With the 2016 presidential election just two years away, a newly-formed student committee is leading an effort to bring a presidential debate to the University. Dubbed the Commission for 2016, the group hopes to help the University submit a proposal to the Commission on Presidential Debates.
The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates selects four sites to hold the debates — three for presidential candidates and one for vice presidential candidates. In recent history, these debates have been held at colleges and universities.
Darden student Travis Nixon, a founding Commission member, said he believes the University’s history and close proximity to the nation’s capital would make it an ideal debate location.
“U.Va. would be the perfect place to host an event like this,” Nixon said. “The atmosphere here, I believe, would be very conducive to forwarding the political process of America.”
Though the exact cost of bringing the event to Grounds is unknown, Nixon said there would be a significant return on investment.
“There would be a tremendous economic benefit to U.Va. in general and to Charlottesville as well,” Nixon said. “A lot of the key [benefits] in hosting one of these events is the exposure the school gets and the jobs that are created in the town around the school.”
Currently, the group is entirely student run. Meetings have been set up with the University President's office, where the Commission will determine how much involvement administration is willing to volunteer to pursue the initiative.
Even if the group remains completely student-run, Nixon says that “everything about the commission will be under the purview and approval of the President.”
With the massive time commitment and effort it takes to book a presidential debate, Nixon said he is looking for involvement from students across the University.
“We want to get undergrads, graduate students, we want to get everyone involved to pull off this event,” Nixon said. “[All of] U.Va. is going to be experiencing the benefits, and we want to pull together all of U.Va. to work on it.”
The Commission is currently working on outreach, and is looking to align itself with the various schools in the University.
Despite the early planning, submitting a successful proposal is still a difficult and competitive process. In 2012, a dozen schools submitted proposals for a bid to host a debate, with only three ultimately selected.
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