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A standing-room only crowd of about 200 students, faculty and staff gathered in Buder Commons on Sept. 26 to watch the first of three presidential debates.

The group was subdued at first. Viewers politely clapped for the candidates as they entered the stage. As the debate started and the candidates began to spar, the crowd grew louder.

“I thought the watch party was a good faith effort to get the whole Maryville community involved at a crucial time in American politics,” says sophomore Sarah Henkel. “The whole evening, including the live Twitter feed, was surprisingly tension free.”

The second presidential debate will take place from 8-9:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9 in St. Louis. A Debate Watch will be held in Buder Commons.

The largest number of Millennials are now eligible to vote. However, poor turnouts of eligible Millennials in 2012 have raised concerns about how many will vote in the 2016 election.

Debate Watch gatherings will be held for each of the vice presidential and presidential debates. Upcoming debates will be held Tuesday, Oct. 4 (vice presidential); Sunday, Oct. 9 (presidential); and Wednesday, Oct. 19 (presidential). All debates are scheduled from 8-9:30 p.m. CST.

To watch a Facebook Live video of the September 26 debate watch party, click here.

For Maryville University students, an ElectionU iBook in their iPads iBook app is hyperlinked to voter registration sites.