Binghamton University’s College Democrats and College Republicans faced off in their fall semester political debate at 8 p.m. yesterday in Old Union Hall.
Topics covered during the debate included domestic, economic and foreign policy.
Tara-Marie Lynch, the president of College Republicans and senior double-majoring in economics and political science, and Diana Reyes, the president of College Democrats and a senior double-majoring in political science and anthropology, co-moderated the debate.
For each topic, two debaters faced off head-to-head. Lynch and Reyes asked questions to the debaters, who had three minutes for an opening statement and two minutes for a rebuttals.
Venanzio Cortese, a member of College Republicans and a junior double-majoring in history and German, and Kelly Hyde, a member of College Democrats and a freshman majoring in economics, discussed the Occupy Wall Street movement and illegal immigration to the United States.
Cortese said it was the government’s duty to ensure that people immigrated into the U.S. legally, and that the Occupy Wall Street movement was not a productive protest.
Hyde, on the other hand, said that cracking down on illegal immigrants would only hurt migrant workers who were helping to sustain the economy and that the Occupy Wall Street protesters were effectively pointing out severe inequalities in the U.S. tax system.
“The Occupy Wall Street movement has a very clear message: they are coalescing around the message that this income inequality is not OK,” Hyde said.
Aaron Ricks, a member of College Republicans and a junior majoring in political science, and Tyler Arluck, a member of College Democrats and a junior double-majoring in financial economics and philosophy, politics and law (full disclosure: Arluck is a Pipe Dream columnist), exchanged their views on taxation and President Obama’s recent jobs bill.
Ricks said that the bill infringed on the rights of the private sector and that tax breaks for the wealthy would stimulate markets and provide jobs.
“We need people that create wealth in this country, the Steve Jobs in this world, the Mark Zuckerbergs in this world,” Ricks said. “We need more innovators who will revitalize this economy.”
Arluck argued that the bill was highly beneficial to the American middle and working class.
“My father was an NYPD officer during 9/11,” Arluck said. “He was a first responder, and his job was saved. His friends’ jobs were saved by that bill.”
Troy Shirley, a member of the audience and a senior double-majoring in geography and Spanish, said he thought that the debate was heated, but that it was an overall success.
“It was a little more contentious than usual, but it went pretty well,” Shirley said.
Ilana Ben-Izrael, a freshman double-majoring in history and political science, agreed and added that he thought neither side emerged as the debate’s clear winner.
“Each side had certain strengths and certain weaknesses,” Ben-Izrael said. “There were definitely some debaters who were stronger than others, but overall it was a fair match.”