Editor’s note: Certain members of Turning Point USA, UK chapter, asked their last names to be omitted.
University of Kentucky organization Turning Point USA students hosted a watch party for the vice presidential debate Tuesday evening in the Gatton Student Center.
On Oct. 1, students gathered in the SEC room on the third floor of the Student Center to watch the debate.
The vice presidential debate, hosted by CBS, began at 9 p.m. and lasted until roughly 10:45 p.m.
The candidates discussed multiple topics, ranging from the effects of Hurricane Helene to their thoughts on gun violence, abortion rights and healthcare in America.
“Turning Point, as a whole, is just to (help) get young conservatives involved in the conservative movement if they’re passionate about it,” Turning Point president and nursing sophomore Emma M. said. “(We) advocate for freedom of speech, faith, the amendments and all that jazz.”
Emma explained how important topics involving abortion rights and the economy are to her when it comes to which presidential candidate she’ll vote for.
“I would like to be able to afford a house when I graduate, or even before I graduate,” Emma said. “So going into the election and stuff, knowing that possibly and hopefully inflation goes down and the economy gets better and evens out, that we’re able to afford stuff when we get older as adults and not be stuck in our (parents’) house.”
Turning Point USA (TPUSA) members offered coloring sheets of the two vice presidential candidates for students to draw Halloween costumes on, as well as a bingo card of possible phrases the candidates may use, for students to fill out during the debate.
Prior to the debate’s start, TPUSA member and political science freshman Blake Eggleston expressed issues that were most important to him as a young student in America.
“I think it’s important that we make prosperity affordable for Americans, but not in a way that causes inflation,” Eggleston said. “I think that giving free money is just going to raise inflation. I think that we need to facilitate better jobs…we need equal opportunities and equal results.”
Eggleston also discussed issues he believed were important for the vice presidential candidates to speak about during the debate.
“I really want some conversations about the opposing economic plans between the parties,” Eggleston said.

Following the end of the debate, TPUSA members expressed their satisfaction in how the debate went.
“I feel good, I think it was a pretty productive debate compared to the presidential one,” said marketing junior Lily B.
Lily also discussed the issue of safety in campuses in the US.
“I care about safety a lot, I know a lot of campuses are located in downtown cities, (and) I know we’ve seen a lot of crime lately at UK,” said Lily. “I think that’s really important for college campuses.”
One TPUSA member, neuroscience freshman Evan Neary, hoped there had been more openness from candidates during the debate.
“It was a respectful debate, definitely,” Neary said. “There’s just something about presidential and vice presidential (debates) that you’ll never really get the full side of the story…but, this (debate) has its benefits in getting to know the candidates a little bit better.”
Neary said that, overall, he wished to see more commitment from both candidates to commit themselves to America’s founding principles.
“We were founded as a nation that cared about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness or property,” Neary said. “I’d just like to see the candidates care about our fundamental rights that other people shouldn’t be able to take away from us.”