Word on Campus: What was it like inside of the vice presidential debate hall?
A: The Rotunda Editor-in-Chief Halle Parker says…
Above is a live video feed from after the debate when people began to take photos again and wait in line to hug and/or shake the hand of the vice presidential candidates. Below is my description of the event, hopefully, it adds some insight to my readers and sets the scene through my own eyes:
“From Farmville, Virginia, I’m Elaine Quijano of CBS News. Good night.”
A final, lasting applause erupted in the chilly debate hall as moderator Elaine Quijano officially ended the sole vice presidential debate of the 2016 election cycle.
Indiana Governor Mike Pence and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine shook hands. The audience rose for their our third standing ovation of the night. The anchors of major media outlets immediately began broadcasting their reactions.
Then within moments, the handshake was over, the spectators shuffled away and the media focus turned to spin alley.
Just like that, one of the most significant moments for Longwood University ended. The event that captivated campus for over a year was over.
As a student inside the debate hall, I recognized I had witnessed history for both Longwood and the country.
I heard the laughter within the hall not through a television set, but firsthand as the people behind me roared. I shook the Pence’s hand and took a photo with his wife and him. For a ticket holder, we began our evening in Lancer Park, being turned away if our bags were too large, going through security checks in our fine clothing and piling onto school buses to the waiting area in Bedford Hall.
We were welcomed with small café-style finger sandwiches, an array of cookies and chips as well as coffee and water to hold our anxious stomachs before we filed into the debate hall.
In front of the student side of Willett Hall stood the stage and broadcast media platforms were raised opposite to the scene. The sight was unfamiliar, but in conjunction with the plush red carpeting, tall cameras and screen-laiden control center in the middle of the room, basketball hoops would have been more out of place.
As the Commission of Presidential Debates warned the audience to remain quiet during the debate, chatter began behind our heads. The anchors began their pre-debate coverage from within the hall.
As a student pursuing a career in journalism, the entirety of hosting the debate engaged me. Specifically, within the hall, the production and technical aspect of broadcast media surrounded us. From the reporters above us to the photojournalists in front to the cameramen stationary, standing atop huge camera mounts like a soldier would on a massive machine gun.
The media spectacle was incredible. As basic as everything appears on a small, rectangular screen in the living room, the simplistic representation removes a viewer’s understanding of the complexities behind broadcasting live.
Some of the photos taken by the credentialed photographers in the hall found their way to newspaper cover pages the next day, outside of their immediate usage for media outlet web content.
Around 300 people shared my experience, close to a third of them were fellow students. In a school of over 5,000, five percent of current students had the once in a lifetime opportunity not only to be written into their alma mater’s eternal memoirs, but also watch an influential debate during a whirlwind election year that may potentially alter our political system forever.
And we were a part of it.
To recognize the larger picture at play was overwhelming at first, but thrilling, not daunting.
Throughout the entirety of the night’s buildup, I observed those around me. A husband documented the evening with a photo next to his wife with a reluctant happiness. Adults gathered in threes at standing café tables in the holding area, discussing their stances on “the issues.” Students posted their debate hall selfies to social media, searching for the best angle. A Secret Service agent scolded a man after he leaned a little too far over the agent’s head to photograph the vice presidential candidates after the debate.
We are all connected by a once in a lifetime experience so few of us received.
There will never be another 2016 vice presidential debate.
Tune in next Friday for the next “Word on Campus” post; never be afraid to walk up to me ask a question! Right now, I’m looking at a potential post about developments with the Weyanoke, so make sure you check back in!
