Penn may host 1996 presidential debate

Penn is one of 10 universities being considered by the Commission on Presidential Debates to host a presidential or vice presidential debate in the fall of 1996. Janet Brown, executive director of the Commission, confirmed yesterday that the University has emerged successful from the first round of site selection discussions. Four of the 10 finalists will be chosen as hosts, Brown said. Three institutions will host presidential debates on either Sept. 25, Oct. 2 or Oct. 16, 1996. The remaining institution will host the vice presidential candidates on Oct. 9, 1996. The other institutions and cities in contention for a 1996 debate are Furman University in Greenville, SC; George Washington University; Trinity College and the city of Hartford, Conn. and Michigan State University. Also on the short list are the University of South Florida and the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla.; the University of Maryland at College Park; the University of Oklahoma at Norman; the University of San Diego and Washington University in St. Louis. Brown said each institution will be considered on its physical merits -- without regard to high-profile professors or administrators whose marquee names can attract national attention. More than 40 institutions and cities had applied to host a debate by submitting written proposals to the Commission this fall, Brown said. The proposals detailed the accommodations these schools were willing to provide to the candidates, their staffs and the media. Brown said the next step in the selection process is a site visit to assess the available facilities at each institution and the level of community interest in a debate. On campus, the commission is considering two venues, one of which is the Annenberg Center's Zellerbach Theater. During the site visits, Brown said she and her team will be examining each proposed location to see "whether it looks like it would be a good fit." The visit to the University will probably occur in late November, although it has not been scheduled yet, according to Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Carol Scheman. She added that the University's student body may be the deciding factor in the Commission's choice. "We have a student body who I think would be very interested in this, find it a very worthwhile sort of thing," Scheman said. Because most students only experience one presidential race during their college years, it would be especially exciting to have an on-campus debate, she said. Scheman added that University President Judith Rodin is also very interested in bringing the eventual candidates to campus. The Commission on Presidential Debates is a non-partisan, private corporation that coordinated candidate debates in the last two presidential elections.

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