The University will not submit an application to host a 2008 presidential debate, according to a Wednesday decision by the UT administration after reviewing a proposal written by students.
The Distinguished Speakers Committee, one of the 10 committees in the Student Events Center, pitched the notion of possibly hosting a debate on campus, at the beginning of the semester. The committee presented President William Powers with the suggestion after researching how each division of the University would be affected, said Gordon Moore, a government junior and one of the writers of the proposal.
"All the research we've done leads us to believe the University is well-equipped to be able to do it," said Moore. "We students feel that way, and we have some research to back it up, but there are so many other things that are going to be going on that semester."
The 2008 - 2009 school year will mark the University's 125th anniversary and the Texas Union's 75th anniversary, and construction for the UT education conference center and the north end of the stadium should be finished by then, Moore said.
Juan Gonzalez, the UT vice president of student affairs, said after 30 minutes of debate, the administration decided not to apply.
The focus of events and venues on campus during 2008 was the concentration of discussion at the table of the vice presidents' committee, which Powers chairs, Gonzalez said. He added that the event would require the University to raise $4 million to $5 million, and this would be another challenge.
"A significant argument for the debate was that the state of Texas has never had a debate, certainly the University of Texas has never had a debate," Gonzalez said.
Campuses are attracted to these kinds of events when they want to get their name out, Gonzalez said. UT is pretty well known and has more applicants than we can accommodate, he said.
"They have their reasons and justifications - I respect that - but at the same time I think having a debate would be very beneficial," said Benjamin Trotter, a government sophomore and public relations director for University Democrats.
Trotter added that having a debate, just as having a politician such as U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, speak on campus, would allow for student organization involvement. Obama is scheduled to speak at UT Feb. 23 in the Gregory Gym at 2 p.m.
The possibility for a future presidential debate should be evaluated as often as possible, Gonzalez said.
"The students [who drafted the proposal] should be congratulated and applauded for the huge amount of research that was done, probably within a two-week span - the proposal showed a lot of effort," Gonzalez said.
Be the first to comment on this article!