Student groups prepare for debate over borders, tax cuts

The Young Democrats and College Republicans are holding a debate today on U.S. border security and the effectiveness of the Bush tax cuts.

The event will take place in Gowen 201 at 7 p.m. The topics of debate will include the increase in physical barriers along the U.S./Mexico border and whether the Bush tax cuts have helped or harmed the United States, said College Republicans vice president Jake Foxcurran. Members of the Young Democrats and College Republicans will defend their parties' stances on each topic.

The topics were chosen after discussion by both groups.

"Every quarter we sit down with the College Republicans and decide on our topics," said Alicia LeVezu, president of the Young Democrats. Tax cuts and border control were chosen this time, though other topics discussed included the environment and sexual education, LeVezu said.

The debate will be more about the big picture for the United States than legislative minutia. Citing the recently passed bill authorizing building physical barriers across 700 miles of the U.S./Mexico border, Max Wagner, vice president of the Young Democrats, noted that it hadn't been given any money and that there remained a lot of border to cover, making this still a debatable topic.

"It's not just about the bill, but about the whole issue," Wagner said.

In preparation, both sides are brainstorming and trying to guess what the other organization will bring to the podium on Wednesday. The line-up for the Young Democrats is already chosen and includes new members Garrett Troy and Rohan Singh.

"They're really smart and I'm really excited to see them debate," Wagner said. The club spent its last meeting working together and split into teams for the debate.

The College Republicans are researching and working en masse, but so far Foxcurran has taken the lead on tax cuts and Dan Murdock, the College Republicans' president, is working on border security.

"We're trying to put ourselves in their heads," Foxcurran said, "[and] make our case while we disprove theirs at the same time."

The format for this quarter's debate will be slightly different than previous debates. At the end there will be a ten-minute section to address written questions from the audience. Formerly this was just verbal.

The event promises to be "really spirited and should be fun to watch even if you aren't into politics or debate," Wagner said.

The event is free and open to the public.

"It's usually pretty entertaining and informative," LeVezu said.

Contributing writer Kass Bessert: news@thedaily.washington.edu