By: Justin Gick ‘16
Features Editor

Although the special election was held on Wednesday October 16th, and the results are in I just want to pass on my experience of attending a political debate. I had the opportunity to go to the U.S. Senate debate for New Jersey at Rowan University. The debate was between Democrat and Newark NJ Mayor Cory Booker and Republican, businessman Steve Lonegan. However, I had a very interesting story of how I was able to go to this debate.
I had heard on the news that both candidates would be at Rowan University on October 9th 2013 at 7 pm for a debate, so I asked a couple of my sources if they knew how to get tickets, and one said that there was a website where you have to put your name in to win tickets, so I did and I waited a couple of days and on the day of the debate, nothing. I decided to call the President of Rowan to see how I could get in. His secretary answered and I explained who I was and she took my information down and called me back and said they had standby seating. I told my mom and I got dressed in my suit and we headed down there.
When we got there, there were a lot of news vans and people. We had to get driven up to the door in a golf cart because parking was far away. I went into the building and they gave me a standby ticket and told me to wait outside, so I did. As I was waiting I couldn’t help but overhear this one guy saying to random people do you have tickets? Because I have extras. Hearing this I went over and introduced myself and he happened to be a Legislator and he gave me a ticket to go inside.
When I got into the auditorium where it was being held, there were a lot of people and excitement. I was seated in the second section of the auditorium and I had a great view. All of the sudden Senator Stephen Sweeny walked in with his security and went to sit down. It was very exciting. As it got to be 6:50, the host told the audience what they could or could not do, and then they lowered the curtains. When the curtains came back up, the candidates appeared and the crowd went crazy.
The debate started and it got really heated, Booker calling the Tea Party out saying that Lonegan’s party caused the Government to shut down and Lonegan hitting hard to home for Cory Booker stating that you can’t even swim in the river in Newark because of all the bodies in the water from murder. Both candidates stated what they would do if they got in, Booker said he would go to Washington and create jobs and make tuition more affordable for students. Lonegan said he would free up American Enterprise. Both candidates had some interesting points. After the debate was over, I went across the street where NBC 10 had set up a post debate interview tent and Senator Sweeny was being interviewed over there.  I was standing there listening, when the Vice President of NBC 10 News Anzio Williams came up and started talking to me and asked why I was at the debate and looked at my newspaper article. He was impressed, we exchanged cards and we are in contact. The debate was interesting, and actually on Wednesday October 16th 2013 Cory Booker won the special election for New Jersey Senate.