Face Off: Pearson vs. Wright FIMSSC Presidential Debate

FIMS At one point in the FIMSSC Presidential debate Wednesday night, someone in the standing-room-only space leaned against the light switch and half of the room went dark. While the problem was quickly remedied, the audience was briefly left with the image of presidential candidates Matt Wright and Jordan Pearson divided by light and darkness. Personally, I was hoping they’d keep the new lighting: it illustrated just how different these two presidential hopefuls truly are.   Continue reading

Inside and Out: Thoughts on the USC VP Debates

microphone bankAlthough “Let the #uscgames begin!” flashed on screen before opening remarks at Tuesday’s VP debate, any spectacle-starved voter would have been disappointed. The usual Twitter feed projection floating above candidates’ heads was put to rest while candidates for the slate-based USC positions of VP External and VP Internal debated key portfolio issues. Aside from moderator Andrew Shaw’s virtually celebrated #sass, a few tense questions from audience members, and one uncomfortable reference to “pulling out or staying in,” the event left sensationalism to the Super Bowl. Continue reading

Mustangs in Office: First USC Presidential Debate of 2013

First USC debate 2013

The UCC is bustling more than usual. You find pamphlets on the floor. Ads play before your YouTube video. It’s written all over the Gazette, Twitter timelines, and washroom walls. It’s election time once again! That is, for upper-year students; first-years like me are still finding their way through this election kerfuffle, and the icing on the cake is that this year the rules of the game have changed. Instead of choosing between a few presidential candidates, for the first time Western students are also able to vote in vice presidential candidates on the same ballot! And last Thursday, for the very first time, the Mustang Lounge got a taste of the election when the three presidential slates of Ashley McGuire, Patrick Whelan, and Vivek Prabhu, duked it out, VPs like pistols at their side. Continue reading

Circus in Town at Huron Debate

Stage presence spoke louder than words at yesterday’s presidential debate in Huron’s Great Hall. This was the debate we’d all been waiting for. As current USC members snickered amongst each other in the front row, campaign team members of all presidential stripes and a handful of interested voters sat forward in their seats. Spectators quickly transcended their roles as politically involved students to become politically motivated bloodhounds, delighting in the candidates’ every falter.  Continue reading

USC Debate Analysis: Candidates Play it Safe

Vote USC The USC presidential campaign is starting to take shape after the candidates made their first debate appearance in front of a packed Mustang Lounge last night. For three hours, Adam Fearnall, Claire McArthur, Logan Ross and Jon Silver fielded questions about their platforms and personalities from USC insiders while #VOTEUSC tweets were projected live on the wall.

The Big Winner?

No one, really. But there wasn’t a big loser either. For the most part, all of the candidates played it safe, concerned more with finding their public speaking confidence than boldly defining their vision. All four remained calm and composed through a barrage of vague and repetitive questions that earned appropriately vague and repetitive answers. Continue reading

“Real” Debate Entertaining, Few Surprises

Although all the usual USC and campus media suspects were in attendance, the number of simply interested students at the highly-anticipated “real” debate tonight was impressive. I was lucky to even find a seat at the back of Huron’s Great Hall, where I took in the evening’s festivities with fellow Zine writers Steve Wright and Julian Uzielli. The event was exceptionally well-run—free wine and cheese is always a plus—so big ups to the Huron, Brescia, and King’s students’ councils for making it happen, and to Dan Moulton for moderating an entertaining debate.  Continue reading