The University of Colorado Student Government is helping organize a debate between Boulder city council candidates.
With the November Boulder city council elections rapidly approaching, CUSG and the University Hill Commercial Area and Management Commission are organizing a debate to be held on campus between potential city council candidates regarding issues that pertain to students.
Wednesday’s debate starts at 7 p.m. and will take place in Math 100. UHCAMC chair Bill Shrum said he expects the two primary topics of conversation to be alcohol policies and rental houses on the hill, and that the goal is to inspire students to take action and become more involved in city politics.
“City council members have shown interest in having a dialogue with students,” Shrum said. “Those up for election will be there at the debate, or have a representative in their place.”
After each candidate explains their platform, discussions involving the audience will begin. Students will have the opportunity to use their iClickers to participate in the question-and-answer portion of the debate.
“It’s going to provide interaction and broadcast the opinion of the crowd,” Shrum said.
The clickers will be used in selecting which questions to ask the candidates; the audience will have the choice of four options. They will also be able to select which candidate they feel best represents them regarding certain issues.
“The city council can directly impact affordable housing, and they can affect how [the police] ticket students on alcohol offenses,” Shrum said. “From a community perspective, I think those are the most important concerns.”
While Shrum’s connections with the UHCAMC and city council have allowed him to set up this debate on campus, he said it would not have come to fruition without the support of the student government.
“The entire executive staff has been really on board with this,” Shrum said. “They’ve been open to engaging in city issues beyond campus. I have to give them a lot of credit.”
The council candidates will remain in the lecture hall after the debate ends to talk to directly to students who have any further questions.
“The relationship between CU and Boulder is important,” Shrum said. “How the city responds to certain things, to policies and regulations, directly impacts students.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Annie Melton at anne.melton@colorado.edu.
