The UCLA Bruin Democrats, Bruin Republicans and Bruin Libertarians faced off against one another for the first time at a debate on campus Tuesday night.
The Political Science Student Organization organized the debate, which touched on issues such as the Affordable Care Act, prison reform, immigration reform and the recent government shutdown.
“We want students to know that these topics don’t always have to be discussed around election time or within these certain groups,” said Ankita Thakkar, vice president of the Political Science Student Organization.
Thakkar and Jeffrey Lewis, chair of the department of political science , moderated the debate.
The placement of the debaters in the lecture hall paralleled the way their political beliefs are typically characterized – members of Bruin Democrats sat on the left, Bruin Republicans members on the right and Bruin Libertarians members in the middle.
Members of Bruin Democrats started by expressing their support for the Affordable Care Act because it provides affordable medical insurance for more Americans.
A member of Bruin Libertarians countered, arguing that medical insurance is more of an individual responsibility.
“(The Affordable Care Act) will still cost the country a lot of money,” said Tanner Siciliano, a third-year math and economics student, and a member of Bruin Libertarians.
When the debaters addressed prison reform, both Bruin Republicans and Bruin Democrats members said a root cause of the problem is the large number of prisoners in the United States.
But members of all of groups disagreed on how to approach the problem. Bruin Republicans members proposed that prisons should be privatized, while Bruin Democrats members said the government should focus on decreasing the amount of prisoners in the United States. Members of Bruin Libertarians said they think legal punishments for nonviolent crimes should be less harsh.
Later, members of Bruin Democrats expressed their support for the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , which provides food for low-income families.
Members of Bruin Libertarians agreed the help was vital but blamed the government for families’ dependance on food aid.Members of Bruin Republicans also confirmed their support for the program’s benefits but think some families are abusing the service.
Members of all three groups said they wanted the Political Science Student Organization to hold a follow-up debate so students could address all the questions.
Ross Hougham, a fourth-year political science student, closed the event with a speech thanking the debaters, Lewis, and the board members of the organization.
“It’s sometimes easy in college to get in a bubble and not pay attention to the world,” Hougham said. “It’s our responsibility to (be aware) to be able to make our own decisions, and the debate is a perfect way to do this.”
The Political Science Student Organization plans to hold a debate with the three student groups every quarter.