by Christopher Sung ‘17

Responding to Young Democrat Madeline Daugherty ’17 (Left), Young Republican Mike Ricciardella ‘17 (Right) counters claims made against the Republican National Committee’s platform on global climate change. While Ricciardella speaks, the moderator, panelists, and other debaters stare at Ricciardella in earnest.

Although underestimated, the Young Republicans were able to control much of the debate and elicit cheers from the audience. Ricciardella made strong attacks against the Young Democrats and was on the offensive throughout the entire event, forcing the Young Democrats to concede on many of their points. Despite their solid performance, the Young Republicans were criticized by some members of the crowd for being less substantive than their adversaries.

The second half of the debate saw the Young Democrats recover from their initial performance. Madeline Daugherty made strong responses against many attacks from the Young Republicans and was applauded for a few of her comments.