Participants in the Oct. 11 media briefing at the Washington University Athletic Complex included (from left) Steve Rackers, manager of Capital Projects and Records Division; Steve Givens, chair of Washington University's Debate Steering Committee and assistant to the chancellor; Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton and John M. Schael, director of Athletics.

Preparations for final Presidential Debate in full swing at Washington University

St. Louis, Oct. 11, 2000 -- In the first of a series of media briefings, Washington University administrators told reporters that preparations are progressing quickly, as the university's Field House is transformed into a "town hall" in advance of the third Presidential Debate on October 17.

As workers in the debate hall inside the university's Athletic Complex built platforms for TV networks and installed air conditioning ducts to keep the candidates comfortable, Steve Rackers, the university's manager of capital projects and records in Facilities, Planning and Management, told reporters that preparations were progressing smoothly.

"Having hosted a debate in '92 and prepared for another in '96 really helped us in our preparations this time. A lot of holes we had to drill were already there. And much of the infrastructure for the electrical power needed in this building was already here, so this has been much easier than in 1992, when we only had six days to prepare," Rackers said.

Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton told reporters that a very large team of people has been working hard to prepare the site and that excitement had spread throughout the university's Hilltop Campus. Other activities have included the recruitment of hundreds of student volunteers to assist with the debate, as well as campus voter registration drives to get more students involved in the political process, and a lottery to choose a few hundred students who will be inside the debate hall to see the proceedings in person. Art students also were involved in creating the official Presidential Debate poster, which was unveiled at the briefing, and the pins and T-shirts being given to arriving reporters on Oct. 17.

Steve Givens, chair of Washington University's Debate Steering Committee and assistant to the chancellor, updated reporters on arrangements being made to accommodate demonstrators. They will have a stage and sound system set up on Washington University's nearby intramural recreation fields, located south of the Athletic Complex across Forsyth Boulevard. Several individuals and about 20 groups have registered to participate, including Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader. Nader, and other so-called "third party" candidates, do not have enough support in opinion polls to qualify as official debate participants under rules set up by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

In addition to the briefing, media members were taken on a tour of the Athletic Complex to see the ongoing construction work in the debate hall and in the media filing center where "spin alley" will be set up after the debate. "Spin alley" is where political pundits (aka "spin doctors") will give reporters their take on who won the debate and why.

Debate notes

	The media filing center, which is set up in the Athletic Complex's Recreational Gymnasium, has work areas for 606 reporters.
	In all, more than 1,500 members of the media are expected to attend the debate.
	The filing center contains 202 tables, 1,500 phone lines, 1,200 electrical outlets and 43 television monitors.
	The Presidential Debate will require the use of 2,000,000 more watts of electricity than normal operations at the Athletic Complex.