In the past decade or so, college campuses have become the preferred sites for America's quadrennial presidential and vice-presidential debates. The colleges provide the debates with the necessary facilities and support staff, as well as with a certain gravitas and respectability.
But what do the colleges get?
A hefty price tag, for one thing. This year three institutions are playing host to a debate for the first time: Miami, Case Western Reserve University, and Arizona State University. Each expects to spend upward of $2.5-million. (The fourth, Washington University in St. Louis, which has served as a location for two previous debates, predicts that it will spend a lot less than that.) Among the costs are a $750,000 fee to the Commission on Presidential Debates, the event's sponsor, and numerous upgrades of the campus infrastructure. There are also intangible costs, mainly the inconveniences for almost everyone caused by security, even though few get to watch the debate in person.
For all that, colleges get a publicity bonanza. Presidential debates have become mammoth media circuses that last for several days and attract some 2,500 journalists. Campuses are transformed into sets for live broadcasts by the television networks and 24-hour news channels, much the same way ESPN uses screaming college students and football stadiums as backdrops for its live "College GameDay" broadcasts. There is a packed calendar of events, presidential candidates thanking the university on national television, and, of course, the institution's name plastered on everything, including bottled water for the horde of reporters. Organizers of the Miami debate even gave the event a theme: "Celebrating American Democracy and Diversity."
Campus officials hope that the hoopla will resonate long after the candidates have uttered their final words.
"We certainly get a lot of visibility," says Ms. Shalala, who coveted the first debate because it usually garners the largest television audience.
But others say the benefit of having such an event is debatable.
"Some people see this as a marketing coup, but I can't say strongly enough that's the worst reason to do it," says M. Fredric Volkmann, vice chancellor for public affairs at Washington University and a member of the university's debate-planning committee. "A single event like this does not have the transforming ability to change a college's reputation."
A debate is probably the single biggest event to which a college will ever play host. For planning purposes, think commencement, major football game, rock concert, and freshman move-in day rolled into one.
Holding the debates on college campuses is a relatively new arrangement. (This is only the second time that all of the debates in an election year have been held on campuses.) One reason the debate commission favors such a location is that the colleges get students involved as volunteers and plan other activities intended to help spark an interest in politics among young people. Campuses also have the ready-made infrastructure -- arenas, large open spaces, and plenty of phone lines and Internet connections.
"Our job is to make sure it's ready," Mr. Volkmann says.
For college officials, having one's institution selected as a debate site is akin to a city's being awarded the Olympic Games. The process begins more than a year and half before the election, when colleges that want to serve as a debate location submit proposals to the commission. Of the 14 bids the panel received for this fall's debates, all but two came from colleges. Members of the commission visited the potential sites before announcing their choices last November.
One fear that host colleges have is reliving what happened to Washington University in 1996. It was to be the site of the first debate between President Clinton and Sen. Bob Dole in late September. But it was canceled -- with just four days to go -- after the two campaigns reached an agreement that called for one fewer debate than the commission had planned.
The same thing almost happened this year, when aides to President Bush and Sen. John Kerry came down to the wire in negotiating a debate agreement. One of the problems reportedly was that Mr. Bush's campaign wanted to eliminate the second debate, the one planned for Washington University. In the end, the commission's original debate schedule prevailed.
Even when the debate is a go, the host institutions are kept on edge about how many tickets they will get. Admissions are evenly divided among the two political parties and the commission. The commission gives part of its allotment to the host institution, but that number is usually not known until the day of the debate.
| • | A Debatable Return
Colleges spend millions on playing host to presidential debates. What do they get out of it? Chronicle of Higher Education, Friday, Oct. 15, 2004 Byline: Jeffrey Selingo |
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