By Jessica Lewis, News Editor
The University has paired up with Newsday and News12 to hold the first debate of the 2010 New York State gubernatorial election. The debate is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. in the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
“We have been working and trying to plan it for months and we have a program with Newsday and News12 called Renew New York,” said Melissa Connolly, Vice President for University Relations.
Renew New York is a partnership between Newsday, News12 and The University whose goal is to look at issues in New York. Looking at these issues is intended to make New Yorkers aware of issues that they should be concerned about going into the election season, as well as encourage New Yorkers to participate in civic programs and government forums and allow voters to make an educated vote in the November elections.
“They’re [Newsday and News12] focusing on producing the questions and journalism part, and we are concentrating on hosting it and making sure that there are students in the hall and stuff like that, so it’s a good partnership,” Connolly said. “We have been working on it for a while, trying to get commitments for a while, although the serious conversations didn’t start until after the primary was over.”
It was announced on Oct. 7 that the University would be hosting the debate, and all of candidates confirmed attendance, including Democratic and Republican Party primary winners Andrew Cuomo and Carl Paladino.
The University hopes that hosting the debate will positively engage the student body in something beyond the Hofstra community. “It is an opportunity to introduce students to leaders, in this case at the state level, and get them involved in an event that matters to the state or country, not just here at Hofstra, and get them interacting with people at a different level,” Connolly said. “It is not just an internship or a classroom experience, they [the debates] are always energizing for the campus and they bring a lot of opportunities for people to meet other people.”
