Democratic Gubernatorial Debate

I am personally extremely interested in state and local politics and, although I am not from Virginia, the gubernatorial election this year caught my eye. Virginia is, after all, the state where I will be spending the next three years (if not more) of my life. The current election for state governor is one of the most important in the state’s history due to the current economic status of the state. This election also resonates amongst a lot of students since the College is facing significant budget cuts and it will be the job of the next governor to deal with this issue.

This past Sunday, Brian Moran, Creigh Deeds, and Terry McAulliffe visited the College for a debate sponsored by the Farm team and the College itself. These three candidates have been traveling the state and speaking to Virginians from all socio-economic backgrounds and have each stirred up a considerable amount of popular support. Despite being an extremely busy Sunday on campus (at the same time, a large group of students performed Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance in the Sunken Gardens in an attempt to break the world record), the room where the debate was held was full with press, state democratic leaders, faculty members, and students. Throughout the course of the debate, the three candidates each laid out their platforms; all three put a lot of emphasis on the need to revive the state economy and lower the increasing unemployment rate. In an attempt to be unbiased, I am not going to go into the specifics of the debate but each candidate articulated his position while receiving support (and sometimes dissatisfaction) from the audience.

William & Mary could not have been a better host for this debate; despite it being a Sunday afternoon, a time at which most students buckle down and try to finish their weekend work, a sizable group of students still showed up for this debate. Such an interest really showcases the sense of involvement characteristic of most William and Mary students. One will always find someone to engage in debate over political, moral, campus, and a whole wealth of other issues. I had a great time and the debate on Sunday and definitely learned a lot about VA state politics (along with information about the candidates) and am sure that I will have another compelling experience here at the College very soon.

Salil Singhal, Class of 2012