Even the Unpopular People

Updated on 11/25/07:

Although this debate brought a lot of frustration to a lot of people, my faith in humanity was restored toward the end of the day. Not only were there a lot of students being very active, but there were also people who were working for the debate candidates who made sure they showed their opinion.

When I was photographing on the UNLV campus Thursday night, I came across these two people holding a campaign sign for Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul. They were just hanging out outside of the Cox Pavilion. I photographed them and then found out that Jimal Abukar (left) and Michelle Grigsby (right) were just a couple of regular citizens like myself.

Abukar is a limo driver and Grigsby is an aspiring photographer. It was nice to meet a couple of people that were on the same social level as myself. They were all up for seeing their picture on this website. They got the URL and thanked me. It comforted me to know that even the unpopular people made a stand and wanted the public to hear about it.

All Photos By: Sonja Corliss

Hillary Clinton gets the opening question.

The crowd went crazy Thursday night as candidate Hillary Clinton took the stage possessing confidence and poise
between the other male presidential candidates at the CNN Democratic debate at UNLV.

CNN’s Campbell Brown opened the debate, asking why Clinton has not been taking a firm position on controversial topics.

Clinton said, ” I am aware that people say that, but I have been fighting for the American people for 35 years.”

This then struck up the debate between Clinton and rival Barack Obama. Obama shot back saying, “American people are looking for straight answers and it’s not what we have seen out of Senator Clinton.”

It was clear the debate had started!

Presidential Debate pre-show

Sitting in the audience at the Presidential Debate was surreal at first, until it was announced that there would be a pre-show.

During the pre-show, the UNLV choir sang the the National Anthem and then Nevada Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley spoke. She energized the crowd by saying, “As of today, 9,000 more Democrats in the state of Nevada have registered then Republicans.” Then she introduced Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.

As he made his way onto the stage, the crowd stood up giving Dean a standing ovation.

“This is a generation that truly sees themselves as a diverse community. It doesn’t matter if you are white, black, or brown, we all vote in one proportion,” Dean said.

The crowd continued to cheer until the debate started.

A busy day for the UNLV Student Union

The Democratic Presidential Debate drew about 2,000 people to the  UNLV Cox Pavilion, but this was not the only crowded place on campus.

The UNLV Student Union’s second floor was filled with students, faculty and democratic parties. Each presidential candidate’s staff members occupied one room each making a total of seven rooms on the second floor full from 7:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night. The Student Union ballrooms and balcony were also occupied by the Presidential Caucus Watch Party.

The restaurants in the student union made more revenue then usual because of the traffic coming in and out during the day. When the debate was over, the union quickly cleared leaving only empty water bottles and food wrappers.

By 10 p.m. the building fell silent as if nothing had ever happened.