Caption: From left to right; Joe Pruss (D) and Victoria Yaklin (R) take the stand in the BUCD vs. BUCR mock debate. Photo by Faith Delamarter. OLLIE FITZGERALD | STAFF REPORTER | ofitzgerald@butler.edu
Representatives from Butler University College Democrats (BUCD) and Butler University College Republicans (BUCR) met on Wednesday, Oct. 30 to debate their political parties’ stances on topics relevant to the upcoming election.
Joe Pruss, a sophomore creative media entertainment major, was the representative for BUCD. Junior finance major Brendan Byce and Victoria Yaklin, a junior international business and finance double major, were the debate representatives for BUCR. All three debate participants hold executive positions in their respective clubs. Pruss is BUCD’s secretary, Byce is BUCR’s president and Yaklin is BUCR’s vice president.
The debate had seven rounds where the students were given two minutes to answer questions and a minute and a half to rebut their opponent’s answers. After each round, the audience was able to ask club representatives questions. A coin flip was used to decide which party went first, with BUCD winning the coin flip and deciding to speak first.
Economy
Pruss argued that the United States has the most dominant economy in the world. He suggested continuing trade with China as long as it does not prove to be a security risk. Pruss said he would like to see taxes raised for the top 1% to help eliminate a strict divide between the rich and the poor. He wants a competitive, but fair, economy that helps support the middle and lower classes.
“We need social programs to clean up our streets and make sure everyone has a fair chance in America,” Pruss said.
Byce thinks Democrats have been soft on China; he argued that stronger tariffs need to be imposed. He suggested reducing social programs to help cut down on national debt.
“No one is going to lower the debt, it’s about how we’re going to control it,” Byce said.
Byce also said that the wealthy and corporations should not be taxed more and that the taxes corporations pay are currently maintaining American retirement funds. He also suggested lowering social security taxes and implementing tax plans on a state-to-state basis.
Immigration
Pruss noted that the United States was built from and fought for by immigrants. He mentioned that he has seen more crimes committed by white Americans than illegal immigrants. Pruss also emphasized that he would like to see a process that helps asylum seekers become U.S. citizens.
“We should be the beacon of liberty [and] allow those facing prosecution to get asylum,” Pruss said.
Yaklin claimed Republicans are not anti-immigration, but they are anti-illegal immigration. She wants to focus on benefitting the American citizens who were born in the United States with tax dollars. When speaking about asylum seekers, Yaklin brought up that there are legal points of entry in the country and that there are resources there for those who need them.
International relations
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Pruss wants to continue supporting NATO and Ukraine but keep American soldiers “off the ground” and out of the war.
“Why should we, a beacon of democracy, support dictators?” Pruss said. “We should never abandon a fellow democratic nation in need.”
In response to questions about peace in the Middle East, Pruss stressed the need for a “diplomatic solution.” He supports a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine but has said pro-Israeli lobbyists have prevented it for decades.
Byce said America has the power to end the war in Ukraine by being tough on Russia. He said that the US needs to have the most powerful military in the world.
“We need to be able to defend Taiwan and [also be able] to control the Middle East and Iran,” Byce said.
Byce also feels that the US should not have direct military involvement in Israel and Palestine. He said that a diplomatic solution is needed, and the two groups need to come together as a community after a ceasefire is reached.
Education
Pruss said he wants to see continued student loan relief and even more affordable college overall. He also supports the bill that raises teacher salaries to a minimum of $60,000 yearly and wants to get rid of standardized testing and support student learning.
Yaklin said that she would like to see a solution for the cost of higher education, but does not want her taxpayer dollars to go towards people who cannot afford their student loans.
“Personally, I would not take [loan forgiveness],” Yaklin said. “My parents understood the investment they were making [with me going to Butler] and I would feel gross taking taxpayer dollars.”
Yaklin also wants to see trade school emphasized, as she argued that you do not need higher education to be successful.
Misinformation and censorship
This section of the debate addressed the spread of misinformation, fact-checking and freedom of speech. It also covered censorship and what is “too far” to be posted on social media.
Pruss said that social media companies are not doing enough to stop the spread of misinformation. He also said that Americans should continue to fight for freedom of speech, but emphasized that people shouldn’t say hateful things or incite violence. He said that fact-checkers are important to maintain correct information online, but understands why Americans don’t always trust fact-checkers. Pruss suggested that those who are doubtful should double-check fact checkers’ sources to see where they are coming from.
“There may be bias, but at the end of the day, true fact-checkers will state their source,” Pruss said. “It’s up for the American people to say if they believe the source.”
Byce said that the American people are smart and able to fact-check information on their own. He also said Americans know if a news source leans left or right and that he trusts Americans. Byce mentioned that fact-checkers can be biased and does not think posts should be taken down just because people do not agree with it.
“If people in this room want to go around spewing racist garbage they have the right to do that,” Byce said. “I will die for their right to do that.”
Byce believes that misinformation can be spread through social media. He also claimed that Donald Trump is the most popular person in the world and if Elon Musk did not buy Twitter, it would be a “cesspool of liberal nonsense.”
Pruss, Byce and Yaklin debated their parties’ beliefs and their own personal political stances. While none of the debate participants currently plan to be involved in politics after college, they will continue to be a part of both BUCD and BUCR on campus.
