A crowd of more than 7,000 people at Wells Fargo Arena roared with hollers of support and boos of disapproval as President Bush and Democratic candidate John Kerry addressed issues of domestic policy at Wednesday's debate.
Programming and Activities Board Vice President James Pedicone said 8,000 tickets were distributed prior to the event and another 2,000 were given out at the door.
"[The event was] unbelievable, it was awesome," Pedicone said. "I was glad to see people took advantage of the free tickets."
He said that while he was slightly disappointed by the turnout for the pre-debate activities, which included guest speakers, he was glad to see the audience grow as the debate neared.
"The fact that there was an amazing turnout right before the debate is good enough for me," he said.
The viewing party began at 3 p.m. and featured speakers from the Bush and Ralph Nader campaigns along with performances by ASU's Barren Mind Improv and the ASU marching band.
A Democratic party speaker did not show up for the pre-debate activities, though Rachel Campos from "The Real World: San Francisco" spoke for the Republican Party and Paul Zulkowitz, a volunteer for the Nader campaign, spoke as well.
"I think it was disappointing," said Julie Johnson, Undergraduate Student Government vice president, referring to the absence of a Democratic speaker. "We worked hard to make sure this activity was balanced."
Dori Miletich, a psychology senior at UA, said she had already voted by mail for Kerry and came to Tempe to take part in the Kerry rally and debate screening.
"The event's cool, I'm enjoying it," she said.
English literature and history senior Bryan Meyerowitz said he didn't see a clear winner after the debate.
"It didn't seem to be a fight with a winner," Meyerowitz said. "I think after watching it I was less impressed with both candidates."
Erin Chandler, a biology sophomore, said she is a Bush supporter, though after the debate she said she was disappointed by his performance.
She said she believed Kerry won the debate.
"[Bush] didn't lose me, but I was disappointed," Chandler said. "Overall it was pretty disappointing."
Biochemistry freshman Kathryn Lulling, said she thought Bush won the debate though she was more interested in the viewing party.
"I think it makes [the debate] more accessible to students and I think that's important," Lulling said. "It gives [students] more of an education about what is going on in the politics. Without that they wouldn't be able to make educated decisions."
Alan Chen, construction, housing and urban development senior, said he came to the screening to experience the debate beyond the television screen.
"It's something different to see the crowd's reaction," he said.
Pedicone said he believed watching the debate was important in being an educated voter as well.
He said the opportunity to host this screening was not one that PAB could ignore.
"It was almost necessary," he said. "Not that we felt obligated, but the fact that we were given the opportunity was amazing."
Reach the reporter at rkost@asu.edu.
