College Republicans Show Mettle, Grace in Debate Against Democrats

Nathaniel Thomas, NY - Writer

On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the GW College Democrats and GW College Republicans participated in yet another campus debate. Despite an agitated, one-sided audience and a College Democrat cohort indifferent, if not actively hostile, to the rules of the debate, College Republican debaters Colin Slechta and Paul Lieb effectively stated the GOP’s agenda of a safer, more prosperous nation for every American. Where the Democrats focused on hunting quotable moments and riling up the partisan crowd, the Republican debaters stayed calm and clearly stated their case.

Unlike the previous campus debate, which featured active audience participation, this was a much more traditional two-versus-two conversation, including frequent rebuttals and direct interaction.

The decorum of the debate was immediately violated when the opening speaker for the College Democrats flagrantly ignored his time constraint, and was rewarded by a long ovation. Regardless, Slechta delivered an excellent, evidence-based response, defending the Trump administration’s record on immigration, tariffs, and national security.

The debate quickly devolved into verbal brawling and nonsensical demands for sources, including questioning whether 401 (k) s are actually tied to the stock market. Nevertheless, the College Republicans repeatedly stated their arguments, which were indeed backed by statistics and studies, and effectively picked apart the Democrats’ arguments.

A major moment of the debate came late, when Lieb pointed out, “Yesterday was Veterans’ Day. I know what we did for Veterans’ Day: we had several of our members stand in the 30-degree weather, we signed 50 letters, and donated over $500 to veterans. We looked at their Instagram page, did they post a single post for Veterans’ Day?” - and, as later confirmed, the answer was no.

Slechta concluded the debate by giving a recap of the night’s arguments and quoting President Trump’s first inaugural address: “Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo”.

However, at the end of the night, after all the debating and shouting were over, both parties came together to encourage students to join a lobbying campaign for mental health legislation, and even sing “Happy Birthday” to College Democrats President Emily Ann-Santiago. Despite the partisan crowd, the debate was a success in fostering free speech and communication across political aisles.

“I think we had a great night tonight, and I’m glad everyone came out," Lieb said after his performance. "We had a fiery, but well-spirited debate, and I think we need more of this in America to promote freedom of speech.”

“I thought we had the upper hand tonight - open debate is what this country is all about," GW College Republicans Chairman, Kieran Laffey, said. "Great to see everyone here. Very proud of our two debaters, they crushed it.”