By: Luke Worsham
Several Belmont students enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime experience during Oct. 22’s Presidential Debate.
Leading up to the debate between former vice president Joe Biden and incumbent president Donald Trump, Belmont students had the opportunity to volunteer to work various stations in and around the debate. Over 280 students volunteered, according to a report by WRCB.
While some volunteers served in parking garages, the media tent and other areas of Belmont’s campus, others got to work inside the Curb Event Center and witness the debate firsthand.
Communication Studies major, Katie Kaminski served on the media team, and Corporate Communications major, Adreanna Parlette, served as the stand-in for moderator, Kristen Welker. Parlette gave an interview to News Channel 5 about her experience.
Among the students inside the debate hall was sophomore international politics and Spanish major Aaron Kleinschmidt, who served as an usher.
“I got to be on the floor beforehand, watch guys come in, help them go where they needed to go, that sort of thing,” Kleinschmidt said. “Then, I got to watch it, which was just insane, and, honestly, I wasn’t expecting that opportunity.”
Junior computer science major Mark Boyles also served as an usher and got to watch the debate.
“Being there in person watching the debate was a surreal experience,” Boyles said. “I never thought I would get to be part of something like that.”
Volunteers didn’t necessarily have to work in positions inside the debate hall to get a taste of the action, though.
Sophomore theater student Ellen Adalaide’s job working a security post at the Troutt Theater allowed her to have face-to-face interactions with a number of major political figures, celebrities and media members, including the debate’s moderator, Kristen Welker of NBC News.
“I got to check in, oh my goodness, almost all of Trump’s personal campaign staff,” Adalaide said.
“I did get to scan in the moderator, John Daly, Kid Rock, Nikki Haley, and many people from CNN and C-SPAN.”
Though the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in a lot of the debate organizer’s original plans, the show had to go on, and it had to do so safely.
Senior music business major Rebecca Rodwell was nervous, at first, about whether the debate hall would be a safe environment, but she felt much more comfortable after getting some assurance from Belmont president Bob Fisher.
“Dr. Fisher, before the debate started, basically said, ‘of all the places you could be in America, being in the debate hall was the actual safest place,’ because you had members of the Secret Service, members of the FBI, and the extreme temperature checks,” Rodwell said.
“The guidelines were followed and being enforced.”
Overall, despite the challenges brought on by the coronavirus, the debate was a success, both for Belmont and the students who had a unique and thrilling experience.
“I am sort of lamenting the fact that more students couldn’t be involved or up-close,” Kleinschmidt said.
“But I would say, personally, it was still probably one of the most memorable experiences, or the most memorable experience, of my undergrad career.”
Cover image: Sam Simpkins/Belmont University