War of WORDS

With interjections, personal attacks and standing ovations, the tension of the national election was evident as the IU College Democrats and IU College Republicans squared off in a debate held by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity Thursday night at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.\nThe event started off with host Rashawn Ray, a grad student and adviser to the Alphas, introducing each side. For the republicans, IUCR Chairman Angel Rivera, a senior, and IUCR Vice President Chase Downham, a junior, took the right side of the stage to uphold their conservative ideals. For the democrats, IUCD President Mandy Carmichael and IUCD Vice President Peter Cheun, both seniors, took the left side of the stage to support their liberal views.\nForeign policy seemed to dominate the debate, as Iraq, Afghanistan and 9-11 were brought up by both sides.\nThe democrats emphasized candidate John Kerry's platform for internationalism and building a world alliance to deal with the conflict in Iraq. Cheun said one thing that everyone needs to understand is the difference between the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq.\nRivera countered that the theory is that free people are inherently peaceful and that Democratic nations don't go to war with each other.\n"Whether or not this theory is true, we are finding out every day, just like your side is," Rivera said. "But I don't think that there is any doubt that the world is a safer place since that S.O.B. Saddam isn't around."\nThe College Democrats also said they believe there were no weapons of mass destruction and the war was started under false pretenses. Downham said he believes the WMDs will be found, and even if they aren't, he says the war was still justified.\n"You don't think that given the opportunity Saddam would do anything to harm us?" he said. "It doesn't matter if they haven't found any weapons of mass destruction. Saddam was a weapon of mass destruction himself."\nCheun said he thinks the war in Iraq has distracted the U.S. from other more serious issues, such as finding Osama bin Laden.\n"At the Republican National Convention, Bin Laden's name was only mentioned once," he said. "I mean, Richard M. Nixon got his name said more times."\nCheun said one of the biggest problems with the war on terrorism is that Bush has separated the issue into good versus evil when he believes that not everything can be that simple. Rivera reaffirmed his belief that "these people are evil," saying, "Kerry wants us to be more sensitive to these people when they are trying to kill us."\nRace and the economy were some of the other hot topics. In his opening statement, Cheun said he can sum up his party in one word: "Inclusive. Unlike the Republican Party, it's not just rich people who have a say."\nRivera countered that statement by saying President Bush has had one of the most inclusive administrations in history, especially in terms of diversity.\n"Not only do we have the most diverse cabinet in history, but all of the members didn't get picked just because they were black, Hispanic or a woman. They were picked because they're damn good at their jobs," Rivera said.\nCheun said the division in America has extended beyond race, as he claims the Bush administration has favored the upper 1 and 2 percent of Americans while ignoring the working class. He said the Democratic Party is more interested in creating opportunities for all Americans and fighting for the underdog.\nRivera refuted this claim saying, "I don't know how you can be the party of the little man when you have two multi-millionaires running on a ticket together."\nThe debate started to heat up as Carmichael interrupted Rivera, saying, "George W. Bush isn't that strapped for cash either."\nRivera shot back, "At least he didn't marry into it," referring to Kerry's wealthy wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.\nThe audience began shouting comments at the stage, with some members backing up Rivera's statements while others shouted, "Bush was born into his wealth," "He failed at every business he started," and "Bush spent his money on crack."\nAs the audience calmed down, the discussion moved on to healthcare and education.\nRivera touted Bush's education policy as "amazing," and took particular note to his No Child Left Behind Act. He said Kerry has "flip-flopped" on this issue by initially voting for the act, but recently coming out against it.\nCarmichael shot back, saying the NCLB Act has been under-funded by $27 billion and would work if funded properly.\nRivera said the administration needs to make some priorities with their budget and that the nation's security was a more immediate need. Downham added that more funding isn't the answer.\n"A lot of democrats in D.C. think that if a program isn't working, it isn't funded enough," he said.\nWith the crowd cheering for both sides at different times, it was hard to determine who won the debate, but several audience members had their own opinions.\nAlpha Phi Alpha members and grad students James Taborn and Marshawn Wolley said they thought the Republicans won the debate since they had more facts to back up their arguments. On the other side, senior Jared Fallick said he thought the Democrats clearly won, judging by the audience's reaction to their comments.\nBut junior Jacob Bower-Bir said it really didn't matter who won the debate.\n"I don't think anyone in the crowd changed their mind," he said. "Everybody pretty much came here with their own ideas and they heard what they wanted to hear."\n-- Contact weekend editor Adam Aasen at aaasen@indiana.edu .