An uncommon silence fell over the Nugget Grill and Pub Tuesday night as students and faculty focused their eyes on the second of the three presidential debates.
After what was widely considered a disappointing performance in the first debate against Mitt Romney, the pressure was on President Obama to convince undecided voters that he is the correct choice for leader of the United States.
Romney and Obama fielded questions in a town hall format from a group of 82 voters who claimed to be undecided so far about whom they will vote for this November. Some of the topics included the struggling economy, the education system, energy, women’s rights, immigration and gun control.
Associated Students Inc. Vice President Jonathon Bolin was in attendance at the Nugget and handed out pizza to the students who showed up to watch the debate.
“Obama came out with vigor and really took the gloves off this time around,” Bolin said. “You can tell Obama really wants to unleash on Romney, but he is always playing it safe in an attempt to get some of the undecided voters.”
When asked if there were any topics that could have been handled more effectively, Bolin said, “Obama missed the chance to be a champion for women and women’s rights, but he redirected the question back to education. He could have brought up Planned Parenthood more instead of changing the subject.”
Other students agreed that Obama’s performance was an improvement over the last presidential debate, which is one of the reasons why most students will be voting for him.
“I think Obama was much better this time because he was more aggressive,” senior political science major Alyssa Flores said. “He finally called Romney out when he was lying.”
Some international students also had an opinion on the debate.
“I hope Obama wins the election because the policies of the United States affect the entire world,” Tony Reimlenger, an economics major from Germany, said. “[Obama’s] policy of sustainability and growth is much better than Romney’s and very important.”
Elizabeth Juarez, a women’s studies major, was unimpressed by Obama in the first debate but thought he improved during Tuesday’s debate.
“This time, Obama was expected to do much better and he did,” Juarez said. “Romney stumbled a few times, but Obama was more direct and explained what he would do. Romney brought up what he would change but failed to explain how he would do it.”
Romney’s emphasis on his religion was also an important factor to students watching the debate.
“The country is made up of so many cultures and so many religions, to focus mainly on Christianity is just wrong,” Juarez said.
After the first presidential debate, the general agreement was that Romney was the clear winner. However, many students said Romney’s image was weakened by Tuesday’s debate.
“[Romney] just came across as a phony,” Bolin said.