Bush supporters, Kerry supporters and swing voters all sat in unison Thursday in an Edgewood College lecture hall to watch the first 2004 presidential debate.
Despite the range of audience politics, the Debate Watch program that hotsted the viewing brought calm. The program requires its participants to remain unscathed by media influence before and after a debate, focusing only on debate content to influence opinions. After a debate, all participants break into smaller groups and discuss what they have witnessed.
\I'm just sick of the lies the media puts out there,"" said event leader and Edgewood communication arts Professor Michael Corrigan. ""We get a chance to hear what the debaters are saying and we can avoid all the spin.""
Essentially, the goal of Debate Watch is to study two things. The first is whether or not debates truly make a difference to voters and the second is how greatly the media can actually manipulate and mislead its audience into thinking a certain way.
""The media determines the agenda,"" said Debate Watch participant Buck Rhyme, ""and I think this program is a great opportunity to get out of your own skin and see things from someone else's perspective.""
Edgewood senior Travis Schwerim was pleased with the turnout from the community. ""I thought there was going to be a lot less people here, but a lot of people came and even stayed for the discussion,"" he said. He added that despite the heavily liberal atmosphere of Madison, everyone had an open mind and was willing to discuss their views and opinions.
