Students at the University of Nevada had a chance to meet local candidates Tuesday night and hear what they have to say about higher education, jobs and the economy.
The event gave college students, who are probably voting in their first presidential election, a chance to air concerns that don't always get addressed.
Kathryn Merrill served as the moderator for the town hall meeting. "For students it's best to bring this to them," said Merrill. "It's best because they have classes and it's difficult for them to do a lot of research on their own."
Students got to hear a brief introduction from each candidate, then - through the moderator - the young voters asked questions that matter to them. Questions like, what the candidates will do to create jobs for graduates and improve the economy.
UNR Junior Adam Kahn came to hear the candidates speak. "I was hoping to find out some of the candidates' platforms on education," said Kahn. "A lot of them have their rhetoric of saying they want to improve education. If they didn't say that, it would be political suicide."
Even college students say they're tired of the attack ads and want to hear directly from the people running for office. Fatema Azmee is a freshman at UNR. She has seen the negative ads. "I want to see what they really stand for instead of what they've done bad or what they say they're going to do, and get face to face instead of their campaign ads," said Azmee.
The candidates were given 90 seconds to answer questions, and make an impression that could turn into votes on November 6th. ASUN Assistant Director of Legislative Affairs Ben Pelt helped organize the forum. "We hope the students leave here with a well-informed idea of what these candidates stand for and we hope that will help when they go to cast their votes," said Pelt.
The town hall-style forum was put on by the ASUN department of legislative affairs. They also plan to host a watch party for students on election night.
Written by Jennifer Burton
