On Feb. 26, the University of Houston held a Republican Party presidential debate at the Moores Opera House. Beginning at 7:30pm, insults and accusations ran rampant. Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz double-teamed front-runner Donald Trump, criticizing his bankrupt businesses and illegal hiring practices. Trump responded by ragging on Rubio’s unpopularity among his fellow GOP senators and accusing Cruz of borrowing money from Goldman Sachs. Gov. John Kasich urged America’s kids to “shoot for the stars,” and Dr. Ben Carson fielded the question of appointing Supreme Court justices by saying that he would look “at the fruit salad of their life.”
Inside was a political free-for-all.
Outside were nearly all of UH’s students – and all of Houston’s media. That includes Dateline Downtown. When two Dateline reporters arrived at the locale to cover the event, they were told by security that they needed tickets to enter. Strange. The UH.edu website said, “The University of Houston does not have debate tickets available. All tickets are managed by the Republican National Committee.”
We were sent to the nearby tents, where we were told we could be granted media credentials. When we reached them at around 7:05pm (after being stopped by police), We were told that the only media outlets allowed in the Moores theater were CNN and Telemundo. This was confirmed by KTRK anchor Ilona Carson, who wrote on Twitter, “None of us got to go inside Moores for the debate itself.” Regarding the presence of media, she revealed that “everyone besides CNN and Telemundo were in the spin room in [the] Athletic Facility.” That would be the UH Athletics-Alumni Center, 0.2 miles from the debate site itself. Also, “you had to get credentials weeks early. We couldn’t get our whole team credentialed – they were limited.”
Seats for students seeking to watch the debate were also limited. According to the Houston Chronicle, UH received tickets for just 25 of the 800 seats in the theater, per their agreement with CNN. Of those, 14 went to the UH regents, President Renu Khator and “special guests,” a UH spokeswoman said. The remaining 11 went to the students, faculty and staff via a lottery. The result, according to the Chronicle, ff was that six students were seated for the debate. UH student Connor Hendricks said that attempting to
locate tickets was “incredibly difficult,” but added that he felt honored to have UH be the host for the event.
Below are quotes that Dateline reporters got at UH the night of the GOP debate, from people gathered outside.
Liam Wright (Students for a Democratic Society) -“We want to invite everyone to a post debate forum where we can debate on current issues. It will be on March 8 at 5pm in the class Social Work 101.
Liam Wright- “Students here did not like that they were not allowed to attend the debate.”
Liam Wright-“We feel it is not a representation of democracy.”
Alex (UH Student) -Trump is a monster -It’s amusing that a reality star is running for president
Sydney (UH Student) -“As the manager of the campus opera house, the closure of campus has left me unable to work the last three days.”
Shauna (Protestor) -“I am a Muskoke Creek Native American. Donald Trump, who is an immigrant himself, wants to deport those same people.”
Alissa Carrie (UH Student) -“Having the debate on campus is a good thing. It brings our university to the national spotlight.”
Ivonne Ruiz (UH Student) -“Closure of campus has made the last few days very unproductive as it has interrupted campus life.”
Amy Schully (Fight for 15 Black Lives Matter Movement) -“We want to raise minimum wage to $15/hr. We want to be able to form unions, $7.25 is not doable as a minimum wage today.”
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