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!

The Obama Overload

Here are several videos pulled from Thursday night’s presidential candidate debate that focus on Barack Obama.

East side of campus was asleep yesterday

When I was wandering about campus around 4:30 p.m., things were very quiet. All the excitement was near the Cox Pavilion. The people handing out CNN gear didn’t even ask trivia questions anymore, they were just trying to get rid of everything. The only action I saw was a guy wearing a navy windbreaker outfit and some huge 80s headphones jogging around singing the Scorpions’ “Rock You Like a Hurricane.”

Someone pointed over to a stand where free t-shirts were being passed out. By the stand, there was a poster that students were writing on. I took a few pictures of students’ thoughts written in colored sharpies.

Students get involved

The students at UNLV have always been involved, whether by choice or obligation. If there is an event nearby, the students will have something to say about it, for or against. The Democratic Presidential Debate set the students and staff up for a wild and busy time.

Supporters of the Democratic candidates slept overnight in their cars to wake up as early as possible and rally for support for their candidate. The two predominant groups were promoting Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Both groups received honks, and cheers from passersby.

The campus was filled with CNN folk, reporters, the press, the Secret Service, security, photographers, journalists and aspiring students.

CNN had a stand where students could express themselves. They were welcome to watch the live debate from the North Field (the big patch of grass near the library and CDC), and make buttons for their candidate of choice. This photograph was taken while these students watched the debate on a screen to the right.

There was more than one watch room. Since the main watch room inside the student union was only available to those on a list or with a CNN badge, CBC B building A room 113 hosted a viewing with free pizza and drinks to boot.

Even though the room was not full, the reactions from this crowd were almost intimidating. Most of these viewers were very involved; especially during the topic of giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. It was nice to see that students, regardless of the distractions in Las Vegas, can still invest some time into their future.

All Photos By: Sonja Corliss

Obama Quotes

A coffee book quote came from Barack Obama when he was asked, is the increase of U.S. troops in Iraq working?

Obama replied….

“Horrific violence to intolerable violence doesn’t justify the Iraq war.”

Another coffee book quote came from a UNLV political science student asking about uniting the country through a period of transition with a new president.

Obama replied….

“Were gonna lead by talking to our enemies and not just our friends.”

Give Me An O

Give me an O…. O You got your O, you got your O.

Give me a B…. B You got your B, you got your B.

Give me an A…. A You got your A, you got your A.

Give me an M…. M You got your M, you got your M.

Give me an A…. A You got your A, you got your A.

This chant was one of the many clever chants that Barack Obama campaign supporters stood chanting on the side of the road as cars drove by honking in response to the “Honk For Hillary” sign.

As I drove to school today, I couldn’t help but pull my car over and take advantage of the photo opportunity.

Hillary and Obama had supporters from every generation.

There were elderly people chanting for Obama and young adults chanting for Hillary.

I even asked some Hillary supporters if they were UNLV students because they looked age appropriate, but they weren’t.

Obama supporters wearing bright red shirts overpowered the Clinton supporters in both the size and chanting.

Individuals with speaker phones ran up and down the street chanting “Obama’s gonna bring the White House back.”

I over heard one Obama supporter telling another supporter that she began campaigning at 6 a.m., when CNN began coverage.

Well let’s hope she still has a voice by the end of the actual debate.

Obama Supporters

Obama supporters

Mobile post sent by Kristen using Utterz. Replies. mp3

So very very surreal

I’m probably the only one who feels like this, but I just cannot wrap my mind around the fact that we are going to have a presidential debate on campus! That’s amazing, the whole campus should be shaken up like a James Bond martini, yet if you walk anywhere past CBC and the Thomas & Mack/Cox Pavilion side, you wouldn’t even guess that this monumental event was taking place.

I have no classes past the BEH building, I have no reason to ever walk to the other side of the campus, but does that mean that I don’t have the right to be a part of anything that has to do with the debate? The best I saw was a sad little table that had one person there and an “Obama ’08″ poster on it on the grass in front of the law building. Granted, will probably all change on the day of the actual debate, so we’ll see. As excited as I am, I can’t help but feel a bit distant from everything.

It’s really frustrating that everyone seems to go out of their way to exclude students on campus from being a part of this debate. I understand that there are limited seats inside the debate, but to limit who can go to the Student Union building and watch the debate on TV? What is that about? And then they wonder why students would rather just go home instead of participating in school events. Maybe if you stop having lotteries that might help. But I digress. The main purpose of this entry is to bring up the fact that total awesomeness is in the making, yet if you walk past a certain point on campus you would never know. It’s very very strange, and even a little bit sad. Why is it like this?

Of course I will probably be proven wrong on the day of the debate itself. I hope I am.

Secret Service on UNLV Campus…Not a Normal School Day

Originally uploaded by dbking

I don’t know about you, but I’m only used to seeing students and faculty strolling around the UNLV campus.

The sight of stern looking men in sharp suits talking into their sleeves may cause stares of curiosity.

However, Secret Service will probably not be on campus until Thursday, the day of the Democratic Presidential Debate.

Many other security precautions are already being set up outside the entrance of the Cox Pavilion, for attendees of the debate.

“Only two candidates have Secret Service,” Bridget Leininger, a CNN spokeswoman told students Tuesday.

It’s not hard to figure out which two candidates.

If you don’t know, then you obviously don’t watch the news.

The two front running candidates are New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

So when was the group of men who risk their lives for the leaders and future leaders of our country created?

The Secret Service Division was created on July 5, 1865 in Washington D.C.

Since then many changes have been made to the Secret Service’s obligations to ensure presidential safety.

After the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901, the Secret Service assumed full-time responsibility for the protection of the president.

In 1908, the Secret Service began protecting the president-elect.

However, it wasn’t until 1951 that Congress enacted legislation that permanently authorized Secret Service protection for the president, his immediate family, the president-elect and the vice president, if he wishes.

But here is the main reason you may see Secret Service on campus.

In 2000, the Presidential Threat Act was passed.

The Presidential Threat Act authorized the Secret Service to participate in the planning, coordination and implementation of security operations at special events of national significance.

That’s what is going on at UNLV, an event of national significance.

Isn’t it ironic that the Democratic Presidential Debate, where the future leaders of America discuss their moral beliefs and plans, is being held in a location dubbed with the title “Sin City.”

But don’t worry. The Secret Service will be there to protect and make sure no sinful acts are committed.