A slice of pizza while lounging on an armchair only enhances the appetite for debates.
Associated Students, Inc. hosted the first Pizza & Debate political discussion at the University Student Union game room. It was an opportunity for students to register to vote and review gubernatorial candidates Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman during the live governor debate.
“Yeah!”
That was the shout of a student at the gubernatorial candidate’s mention of the CSU and UC systems.
The great pizza debate, however, is a different story for students at Cal State Long Beach when more relevant topics such as state budget cuts and education are discussed.
CSULB has also pledged to register at least 10 percent of the student population, but will continue to have a friendly competition against Cal State Fullerton in an attempt to get more registered student voters.
“In my Greek mythology class, a classmate made an announcement regarding voter registration,” freshman zoology major Shelly Quijada said. “After the SOLO Minds meeting, I went downstairs and got so excited because it’s my first time to be able to vote. I also got a free shirt and slice of pizza!”
At the special live broadcast, topics included welfare, death penalty laws, jobs and energy policies. Brown used straightforward comic relief to dispel Whitman’s unsupported hard facts.
“I was here before the event was set up,” senior biology education and microbiology major Rosie Aparacio said. “I always have to keep up-to-date, even though I already know who I’m voting for.”
Pizza & Debate is was formally called Beer & Politics but had to change its name because the title was in use by another club.
“I was surprised to hear that ASI was hosting an event with our name,” said Michael Clements CSULB alumni and Beer & Politics creator. “Upon calling them, however, they informed me that another name was being used due to the word ‘beer.’ If they had not been censored, however, would they have continued to use the name of our group? Luckily, that question has been avoided and ASI let me know it was not their intent.”
Less than 50 students that were at Pizza & Debate tuned in to ABC 7’s broadcast of the first special live debate between former California Gov. Brown and former eBay CEO Whitman.
The debate took place at UC Davis, which is relatable to students from state-funded universities.
Pizza & Debate is part of the education for the state-funded school, said Kim Tabari, ASI assistant director of student involvement and leadership.
Brown said the CSU and UC system are at the top of the list.
“I identify more with Brown because he has the same beliefs as me, as a student and as a part of the Latino community,” senior journalism major Karla Sosa said. “With Whitman and her ads, she says one thing on the Spanish channels and another thing on the English channels.”
The 2010 California gubernatorial election will take place on Nov. 2, and the winner of the election will succeed Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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