By Dylan Adams
News Editor

In hopes of fostering political engagement within the student body, KU’s Bias Response Task Force sponsored a political debate event on Oct. 14. at 6:30 p.m. It was held virtually through Zoom.

This event featured several political student organizations active within the university and focused on a plethora of issues and topics, with primary debate centering on the 2020 presidential election. 

Topics discussed included the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, George Floyd, abortion rights, capitalistic and socialistic economics, national debt, President Donald Trump and ealth care within America.

KU organizations involved included College Republicans, College Democrats, Turning Point, Black Student Union, Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and Students for Sanders. 

Dr. Arthur Garrison, a professor of criminal justice, moderated the debate between the organizations.

The debate brought in a stream of over 50 active participants including  debaters, students and other active participants who listened, asked questions to the panelists or discussed their own viewpoints in real time in the Zoom comment section.

Gabrielle Boyer, president of the College Democrats of KU and a participant within the debate, gave her own advice for students unsure of how to become more politically active. 

“There are plenty of ways for students to become more involved with political matters. The first big way is to make sure that they are registered to vote. This way they can voice their opinion in the upcoming and future elections. Secondly, if students want to get involved on campus, there are a number of politically affiliated clubs that would love to have them join,” Boyer said.

Contacts to all organizations present during the debate are listed below. Information about each organization can be found by searching for the organization’s name on Engage at https://engage.kutztown.edu.

Turning Point USA – sgera284@live.kutztown.edu

College Democrats – gboye845@live.kutztown.edu 

College Republicans – Jstev800@live.kutztown.edu 

Black Student Union – lsmit413@live.kutztown.edu 

Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance – fmla@kutztown.edu 

Students for Sanders – Nthat025@live.kutztown.edu