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

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.

Red, White and Not You

For those of us who were (un)lucky enough to get into the UNLV Student Union watch party, there are no doubts that organizers’ intentions were good. There were tons of decorations, a free CNN hat on every chair, an awesome AV setup, complete with huge screens and there were even speakers outside the doors, where the food was, so you wouldn’t miss anything if you had to get a hot dog. And yes, the food. Enough for 600 people. Unfortunately, a little more than half that number showed up.

The real problem wasn’t the fact that there was only one bomb-sniffing dog on hand, not nearly enough K-9 for all those leftovers, but the fact that even when the debate was half over, and it was clear no one else was coming, if you weren’t on the list, you weren’t getting in.

Even Jeremiah McClain, who works for the Office of Information Technology on campus, whose office is literally 25 feet from the people guarding the entrance, was turned away. Never mind that he has worked at UNLV for 10 years, and was actually doing network support for the event that night.

So, what’s with this list anyway? Well, according to the person who turned McClain away, Amy Brooks of UNLV Community and Government Relations, 400 of the spots were given to the faculty, staff and students that didn’t win one of the 450 slots at the Cox Pavilion. The other 200 were reserved by Voto Latino, an organization who works to raise the number of Latino voters, and who actually paid for half the event.

It’s not that the organizers were bad people, it’s just that, according to Brooks, “there were 500 people who didn’t get anything and desperately wanted to go,” and, “we tried so hard to make it as fair as possible.”

From his office, looking out at the forbidden zone, McClain summed up the situation best when he said, “You would think that the debate’s been on for an hour or more now. What would be the problem with letting people in? You would think that they could let people in if it were obvious that there was room for people who wanted to participate. You sent out a bunch of invitations to people who aren’t interested, so why not have people who are interested?”

From Bombs to Democrats

The UNLV campus had tight security today. Metal detectors were placed in front of the stairs at the Cox Pavilion to ensure a safe debate. As if securing a college campus for possible future presidents weren’t enough to keep security busy today, there were some additional threats this morning.

There were rumors of a bomb threat at the Wells Fargo across the street from the student union this morning. Whether or not this is the case, many cop cars were at Wells Fargo this morning and Maryland Parkway was blocked off and prevented some students form getting to class on time. Nothing has been published to determine whether or not this information

At around 5 p.m. security was surrounding the Cox Pavilion. Even after such an anxious day, the well armed policemen smiled for a picture. Thanks guys!

All Photos By: Sonja Corliss

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.

‘Twas the Night Before Chaos

 

The Cox Pavilion is resting, all gussied up for its big day tomorrow.  It’s not often this building gets to house piles of national and local media members and presidential hopefuls for an evening of political mayhem.

 

At 7 p.m. sound waves from the ONE Rocks concert were bouncing off the east pavilion wall, creating an allusion that the building was the one putting on the show.

 

There should be some shows going on inside the walls tomorrow.  Kristen Ruby and I will be snooping around the spin room and filing room, equipped with all the fun technological toys needed to blog about the chaos that is to come.

 

But right now it’s quiet – few creatures are stirring.          

 

Heightened Security on Campus: Secret Service, UNLV Police and Security Personnel Ensure Security.

Community Relations sent out a notice elaborating on what we reported earlier about heightened security during this week’s debate.

Security will be especially intensified when candidates are entering and leaving campus. UNLV Police Services, U.S. Secret Service, and other security personnel will be monitoring activities. The Cox Pavilion will be under heavy surveillance since many of the activities will take place in and around that area.

During the debate, some of the areas near Cox Pavilion will have restricted access. A UNLV ID and driver’s license provide the solution. They will grant the UNLV community access to these areas. Be sure to have two forms of ID, a driver’s license and UNLV ID, as security may ask to see both. Having an ID will verify your legitimacy on campus, and grant student and faculty normal access.

Campus security officials said they are taking every measure to ensure safety around campus.