College Chosen for Debate

New Hampshire voters, as residents of the first primary in the nation state, are used to having some fuss made over their political proclivities. But even campaign wise Granite Staters are taking note of the fact that Dartmouth has been chosen as the site for the only nationally televised debate scheduled among the major candidates for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination. "The juciest can of worms to hit the Upper Valley in a long time," in fact, is what an editorial in the local Valley News called the event.

The debate, jointly sponsored by the College and the Democratic Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives, will be a three and a halfhour live broadcast. It is being structured "to create a real New England town meeting atmosphere," according to Representative Charles E. Schumer of New York, who chairs the Democratic Caucus. Ted Koppel, anchor of the ABC "Nightline" news show, will ask questions of the candidates for the first half of the program, and talkshow host Phil Donahue will move through the studio audience inviting questions during the second half.

Exactly what the composition of that studio audience will be promises to be as hot an issue as those to be debated by the candidates. It is expected that the Hopkins Center's 450-seat Center Theater will be selected as the site over larger campus halls because of its superior acoustics and lighting capability so competition for admission will be intense. The Democratic Caucus is reserving the right to select a portion of the audience, but the College will have an opportunity to allocate some of the seats. Government Professor Frank Smallwood '51, director of the new Rockefeller Center and coordinator of the College's side of the debate, has said that a lottery will probably be used to assign the College's seats. However, there will be closed circuit television coverage at various campus locations, and WDCR will likely provide a simulcast of the proceedings.

According to Smallwood, all eight major candidates have expressed an intention o participate. All the candidates have also been invited to stay on at the College for post-debate receptions, at which those unable to get tickets to the actual debate can meet the candidates. In addition, College President David McLaughlin has extended an invitation to major Republican presidential contenders to appear in a similar format at Dartmouth.

Scheduled for January 15, the debate will be carried on the PBS network. Smallwood, expressing pleasure at Dartmouth's selection for the event, said he hoped it would give "the Dartmouth community a better understanding of the presidential selection process."