By Megan Clancy ’07
In a world of increasing political polarity, it’s reassuring to know that there are still places where civil discourse can happen across party lines. Thankfully, one of those places is Colorado College.
On the evening of Friday, September 15, a group of students came together in Taylor Theatre on the CC campus to witness two of their classmates discuss and debate some of the most important topics affecting our country today. Zoraiz Zafar ’24, a Mathematical Economics major, argued the Libertarian position while Caitlin Soch ’24, an International Political Economy major, debated the progressive side.
The event was completely student-organized and student-run. From pre-event marketing to lights, sound, photography, and video on the night, it was all CC students. The debate was hosted by Cutler Publications, the independent, student-run non-profit that funds and oversees CC’s student publications (including the student newspaper, The Catalyst), and the planning and production was done by a group of students headed by Cutler Publications President, Zeke Lloyd ’24.
“We wanted to host an event for young professionals in our community, an opportunity for students to transform into videographers, moderators, journalists, and political experts,” Lloyd says. “We also wanted to educate and inform the student body on the range of perspectives which exist not only around the country, but also right here on campus.”
The moderators for the evening were Catalyst Co-Editor in Chief, Isabella Ingersoll ’25 and Catalyst News Editor, Marynn Krull ’26. The event crew was completed by Debate Fact Checker, and Catalyst Co-Editor in Chief, Michael Braithwaite ’24, who was at stage-right with his computer, at the ready for any clarification or fact-checking needs. The theater was entirely full with CC students.
“The purpose of this evening is to encourage intellectual conversation outside of the classroom,” Ingersoll stated during her opening remarks. “We want to showcase the unique ideas of this generations thinkers.”
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The Peak to read the entire story and watch a recording of the debate.
