“That’s what the Republicans are all about ““
helping the elite,” Rose said.
The issue of gay marriage and abortion elicited the most vocal
reactions from the crowd.
Though the war in Iraq was not discussed, the Bruin Democrats
referenced it during the evening, particularly during the
discussion of abortion.
“Now we can start levying allegations of brutality and
unneccessary death, and no, I wasn’t referring to the war in
Iraq,” said Jessica Quintero, a third-year political science
and Middle Eastern and North African Studies student.
The Bruin Republicans also had jabs of their own. Arguing that
it was imperative to fix the Social Security system, Nicholas Louw,
a fourth-year mathematics student, was greeted with applause after
he asked, “If you (Democrats) are such progressives, why
don’t you think ahead and fix the problem?”
Despite differences in their respective platforms, both groups
recognized the significance of holding these debates, namely that
both parties become tolerant of one another.
Kristina Doan, president of the Bruin Democrats, said prior to
the debate that “the biggest problem in politics in
Washington is that they don’t listen to each
other.”
Organizers hoped that the debates would provide a forum where
both Democrats and Republicans could discuss their political views
openly.
“The point is there’s a dialogue, that people go up
and talk about things of substance and people listen,” Knee
said.