Three topics, six debaters, and a crowd full of students. Politics were front and center on the table as the BYU Democrat and Republican clubs went head to head in a debate Tuesday night.
Over 100 people gathered to watch the clubs debate three issues affecting students, and Americans as a whole. This debate was the first between the two clubs since the pandemic began.
The three topics on the table: human infrastructure, COVID-19 stimulus measures and university vaccine mandates. The event was mediated by members of the BYU Political Affairs Society, who kept time and fact checked information.
Being in-person after a year of Zoom debates felt refreshing and nerve racking for the debaters.
“My favorite part was debating, also the most nervous,” Thomas Stevenson, a debater for the BYU Republicans Club said.
Both sides studied and prepared their topics intensely to support their arguments. But the hard part isn’t what they could prepare for, it’s what they couldn’t prepare for: counter arguing.
“Getting up in front of a large group and that thinking on the fly to convince people and swing them to your side,” Trenton Border, an officer for the BYU Democrats Club said.
Despite differing opinions, both sides agreed on one thing.
“We can have an intelligent informed and calm courteous debate with each other while still vehemently disagreeing on these issues,” Jackson Berthold, a moderator and member of BYU Political Affairs Society said.
The audience got to decide for themselves what they agreed with and who they think won. If you’re interested in the clubs and their ideas, you can check them out on their social media pages @byudems, @byucollegerepublicans and @byupas.
