This article was published in the Daily Camera, October 27, 2015:
By Sarah Kuta
Staff Writer, Daily Camera
After weeks of contention about access to the debate, nearly 100 select students with an array of academic and social interests will get to see 14 Republican presidential candidates spar live at the University of baby直播app on Wednesday.
Students from engineering, history, international affairs, media, political science and baby直播apps are among the more than 1,000 people in the audience at Wednesday's nationally televised event at the Coors Events Center.
Students representing all CU schools and colleges were handpicked by 17 baby直播app members, vetted by campus administrators and then given access to the two debates being broadcast from Boulder by cable news network CNBC. A student from the College of Music will聽聽before joining the audience.
"I was really honored and surprised that I was chosen," said Kelly Gazarik, an engineering freshman who declined to specify her political views.
Another 10 students were chosen by CU Student Government leaders, who tried to invite a diverse group. They approached graduate students, deaf students, business students, student veterans and students interested in social justice and climate change, said Joseph Soto, CU Student Government president of external affairs.
The three student body presidents, known as tri-executives, as well as some other student leaders will also be attending the debate, he said.
"Largely we picked as representative a sample of campus as possible," Soto said. "We're all part of different communities. It was just important to get as many people involved in the political process as possible."
Tom Zeiler, director of CU's international affairs program, said he was contacted by the provost's office and asked to recommend 10 students. Those students were vetted and Zeiler was then asked to select five from the group.
He selected one graduate student whom he knew to be "fairly conservative" and another undergraduate because he knew she is a Republican.
Zeiler said he doesn't know why he was asked to attend the debate, but wished more students got tickets.
"I mentioned in class 'Is anybody going?' and nobody raised their hands," he said. "I think we're all in the dark as to why there were so few available."
Vetting
Crew members help set up the debate stage in preparation for the CNBC Republican Presidential Debate at Coors Events Center. There will be two debates between 14 different candidates. The first debate will include Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, and Rick Santorum. The second debate will include Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump. (Helen H. Richardson / THE DENVER POST)
厂迟耻诲别苍迟蝉听聽after they learned that聽聽The Republican National Committee bumped that number to 100, then last week, to 150.
University officials told the Daily Camera this week that of the 150 CU tickets, 99 tickets are for students, 17 are for baby直播app and 34 are for event volunteers, the nine members of the Board of Regents, plus a guest each, Chancellor Phil DiStefano and a guest.
The audience size at debates is limited to reduce the number of distractions during the debates, said Sean Spicer, chief spokesman for the Republican National Committee.
"Everything from an outburst to - let's hypothetically say - someone needed medical attention," Spicer said. "There's all sorts of things that go on when you add that element in."
To screen students attending the debate, CU administrators checked their academic records and made sure they weren't accused of violating the student conduct code, said campus spokesman Ryan Huff.
"Once they were picked, the only vetting we did was ensuring they were in good academic standing, so not on probation, and also ensured there were not pending student conduct cases, but that's it," he said.
Guest rules
In a "guest guidance memo," debate organizers asked attendees to walk to the events center or meet at a "nearby remote parking location" to be shuttled over. They asked all audience members to be seated by 3:30 p.m., with doors opening at 2:15 p.m.
Guests must show a government-issued photo ID, pass through a metal detector and wear a credential at all times while inside the events center.
They were also sent a list of prohibited items, which includes "campaign stickers/collateral/paraphernalia," signs or placards, noise-makers, light-up attire, flash photography and recording devices, other than cell phones.
Concealed guns are also not allowed.
CNBC and CU warned that they can remove any individual from the debate "at any time, for any reason."
"By entering the facility all attendees agree to act appropriately and not disturb the program or guests," according to the memo. "Individuals who choose to act inappropriately or otherwise disturb the program ... may be escorted out of the building by law enforcement."
Sarah Kuta: 303-473-1106,聽kutas@dailycamera.com听辞谤听