September 23, 2008
St. John’s University’s College Democrats, College Republicans
and Student Government, Inc. hosted a local Candidates Forum as
part of the “Participate in ’08” student-driven initiative in
anticipation of the upcoming November Elections last night in
Queens.
Photo
Gallery
An overflow crowd of 250 from the University community, made up
primarily of St. John’s students, listened intently to the
candidate’s platforms in an open dialogue on key issues involving
their campaigns. Topics of discussion included National Party
Differences, Higher Education, Economic Opportunities for College
Students and Immigration Policies and Reform.
“This is an initiative that has been embraced by both College
Democrats and College Republicans here at St. John’s in a
non-partisan manner,” said Brian Browne, Assistant Vice President
for Government Relations and Moderator for the evening. “Both
groups along with Student
Government Inc., began meeting over the summer to formulate
ideas to drive voter registration on campus (to date both parties
have signed up more than 300) and create visibility and awareness
for the upcoming elections in November. We’re very excited about
the progress they’ve made with the “Participate in
’08” initiative, especially when experts suggest that the youth
vote will play a critical role in the outcome of this year’s
elections.”
In a unique facet of the forum, the audience was invited to text
questions from their cell phones as part of the interactive portion
of the two-hour format held in the state-of-the-art Belson Moot
Courtroom in the School of Law.
Candidates who participated in the forum included:
- Hon. Rory Lancman (25th District) New York State Assembly
- Hon. Mark Weprin (24th District) New York State Assembly
- Hon. Frank Padavan (11th District) New York State Senate
- Hon. James F. Gennaro, (Candidate for the 11th District), New
York State Senate
- Hon. Toby Stavisky (16th District) New York State
Senate
- Hon. Anthony D. Weiner (9th District) United States
Congress
- Mr. Peter Koo, Candidate for the 16th District, New York State
Senate
- Brian Simon, representing Hon. Gregory Meeks (6th District)
United States Congress
- Representatives from both the John McCain for President
(Michael Lawler) and Barack Obama for President (Benjamin
Yee) campaigns participated
Robert F. Pecorella, Ph.D., Government & Politics, St.
John’s University; Victoria Schneps-Yunis, Publisher, Queens
Courier Newspapers; Stephen Holland, St. John’s University College
Democrats and Meaghan Mapes, St. John’s University College
Republicans served as panelists for the forum.
The “PARTICIPATE in ’08” initiative, supported by
University administrators, was born with all groups committed to
non-partisan voter registration and increased civic education and
engagement in anticipation of the 2008 local and Presidential
elections. For more information on the Candidates Forum and
“PARTICIPATE in ’08” initiative contact Dominic Scianna,
Assistant Vice President for Media Relations by calling (718)
990-6185 or e-mail inquiries to sciannad@stjohns.edu.
Note: The views expressed
on the pages of the “PARTICIPATE in ’08”web site, comments made
during the “Candidates Forum” and other related activities
involving this initiative, DO NOT reflect, in any way, the opinions
of St. John’s University, its administrators, faculty and staff.
The University is non-partisan and does not support any political
party affiliation.