A “surreal” experience, indeed.
Cherry Hill native Lauren Platt was one of 300 Hofstra University students chosen to attend the second Presidential Debate on Tuesday, Oct. 16 out of more than 6,500 who entered the university’s lottery.
“Out of that many, I was one of the ones selected,” Platt, a journalism major, said.
The lottery, she said, was performed “completely at random” through personal student websites, with the only requirements for entry including being in good standing with the university and a registered voter. She learned of her ticket mere days before the debate.
The 19-year-old sophomore had a perfect view of the candidates.
She was seated far in the back of the basketball arena, but in the center.
Breathing the same air as the president, she said, was the “most incredible thing.”
Platt didn’t leave the debate with a clear opinion of either of the candidates.
“The whole debate itself, I thought it was just such a complete draw,” she said.
The third debate, which was to be held on Monday, Oct. 22, she added, would aid in making up her mind.
Having the debate on her college campus was significant to her.
“This is the future of my country,” she said, adding that she wants to make sure her vote counts. “Having (the debate) here really changed my mind on the fact that it’s something I should be more involved in.”
As for Gov. Romney’s perhaps most famous line from the debate, regarding binders filled with women, Platt and her fellow Delta Gamma sorority sisters didn’t have a noteworthy reaction at the time.
“No one even really picked up on it,” she said.
There were, however, a few times during the debate when the crowd did react, she said.
When President Obama and Romney began interrupting each other and exhibiting aggression, the crowd would start laughing.
“It was almost uncomfortable so people were just laughing,” she said. “It was intense.”
The laughter was spurred about three or four times, Platt said.
Generally, though, silence ensued from the audience due to an announcement from officials at the start.
“Please don’t ruin this experience for everyone at home,” was the message, she said. “They made that very clear.”
Hofstra’s Hempstead, N.Y., campus has been abuzz with debate fever since the beginning of the fall semester.
While Platt wasn’t yet a student in 2008, Hofstra was host to a debate, she said.
The difference this year was that one of those candidates was the current president.
“I think everyone was just in utter awe that he was on our campus,” she said.
The Secret Service had been visiting the campus for a few weeks prior to his visit, she said.
“They’ve been here just checking out all of the buildings, looking through everything,” she said.
On the day of the debate, the section of campus where the debate was to be held was closed off, as well as Hempstead Turnpike.
Security as she entered the arena wasn’t as tight as she would have imagined, as she only had to walk through a metal detector and have her bag checked, she said, but that was probably due to the FBI already finishing background checks on every visitor.
“It’s so cool to think about how much goes into it,” she said. “To keep one man so safe.”
Throughout the year, Hofstra has been filled with political events, which culminated in the debate as well as viewing parties throughout campus.
“Hosting the presidential debate is an extraordinary opportunity for our students and the entire campus and surrounding community, which is why we sought the privilege of doing this for a second time in 2012,” said Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz in an August statement. “Our goal is to make sure this experience touches as many students as possible — whether it’s by attendance at a lecture, panel discussion, or other program, watching news organizations from around the world broadcast from our campus, or volunteering for the debate itself.”
Platt, a Cherry Hill High School East graduate, said that watching a playback of the debate on TV evoked a “weird feeling” in her.
“I was in there!” she expressed. “I saw them doing all of this live.”
She had been to taping of television shows before, but this was a new experience for her.
The key word floating around her campus in recent days, she said, has been “surreal.”
“The campus has just been crazy, filled with pride, to be a Hofstra student, to be an American, to have this historic event on our campus,” Platt said.
