A sweaty but civil debate for student political groups

Three political student organizations debated — and sweated — in a warmer than comfortable classroom Tuesday night.

The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies hosted Campus Crossfire 2016 to facilitate a debate on national issues between the College Republicans, Young Democrats and Young Americans for Liberty.

“It was really hot, but other than that we thought it went really well,” said Tyler Clay, the joint senate president of Di Phi.

The topics covered included the Affordable Care Act, minimum wage, immigration, drones, House Bill 2, surveillance, campaign funding and the 2016 presidential election.

House Bill 2

The Young Democrats argued for repealing the law.

“The key issue here is that we are openly discriminating against people who we don’t understand in the case of these legislators clearly,” member Courtney Sams said.

The Young Americans for Liberty said House Bill 2 should be repealed because individual businesses should be able to decide who is allowed to use each bathroom and people should be allowed to live according to their values.

“A free society should be able to accommodate all different types of views,” member Peter Gosnell said.

College Republicans said they want to resolve humanitarian issues related to House Bill 2, but there were privacy issues related to bathroom use that the bill addressed.

Effects of immigration

The College Republicans argued for streamlining the immigration system.

“We really need our immigrants to come and to strengthen this nation, and that’s what they’ve done in our past,” member Alex Mitchell said.

The Young Americans for Liberty said there are limited pathways to immigrate legally into the United States.

“Immigration is a cornerstone of American values and our prosperity,” member Zach Rachuba said. Rachuba is a member of The Daily Tar Heel editorial board.

The Young Democrats said immigrants add value to the U.S. both economically and culturally.

Drones

The Young Americans for Liberty said they did not support using drones abroad and said the use of drones by law enforcement should be limited.

“This kind of state power is unacceptable,” Rachuba said. “Killing innocents is probably the best way to create new terrorists.”

College Republicans said the Republican Party is split on this topic and the military is working toward specialized operations.

“Drones have a very important, but very limited role within our military,” member Jake Riggs said.

Young Democrats said their party is also split on this issue, because there needs to be balance between personal protection and private liberty.

“The Democratic Party believes that we need to protect private freedoms when possible as well as protect American citizens as well,” member Keenan Conder said.

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