Wichita State students watching the vice presidential debate live in the Rhatigan Student Center said the contest between Tim Walz and JD Vance on Tuesday night was far more respectful than the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump less than a month before.
Similarly, the students watching the debate were more quiet and attentive than the students during the presidential debate event.
“It’s refreshing to see an actual debate going on,” said Harris/Walz supporter Christopher Montford, who also attended the presidential debate event. “They’re a lot more friendly to each other than the presidential debate a couple of weeks ago.”
Sixty-five students — less than half of the attendance of the presidential debate watch party — came to the RSC for the event. While there were some visible and audible reactions to the mostly policy-focused debate, there was much less laughing and yelling compared to the presidential one.
The decorum reflected the behavior of the candidates on screen, who repeatedly made a point of agreeing with each other and mostly refrained from name-calling.
Audience makeup
The room was mostly filled with Harris/Walz supporters. Unlike the presidential debate, there was not a contingent of people wearing Make America Great Again merchandise. Still, some Trump supporters attended the watch party.
Ryan Whalen planned on voting for Trump before and after the debate. He said Tuesday’s VP debate was far more substantive than the presidential one.
“I really liked (Vance’s) policy discussions,” Whalen said. “Like, honestly, this is how I wish Trump had performed in the last debate.”
Like Whalen, Jeshae Taylor, a Harris/Walz supporter, said she had her mind made up before the debate.
Taylor, a freshman studying music performance, chose to go live on Instagram, encouraging her followers to vote for Kamala Harris.
“I just needed people to understand how important it just is to go out and vote and let their voices be heard,” Taylor said.
Taylor said one major reason she supports Harris is her stance on abortion, a topic that Harris and Walz were asked about during their debates.
“I just love that Kamala is basically saying that she’s with us, the people and that she cares about what we care about,” Taylor said. “And I just think that Trump doesn’t care about anybody but himself and, like, the rich people.”
Live reactions
While most students remained quiet, a few moments during the debate, like when the microphones of both candidates were muted during a discussion on immigration, were met with laughter.
“That part that was so laughable because it was like, ‘Y’all was disrespectful, so y’all on mute,’” Taylor said.
Some in the audience also laughed when the moderators brought up Trump saying he had “concepts” of a health care plan in the previous debate.
Walz ended his closing remarks by saying “I humbly ask for your vote on Nov. 5 for Kamala Harris,” which received a round of applause. Vance’s closing remarks also received some scattered applause.
James Quinn, a student who repeatedly interjected against Vance during the debate, was shushed by peers each time he spoke. He said he opposes the Trump/Vance ticket in part because the campaign spreads false information such as Donald Trump’s claim about pets being eaten in Springfield, Illinois.
“It’s like blatant lying every time they speak,” Quinn said.
‘Common sense solutions’
William Crawford, who sat with Whalen and supports Trump, said he was surprised by how much the candidates agreed during the debate — especially on economic and energy production issues.
“It just shows that, I mean, we’re not as far divided as we are (portrayed), and that ultimately, I think people just want common sense solutions,” he said.
To Crawford, part of the reason he “got a lot more” out of this debate was because he said the moderators were less involved in fact-checking the candidates.
“In this debate, it was more fair,” he said. “It was a little better.”
Montford said while both candidates had “pretty strong performances,” the debate didn’t change his mind on the candidates. He said that will probably be the case for a lot of voters.
“I don’t think the outcome (of the debate) will really matter,” Montford said. “It won’t affect the election.”