Piling into Rodrigue’s Coffee House and the McShane Campus Center, room 112, Fordham University students gathered in droves at debate watches hosted by the university’s College Democrats and College Republicans on Sept. 10. Last night, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off in a tense 90-minute exchange hosted on ABC News, after weeks of uncertainty about Trump’s commitment to the debate. Student opinion has been varied. This election is the first for many students on Fordham’s campus.

Attendance was overwhelming. At 9:07 p.m., just seven minutes into the debate,  Rodrigue’s announced that they had reached capacity. Standing on the entrance steps in pajamas, students who were turned away began to watch the debate on their phones. Across campus, in McShane 112, the Fordham College Republicans had run out of chairs five minutes into the debate and students were piling into the doorways to watch.

“I came here because I think it’s important to engage with a lot of the civic stuff going on in the election. The debate went the way I thought it was going to go, both candidates made the same points as usual,” said Dakota Kalkatera, FCRH ’26, who attended the College Republicans watch party. “It didn’t really change the way that I was feeling about the whole thing. I think that Trump kinda stayed on message until he got to the immigration section and then from there the vice president seemed to stay pretty collected.”

Many students said they decided to go to the watch parties for a sense of community, resonating with the new experience of watching the event in a group of people their own age.

“It almost feels like a gimmick of sorts right — and it’s not. I know that people here take it seriously, but I feel it’s so interesting because I’m used to watching debates on my own or, growing up, in my family living room,” said Lily Crean, FCRH ’27, who attended the College Democrats watch party. “It’s a lot more nuanced of an experience, having so many people here and so many people my own age. And it’s definitely refreshing, also.”

Students cheered and clapped for candidates they liked, and booed and laughed at those they disliked. Reactions erupted at key points in the debates — during a question on healthcare towards the end of the debate, simultaneous boos and cheers erupted at the Republicans and Democrats respectively.

“I’m a registered Republican, but I lean towards Independent,” said Jackie N., GSB ’26, who attended the College Republicans watch party and asked to keep her last name anonymous. She was displeased with the lack of policy discussion in the debate.

College Democrat’s watch party attendees, who largely identified as Democrats or Independents, highlighted the importance of hosting the event in Rod’s.

When asked about why he chose the College Democrat’s event over the College Republicans, Johnny Sullivan, FCRH ’27, who identifies as an Independent, said, “The Democrats have been open on many conflicts, open to discussion, open to debate. They’re just a lot more accepting of different views on different sides.”

“Organizing this event was honestly a dream,” said Dan Sponseller, FCRH ’25, president of the Fordham College Democrats. “I chose Rod’s because this is a center for people to feel like they are accepted. It is a huge center for the queer community especially, and I knew that this would be a great place to watch the debate because the message that Rod’s puts out is very similar to the message that Kamala puts out: fighting for an America where everyone can feel comfortable to be themselves.”

When asked about the issues that mattered most to them, students noted that they were paying attention to conversations on abortion, policy, climate change and the Israel-Palestine conflict. 

“Abortion is a really big issue that I’m super passionate about,” said Ella Bogdahn, FCRH ’25, a member of the College Democrats. “It just makes me sad to see Donald Trump talking about the abortion post bringing a child to term. It was nice to see a woman weighing in on those issues on the debate stage because historically we haven’t really seen that.” 

Students focused on how each candidate responded to questions and reacted to disagreement.

“I think that Kamala Harris is spewing an emotional conversation to reach out to people that are in difficult situations in their life and she is using emotional tactics to persuade them. Trump is basing his arguments on facts, such as the southern border, such as the fact that the war in Ukraine and Israel would have never started and the facts that he is pro-life and doesn’t want any wars,” said Stefan Stojanovic, FCRH ’26, who attended the College Republicans watch party. 

“I think candidate Harris seems to me a lot more coherent with what she’s saying and what she wants to do with the country. Part of her thing is that we’re not going back, whereas Donald Trump kind of seems caught up on things that have already happened — like the invasion of Ukraine. He’s really hung up on [things] like ‘if I was president it wouldn’t have happened’ — and I don’t feel like those kinds of conversations are helpful,” said Elise Elder, FCRH ’27, a registered Democrat who attended the College Democrats watch party.  

Not all students considered themselves Trump or Harris supporters. 

“Donald Trump made me laugh a lot, he’s a really funny guy. I think it was cool to see Kamala Harris talk because she doesn’t talk to the media or anything, she only talks in her rallies and she can just say whatever she wants there,” said Harris Mihalatos, GSB ’28, who attended the College Republicans watch party. “Me specifically, I’m a big RFK guy, so since he endorsed Trump, I’m just full team Trump, so I think I’m sticking with that.” 

Some students used the watch parties as a way to get caught up on politics.

“I don’t have a TV,” said Ben Bo, FCRH ’27, who attended the College Republicans watch party, “I haven’t really kept up with it. I felt this was the time to hear both sides out.” 

Students from both sides felt that their candidates could have done better.  

Charlie, who asked to only be identified by his first name, GSB ’26, who attended the College Republicans watch party, said, “There were no policies, it was just arguments, and that’s not good for the country. We don’t want arguments, we want things getting done.”