GSU  hosted a presidential debate watch party on Tuesday, Sept. 10, in the Hall of Governors.

Anticipation began to build a few hours before the scheduled face-off between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, with students discussing who was more qualified to led the country.

About half an hour before the debate began, spectators began to settle into their seats. A few heated discussions arose among students as they passionately expressed their views about each candidate and the election.

The various lines began to lengthen — there was the sign-up line, a line for mock voting, another for voter registration, and, and of course, for pizza.

Before the debate started, a speaker provided some political background and urged the spectators to pay close attention to the candidates’ body language, their tone of voice, and to pay close attention to their policies.

The audience quieted as the debate started, but then began to chatter among themselves as Harris and Trump exchanged their ideas, words, and most noticeably, facial expression.

The crowd frequently reacted with confusion, laughter, and disdain when Trump would mention his policies; they laughed in reaction to Harris’ facial expressions.

From the audience, I often heard them say in response to the debate “she’s looking at him like…” or “look at how she’s looking at him…” with a comical intonation.

While the performance of the candidates in the debate elicited both negative and positive responses, the audience members were engaged and frequently discussed nearly every talking point among themselves.

After the debate, Oleg Sabetskii, a GSU sophomore, stated that he was not much of a political person, but “I feel like it (the debate) has definitely swayed some peoples’ opinions on the people who are running for president.”