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A Jumbotron Kind Of Debate For FAU Students In Boca Raton

Over 500 Florida Atlantic University students gathered at the university’s football stadium on Wednesday to watch the third Presidential Debate on the jumbo screen. 

Prior to the event,  organized by FAU’s Division of Student Affairs, freshman Physics major James Brady said that his expectations for the debate were low. “To be honest, I don’t expect anything really — nothing outside of insults for each other that have already been spouted in the other two debates,” he said.

Many students sported Trump paraphernalia, but once the debate began, cheers were heard from both Clinton and Trump supporters. Clinton supporters cheered as she discussed topics such as experts not trusting Trump with the nuclear codes as well as Trump using undocumented workers to build Trump Tower. Trump supporters applauded when Trump mentioned stopping radical terrorism and his desire to build a wall.

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Paige Elizabeth-Hurr

One of the students in the audience was senior international business major Paige Elizabeth-Hurr. She said that while she supports Trump, some of the things that Clinton said at the debate appealed to her.

“She really did just kind of appeal to what I think as a woman and how we’re not being respected enough,” Elizabeth-Hurr said.

Another student in the audience was junior theater major Christopher Borger, who said that he was glad that the debate covered economics and abortion, but felt that some issues were left out.

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Miranda Schumes

“I wish I heard more a little about the LGBT community as a gay man and on top of that I wish I had heard a little bit more about race and [the candidates] on opinions on religion in society,” Borger said.

Borger said that Hillary’s stance on LGBT rights has helped push him to vote for her.

Sophomore computer engineering major and Communications Director of the FAU College Republicans Andrew Paz, whose father is an immigrant, said that he supports Trump and agrees with his stance on immigration.

“I think that there’s a huge distinction between illegal immigrants and legal immigrants because my father waited in the line, he did all that he had to do, and people side stepped and just came into the United States Illegally,” Paz said.

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WLRN
Michael Dixon

Michael Dixon, a junior biological sciences major, said that he was surprised to see an equal amount of Trump and Clinton supporters at the event, but is still undecided on who he is voting for. He said that he probably will not know who his vote is going to until two days before the election and that he may end up doing a write-in.

“To be honest I really don’t know [who I’m voting for] and that’s scary since, you know, I live in Florida and we’re a swing state. Anything could happen,” Dixon said.

Wednesday’s debate was the last debate before election day on November 8.

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