Panel reacts to Tuesday's debate

While Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore and Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush met in Massachusetts for the inaugural presidential debates for 2000, sophomore Heidi Westrick took notes.\n"I don't know specifics about politics, but I'm interested," she said. "This year, more than ever, I've been interested in decisions being made. The more mature I've gotten, the more I've realized it's important."\nWestrick was one of about six students who participated in Debate Watch 2000. Associate professor Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, part of a national commission monitoring how citizens react to the debates, led the post-debate discussion in Ashton Center's Mottier Hall. About a dozen people took part in the discussion. \nThe debate lasted more than an hour and a half. During that time, members took notes and watched the candidates tout their programs. Gore and Bush debated major election issues including education, social security, health care and abortion.\nEducation is the major issue in the campaign, Gore and Bush seemed to agree. They said they are for school district testing and tax deductions for families sending students to college. Bush distanced himself from Gore and called for teacher accountability as well.\nWestrick said she did not notice much of a difference in candidates.\n"Gore seems like he's dedicated to education," she said. "They wanted to see better education. Either you want education or not."\nFollowing the debate, Calloway-Thomas initiated discussion. Bloomington resident Gordon Hershey said he came because, "I knew it'd make me watch the debate," he said. \nMarshal Chaifetz, director of the Upward Bound Project that helps high school students get into college, came for different reason. He got his degree in law and said Election 2000 is the first election that he is not going to actively participate in other than voting. He said the election is pivotal because the president will appoint several new Supreme Court justices, and the government has a surplus.\n"Given what could happen," he said, "you have three to five justices to be appointed, which is a very big thing. I don't think you've had that pivotal an election in years. This is the first election where you have a government surplus."\nCalloway-Thomas said the debate wasn't a decisive one, but it was a defining and refining one.\n"I didn't see a strong contrast between the two candidates," she said. "I don't think this is a decisive debate. I don't think it's going to set what candidate is going to be president.\n"Each candidate reframed his opponent's opinion," she said. "Gore used repetition effectively demonstrating the difference between his position and Bush's position."\nAfter the debate, Hershey said he was disappointed because it seemed scripted. \n"I hold this against both candidates," he said. "I think it was the arrangement that they could have pushed the rules about. I wanted them to say something they had not planned to say. It destroyed the importance of the debate. You can't have a lively discussion that way."\nWestrick said her decision on whom she will vote for come Election Day is the same as it was before she watched the debates.\n"I believe I wanted to vote for Bush," she said. "If you would have asked me months ago, I would have said Bush. Gore has made points I definitely agree with, but I still think it'll be Bush. Gore is too pushy and that makes me think he's more concerned about votes. \n"I think he's more true-hearted than Gore. Gore is about glamour. There's a lot of things I don't agree with. I'm just ready for a change, not that it's Bush, but that it's a change"