Collegiate Times

Days before the national election, Virginia Tech students sparred in a debate representing the real candidates for president.

The fourth annual "Great Debate" presented by the Political Science Club was two hours of discussion between members of the Young Democrats, College Republicans, and the Libertarians at Tech.

The debate, moderated by John Gray Williams of PSC, was held in Squires Colonial at 7 p.m. PSC President Nick Snider said the club hoped to see a crowd of 200-250, which may have fallen short by 50-100. Whatever the numbers, the debaters did not tiptoe around the issues.

Those involved discussed four topics that are arguably foremost in voters' minds - the economy and the bailout plan, the War on Terror, energy independence, and health care. One of the most heated moments of the debate, if not the most intense, came when College Republican Barqawi Adnanb, a senior business management major from the Middle East, explained to the crowd the mindset of the terrorists.

He said radical Muslims are taught from birth that "the West should be attacked in every way, shape, or form."

"I speak from being there, living there, and understanding the Middle Eastern ideology and how an Arab thinks," Adnanb said. "My mother's greatest dream is for me to die as a martyr."

Adnanb also noted that Obama "lies through his teeth" about the timeline of bringing troops home.

"It will take us no less than decades to get out of Iraq," Adnanb said, adding that removing troops from the Middle East would cause a civil war.

Young Democrats disagreed with this, stating that the withdrawal of troops will not cause chaos.

One issue that did create chaos was the first of the night: the struggling economy and the Congress' fairly newly passed bailout plan.

"The path toward any economic recovery plan starts with job creation," Young Democrat and sophomore international studies major Jason Sarfati said.

He explained that his candidate, Democratic nominee Barack Obama, would stabilize home prices and allow banks to re-engage on their balance sheets.

"It's going to be impossible to fix the mess on Wall Street without fixing it on Main Street," Sarfati said, adding that Obama will bring a "complete fundamental change from the failed policies of the last four years."

He ended with the statement that many Obama supporters are trying to drive home - "Barack Obama is not going to raise your taxes unless you make more than $250,000 a year," Sarfati said.

Libertarian and sophomore economics major Dustin Klang was in complete opposition of the bailout plan.

"Socialism is defined as a system or condition of society in which the means of society is controlled by the state," Klang said. "The bailout is ... by definition socialism."

College Republican Chair Carlin Crowder agreed.

Referring to Obama's now-popular statement about how he wishes to "spread the wealth" around, Crowder said, "If that's not socialism, I don't know what is."

Before any of the sparring started, Williams began the night with a speech in memory of Vice President of Student Affairs Zenobia Hikes, who passed away Monday.

"The world lost a hero yesterday," Williams said, referring to her as "one of the most courageous, passionate, driven, and dedicated women I have ever known".

"She was not an authoritative leader, but she commanded respect," Williams said. "She lit up the room when she walked in it. Virginia Tech has suffered a lot since last year, and now it suffers again."