The September 26th Presidential Debate Is Upon Us

By Victoria Robertson on September 26, 2016

It’s time everyone!

That’s right, the first presidential debate is underway tonight at 9 p.m. EST starring everyone’s favorites: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

If we’re being honest, this election has been a worst-case scenario, both for Democrats and Republicans, so it’s likely that tonight’s debate is going to be one everyone will be tuning in for. That includes you, college students.

While it’s easy to say, “They’re both awful, I’m not voting,” that’s not the most intelligent choice. At the very least, tuning in to watch the debate and learn a little bit more about the issues at hand will do everyone some good.

So for those of you that aren’t familiar with the issues, and are looking to see what will come up during tonight’s debate, you’re in luck!

Photo Via: http://i1.wp.com

Take a look below for everything college students need to know about tonight’s debate!

1. The Moderator: The debate will be held at Hofstra University in New York and Lester Holt, whom you may recognize from NBC’s Nightly News, will be moderating the debate between Clinton and Trump. And he has already released the three topics that will be under discussion: America’s Direction, Achieving Prosperity and Securing America.

With this format, there will be six, 15-minute segments and each topic will take up two of these segments. That being said, don’t worry about commercials, because this 90-minute program does not have any. So you have 90 minutes of good, TV drama.

2. The Issues: The issues most likely to come up are as follows: National Security, Immigration, The Economy, Child Care and Foreign Relations.

With national security, you’re likely to hear about the recent bombings in NYC and NJ as well as the differences between the terrorism approach and the “let’s investigate first” approach. Also, you’ll be hearing a lot about ISIS as well as the Iraq war.

With immigration, you’re going to hear about that wall that we’re beginning to hate as well as the pathway to citizenship. In other words, there’s going to be some very strong opposition here with no in-between.

With the economy, you’ll hear about bringing jobs back to the U.S., Obama’s trade deal, and Trump’s bankruptcy and inability to sympathize with anyone other than the 1 percent. *The anti-Bernie

With child care, Trump will be arguing for tax breaks and paid leave for new moms and Clinton will be doing the same for both moms and dads, which would result in a tax increase.

Foreign relations will consist of talks of nuclear war and the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Also, the “bromance” between Trump and Russian President Valdmir Putin. *Woohoo

3. Where to Watch: You’re going to want to tune into this debate, which will air across all major networks (double-check your TiVo to make sure your regularly scheduled programming doesn’t get passed over), but it is also getting with the times.

This debate is going to be live streamed on Twitter, which has been a big player in this year’s election, whether we consider that good or bad news. Either way, the debate is very easy to access, so even if you can’t pry yourself away from a night out, you can stay current.

4. Yes, It’s a Drinking Game: Like all debates, you can (and should) drink to this one. Some sample rules are as follows:

1. Drink every time Trump says “Mexico”
2. Drink every time you hear the word “emails”
3. Drink every time Trump is upset by the way Lester Holt is moderating
4. Drink every time a candidate ignores the buzzer

Of course, there are plenty more games out there for you to follow, depending on how crazy you want your Monday night to be, but make sure that in-between drinks, you’re paying attention to the issues at hand (while not letting them get you too worked up, don’t be that person).

So definitely take the time to tune into the debate tonight, as it’s going to be a very, very big deal that you’ll be hearing about for the next few months anyway.

Oh, and in the meantime, register to vote! Every vote counts, so definitely take advantage of that!

Below you will also find the layout of debates to come, just so that you’re in the know and can plan your nights ahead of time!

September 26, 2016 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York (Presidential Debate)

October 4, 2016 at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia (Vice-Presidential Debate)

October 9, 2016 at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri (Presidential Debate)

October 19, 2016 at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada (Presidential Debate)

All of the debates will be 90 minutes long, airing from 9 p.m. EST to 10:30 p.m. EST.

So again, be sure to check out your other programs to make sure you aren’t missing anything and get your drinking games ready, because this election year is an absolute mess, so you might as well be prepared for it!

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