Meredith
October 23rd, 2002
ERALD
Volume XVIV, Issue 8
Meredith serves as backdrop for long-
awaited Senate debate
CHRISTY
SADLER
Managing Editor
North Carolina's hottest
political race came to
Meredith on Monday,
October 10, when U.S.
Senate hopefuls Erskine
Bowles and Elizabeth Dole
held their first debate on
campus.
The debate was held in
Jones Auditorium and was
co-produced by local sta
tions WRAL (CBS) and
WTVD (ABC). The moder
ators for the debate were
David Crabtree of WRAL
and Larry Stogner of
WTVD.
The debate was not open
to the public or the media.
Only guests and staff of the
two candidates were pres
ent, along with the televi
sion crews and three repre
sentatives of the College:
Dr. James Piazza, assistant
professor of politics; Lora
Tillman, SGA president;
and Rory Mueller and
Sherry Tompkins assistants
to the President. According
to Kristi Eaves-McLennan
of the Office of Marketing
and Communications, two
members of the debate com
mittee were also allowed
inside just before the
debate.
According to Piazza, who
chaired the debate commit
tee, Meredith's Office of
Marketing and
Communications and
Hartford made contact with
the two campaigns to offer
Meredith as a host site for
any potential debates. Other
members of the committee
included Mueller, Eaves-
McLennan and Melyssa
Allen of the Office of
Marketing and
Communications, Martha
Harrell of the Office of
Campus Events, Meredith
Police Chief Frank
Strickland, Bill Brown from
the theatre department, and
Tom Sherry and Harry
Cadman of maintenance
and grounds.
"The Dole campaign was
the first to contact
Meredith," said Piazza.
"They actually talked with
Meredith and issued a press
release announcing that the
debate was going to occur
without talking to the
Bowles side."
Despite this misunder
standing, the Bowles cam
paign was also receptive to
holding the debate at
Meredith, and the plan was
able to move forward.
and the College were not as
simple.
"The campaign managers
of both campaigns met with
Dr. Hartford and myself,
along with representatives
of WRAL and WTVD, on
Professor Jim Piazza and SGA President Lora
Tillman welcomed Bowles and Dole to Meredith.
PHOTOS BY MARKETING &
COMMUNICATIONS
However, according to
Piazza, negotiations
between the two candidates
the Wednesday before the
debate and laid out their
conditions," Piazza said.
These conditions included a
ban on media and on a pub
lic audience at the debate,
which would be taped to air
across the state at 7 p.m.
that night.
"Dr. Hartford and 1 were
quite surprised and disap
pointed," Piazza said. He
described both camps as
"firm" in their conditions
and said, "while we wanted
and argued for student
involvement in the debates
(our original plan was to
have students in the audi
ence, students working as
ushers, students asking
questions), that was some
thing that both campaigns
were absolutely not willing
to have."
"The original conception
was for Meredith students
to be the ones actually ask
ing the questions of the can
didates," said Tillman.
"That would have given the
state and the nation a chance
Continued on
Page 7
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