From the grassy Brookings Quadrangle to the carpeted residence hall lounges on the South Forty, Washington University became a series of electronic classrooms on Oct. 11. The subject was politics -- and more importantly, democracy.
About 250 students were admitted into the Field House to witness a live performance of President George Bush, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and independent Ross Perot as they matched wits and sound bites. The rest of the student body settled down in front of television screens all across campus to watch the proceedings.
Where to watch the debate was a debate in itself. Despite the nip in the crisp fall air, several hundred people chose the giant screen erected in the quadrangle. "This has been the topic of conversation all week," said Justin E. Rosenfeld, a junior from Portland, Ore.
Rosenfeld, gripping a walkie-talkie, was on hand to dispense first-aid as a member of the student-operated Washington University Emergency Support Team (WUEST).
The team had braced itself for a huge elbow-to-elbow Clinton gathering initially scheduled for the quadrangle. With the event switched to Forest Park, the only conceivable health hazard was the cool temperature that made people button their jackets and tighten their scarves.
In the waning daylight, the image on the giant television screen was faint, but the all-important words from the candidates came through loud and clear. The decidedly pro-Clinton crowd listened respectfully to Bush for the most part, applauded the loudest for the Arkansas governor and laughed the loudest at Perot's blunt humor, as when he confessed, "I don't have any experience in running up a $4 trillion debt."
"He's kind of a card," said Dan Spieler, a first-year graduate student in psychology from Jackson, Mich., sitting in the grass. The temperature and the seats were more comfortable Edison Theatre for some 600 people watching the debate on another big television screen. Chancellor William H. Danforth received a standing ovation when he entered Edison Theatre to watch the debate with students.
Two voter registrars sat behind a literature-strewn table just outside the theatre entrance. "We've registered about 200 students in the last two hours," said Randy Davis, vice president of Streetside Records.
In Graham Chapel, 100 or so students were hunkered down in the wooden pews, eyes glued to a big screen. Dozens of students caught buses for the Clinton rally at the cricket field in Forest Park. Among the Clintonites were sophomore Alyse C. Dampf from New York, and her friend Stephanie Pillersdorf, a student at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. They had watched the debate in the H residence hall on the South Forty, munching tuna melts while the candidates verbally sparred.
"I was disappointed Perot was there," said Dampf. "He took valuable time away from Bush and Clinton."
Whether they were backing Bush, Clinton or Perot, Washington University students on Oct. 11 could agree on two things. The debate had spotlighted Washington University. And it had raised everyone's political consciousness.
"People won't be asking, `Where's Washington University?' " said Corey Shapiro, a freshman from New Haven, Conn., and an active Clinton supporter. "The debate might be a little thing, but it will have a snowball effect in terms of national recognition."