Centre College President John A. Roush, right, announces Oct. 31 that the college will host its second national vice-presidential debate. The college has planned a student debate, which will focus on the role of government in society, for Feb. 9. Brian Klosterboer, president of Centre's Student Government Association, is at left. (File photo/Clay Jackson/cjackson@amnews.com / February 2, 2012) |
Centre College will host a student debate as a prelude to “The Rivalry,” the next show to be performed at the Norton Center for the Arts.
The student debate, which will focus on the role of government in society, will be held at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 9 at Weisiger Theater and will be moderated by Jody Lassiter, president and chief executive officer of the Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership.
The event will include Centre sophomore Lucas Wetton, who is a double major in philosophy and government and president of the Centre Republicans; David Miller, a junior history major and president of the Centre Democrats; and Alec Hudson, a sophomore government major/French minor who is president of Centre Young Democratic Socialists.
The one-hour debate will cover topics such as state vs. federal law and the government's role in education and economics intervention, among other issues.
The debate is free and open to the public.
"The Rivalry," a radio play written by Norman Corwin covering the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in the 1850s as they compete for a U.S. Senate seat, will be performed at the Norton Center for the Arts at 8 p.m. Feb. 10.
As part of the visit by the highly-acclaimed LA Theatre Works, the Norton Center and Centre College will offer a number of related activities for community youth, adults and college students, including the moderated debate between the Centre Republicans and Centre Democrats.
Centre has a well-established history as an ideal place for debates to be held. In 2000, the college made history as the smallest institution ever to host a national general election debate. The two vice-presidential candidates at the time, Joe Lieberman and Dick Cheney, faced one another in the Norton Center’s Newlin Hall. The event, dubbed the “Thrill in the ’Ville,” was a tremendous success, heralded by former CBS news anchor Dan Rather as “the best vice-presidential debate ever held.”
After the 2000 debate concluded, Janet Brown, executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, said “Centre has set the standard by which future debates will be judged.”
This year, Centre will again host a general election debate, which will take place Oct. 11 at the Norton Center.
SO YOU KNOW
Centre Student Debate
Moderated by Jody Lassiter, president of Danville-Boyle County EDP
11:30 a.m., Feb. 9, Weisiger Theatre
Admission is free; open to the public
