Image by: Rachel Hirsch

During the debate party in the John Cranford Adams Playhouse on the campus of Hofstra, you could hear laughter erupting from the crowd as candidates Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton sounded off against each other in their first face-to-face confrontation. Amidst the laughter was one voice that stood with their candidate instead of viewing the show as a comedy act, and this voice belonged to Felicia Gazzara. A long-time Hillary supporter, Gazzara made it her job to make her voice heard. She felt all the laughter was uncalled for, because this debate was a showcase of who could be the next president.

“We’re looking [at the] position that’s going to be the most powerful position on the planet. And people are laughing about this guy like he’s a stand up comic. We don’t need a standup comic as a president,” said Gazzara. “I don’t see what’s so funny about it, but people seem to like Donald Trump because he tells it like it is and he makes [them] laugh. Since when is that a prerequisite for being the president of the country?”

Gazzara was not a fan of what she deemed to be Trump’s blatant disrespect toward Clinton. She often responded to the remarks in tandem with the Trump supporters, only she was calling out Trump instead of cheering him on.

Image by: Rachel Hirsch

Gazzara’s hopes for the next debate are that Clinton will be more protective of her time instead of letting Trump bully his way into her time “to interrogate her.” Gazzara said if “Donald” is going to show this lack of respect towards another candidate, he may show the same to other countries, and she finds that idea “terrifying.”

Photographs by: Rachel Hirsch

Written by: Grant Cole

By Rachel Bui and Grant Cole

Image by: Rachel Hirsch

Hofstra university Sophomores Shawn Germain and Emily Baksic saw the media frenzy on campus as an oppourtunity “to be funny but still get our views across.” Holding signs walking around campus was an outlet for the students spend the day staying involved in the debate. Germain stated ”this is definitely a day we’ve all been waiting for.”

Student protester at Hofstra Image by: Rachel Hirsch

By: Grant Cole & Rosaria Bui

As the debate draws near, protesters line the free speech zones of Hofstra shouting chants such as “White silence is violence!” and “No justice, no peace!” Among the protesters were students with the Black Lives Matter movement who had partnered with the NAACP to peacefully protest on campus. The reason for their protests was that the media had shifted focus away from the Black Lives Matter movement to the debate.

When asked about the candidates, Brianna Holcomb, Vice President of the Black Student Union, stated that “voting for Trump is not an option…what he stands for is not what [we] want to represent America.”

Although she is against Trump, Brianna does not believe in taking away his freedom of speech. Instead, she hopes that Lester Holt, the debate moderator, will ask Trump the difficult questions that will challenge him as the possible leader of the United States.