The Penn Democrats and College Republicans were overshadowed by a third party at last night's debate: moderator Charles Forer.
During his opening remarks, Forer -- a Penn Legal Studies lecturer -- quipped that "the Democrats are better-dressed than the Republicans," adding that he wondered if this meant they were switching sides.
Sponsored by PennForum and the Fox Leadership Program, the debate featured four representatives from each group and began with a prepared statement from the Democrats.
"We cannot afford to ignore the issues and their causes any longer," group President Jess Smyth said.
The Republicans followed with a statement of their own.
"With a strong economy behind us and an active war on terrorism, our country is making progress," said Wharton sophomore Michael Shiely, co-chairman of the College Republicans.
The statements were followed by questions from the audience on topics such as economic policy, border security, Hurricane Katrina relief and Supreme Court appointments.
A question about the teaching of evolution and intelligent design in classrooms was debated not only among the panelists, but also between the panelists and Forer.
"All mainstream positions need to be expressed," said College sophomore Sean-Tamba Matthew, vice chairman of the College Republicans, when Forer expressed concern that freedom to teach all viewpoints could open the door to radical political teachings in schools.
Matthew's answer prompted another question from Forer regarding who "decides what's mainstream."
However, Forer generally left the debating to the panelists.
Midway through the debate, Forer asked audience members if they thought "that the questions [were] being answered." Half the audience responded "yes" and the other half "no."
PennForum Chairman and College junior Brandon Egren thought that this installment of the twice-annual debate was a success.
"I think it was a good interaction between the audience and panelists, and it was an exciting debate that people enjoyed," Egren said.
