OU Students Speak Out Before Candidates Face Off In First Presidential Debate

Many young voters are expecting a heated presidential debate Monday night.

“I think Hillary Clinton is going to try to get under Trump’s skin and make him say something very unsavory in front of the whole nation,” said Emerson Hoagland, a student at the University of Oklahoma.

He is looking forward to the debate and is going to watch it at a watch party on campus.

Whether it’s Democratic, Republican, or other, Hoagland said this election matters the most to young voters.

“We’re about to start becoming the people who are running this country,” he said.

Topics like the job market, student loan debt, and tensions with foreign countries are all discussions Hoagland hopes to hear in the debate.

Ashley Price, also a student at OU, is excited for the debate.

“Something that is really important to me is knowing how I’m going to be represented by my own leaders and in office and the kind of plans they’re going to put forward that can influence the decisions that I might make in the future,” said Price.

Price has already made her pick for the next president, but she wants the debate to open up the conversation with young voters of all parties.

The University of Oklahoma is hosting a presidential debate watch party at 7:30 p.m. at the Bizzell Memorial Library. It is open to students, faculty and the general public.