Presidential Debate Planning with Rachel Paine Caufield of Drake University

0:00 thank you for joining us for this short 0:02 segment on the presidential debate 0:04 process here in the United States my 0:06 name is Benjamin Moore's and I'm from 0:08 the Center for academic innovation at 0:09 the University of Michigan and today I'm 0:12 joined by Rachel Paine Caulfield who's a 0:14 professor political science at Drake 0:16 University and the director of the Iowa 0:18 caucus project thank you Rachel for 0:20 joining us today the pleasure to be here 0:23 thanks 0:24 wonderful so the first question that I 0:26 have for you is can you tell us a little 0:27 bit more about how you got involved in 0:30 organizing and you know collaborating 0:34 with debate planners at Drake University 0:37 sure so several years ago as Drake 0:42 University is located in Des Moines Iowa 0:45 we have a lot of candidates in the area 0:47 and some candidates wanted to come to 0:49 campus and we realized that we didn't 0:51 have a lot of good policies in place to 0:53 facilitate candidate visits and events 0:57 on campus and so the Provost asked if I 1:00 would be willing to help craft some 1:01 policies and so I did that and as part 1:05 of our policies we created what we call 1:07 the political visitor team on our campus 1:09 and as the director of the Iowa caucus 1:12 project I became a permanent member of 1:15 the political visitor team and the 1:16 leader of the political visitor team in 1:18 our policies and so in 2007 when Drake 1:24 was approached about the potential to 1:26 host a presidential candidate debate the 1:29 political visitor team took the lead in 1:31 helping to organize that and we've done 1:33 it ever since 1:35 excellent so you may have heard here at 1:38 the University of Michigan we will be 1:39 hosting a presidential debate in the 1:42 general on October 15th and one of the 1:44 questions we've been thinking a lot 1:45 about on our end is you know what role 1:48 does the presidential debate play within 1:50 a democracy what are your thoughts on 1:52 that well traditionally I mean 1:55 presidential debates have been 1:57 tremendously important in terms of 2:00 showcasing these individuals who they 2:04 are what their ideas are what they want 2:05 to do for the country 2:07 you know showcasing that for the country 2:09 as a whole so you know historically this 2:12 was an opera 2:13 tunity for Americans to tune in and and 2:16 get a sense of who these people were and 2:18 in the social media age they play a bit 2:22 of a different role now but I think they 2:25 they still provide us a structured 2:27 environment to learn about the 2:32 candidates and their ideas and their 2:34 policy proposals how they see the world 2:36 what they want to do in a in a way that 2:39 is still mediated and moderated by a 2:43 respected voice and I think that still 2:47 has a really important role today 2:49 wonderful so we're both at universities 2:52 what what do you think they're all of a 2:54 university is within our political 2:56 system well I mean universities also 3:00 historically right.we universities to 3:02 play this incredibly important role in 3:04 educating the citizenry education for 3:08 the purpose of citizenship and I think 3:11 that's that's more powerful and more 3:13 important today than it's ever been 3:15 before 3:16 and so every time we have the 3:19 opportunity as a university community 3:22 every time we have the opportunity to 3:24 help students recognize how to 3:28 responsibly and respectfully engage in 3:30 the political process we take that role 3:33 exceptionally seriously so how many 3:37 debates have you been involved in 3:39 planning so I've hoped to plan for live 3:45 broadcast party debates which is 3:48 actually five because in 2007 we did 3:50 both Democrats and Republicans in 2011 3:54 we did the RHIB the Republican debate in 3:57 2015 we did the democratic debate in 3:59 2020 just last week we did a democratic 4:02 debate and then we've also done a series 4:07 of live broadcast town halls and forums 4:10 with with various organizations and 4:12 various news organizations wonderful so 4:15 you may have insight into this next 4:17 question but you know what goes into 4:19 planning and carrying out a debate I 4:24 don't think I fully under 4:27 so depreciated exactly how complex these 4:33 yeah these logistical arrangements have 4:36 to be there's there's just no way around 4:38 that every aspect of the campus 4:41 community is affected in some way or 4:43 another and the you know the team of 4:48 people that has to be communicating 4:51 openly about each of the various pieces 4:54 I think is tremendously important so my 4:58 number one suggestion to any campus 5:00 that's considering the possibility of 5:03 doing a debate whether a primary debate 5:06 or a general election debate is to 5:09 immediately put together a team a team 5:13 of people who respect each other like 5:15 each other communicate easily openly and 5:18 are willing to have a little bit of fun 5:20 because there will be some tense moments 5:22 and you're gonna need you're gonna need 5:26 to fall back on some good humor and good 5:28 faith uh-huh that's like you really do 5:32 have to trust the team and and once you 5:35 find those right people who are gonna be 5:36 responsive that are gonna figure out how 5:39 to make it happen then you know you have 5:42 to be willing to just follow through and 5:45 do whatever needs to be done to to get 5:47 through it because they're I mean by the 5:50 time you get to the actual event there 5:53 will be more tiny little things that pop 5:55 up that you didn't anticipate than you 5:59 can possibly imagine 6:00 wonderful so let's dive a little bit 6:03 into that team so what was your role 6:06 within the team and how were others 6:08 involved yeah so I I remain on paper at 6:12 least the leader of the political 6:13 visitor team and I'm the only faculty 6:17 member on the team we also have an 6:20 individual who leads our Public Safety 6:23 Unit on campus and is also involved in 6:26 facilities my colleague in the 6:29 university marketing communication is 6:32 heavily involved our University Events 6:34 Manager is heavily involved our 6:37 assistant dean of students is heavily 6:39 involved 6:40 and for specific events we bring in the 6:44 the managers of the specific facilities 6:46 that will be used so for the debate we 6:49 bring in our fine arts facilities 6:51 manager who's been amazing as well so we 6:54 work very well together we're a very 6:57 cohesive team and there are just no end 7:03 of there is no end of gratitude in my 7:08 mind for the amount of work that these 7:10 people step up and put in I I think it's 7:15 you know it's rare on a college campus 7:17 that faculty and staff work really 7:19 closely together outside of some sort of 7:23 academic experience this is a purely and 7:27 completely interdisciplinary 7:31 interdepartmental collaborative endeavor 7:35 and the fact that at the end of all of 7:38 these months of hard work I still like 7:41 these people and I you know we still all 7:45 enjoy each other that says everything to 7:48 me 7:48 I really really appreciate appreciate 7:51 them as colleagues wonderful so you know 7:55 expanding on that and what ways do you 7:57 engage with the larger university 7:59 community also folks living in Des 8:01 Moines or and other other parts of Iowa 8:05 yeah so we gosh when a debate happens 8:11 it literally engages every corner of 8:14 campus everything from you know the you 8:17 know obviously food service and you know 8:20 snow removal and right they we have to 8:24 trim trees and we have to move classes 8:27 and we have to really talk to local 8:30 community organizations about when 8:32 they're you know when their doors will 8:35 be open what streets are going to be 8:36 closed when and I mean it's a it's just 8:40 an amazing endeavor to to imagine how 8:45 extensive this effort is and we're a 8:48 small campus but even on a large campus 8:51 I think you know when you 8:54 really sit down and envision how an 8:56 institution functions every piece of 8:59 that institution has to be able to be 9:01 directed towards towards this project 9:05 and then engine you know we kind of 9:09 obviously when you do a big debate like 9:12 this you're working with the media 9:13 organization you're working with the 9:16 party organization you're working with 9:19 they elected officials you're working I 9:22 mean you're working across the board 9:24 with a whole range of people and and 9:27 they all bring with them different 9:29 institutional projects right they're all 9:33 trying to achieve their own goals with 9:35 with this event and so an ability to 9:38 work with them to set up spaces that 9:41 they may need on the day of or on the 9:44 days you know prior to the event 9:48 incredibly important 9:50 you know she's being gracious and 9:51 sharing tickets uh-huh and realizing 9:55 that everybody wants to be in that room 9:58 and there are only a limited number of 10:00 people who are gonna be able to be in 10:01 that room so how do you you know how do 10:04 you work with them and make sure 10:05 everyone's gonna have a great experience 10:06 so we really you know the amount of time 10:12 and energy just in conversations phone 10:14 calls meetings site visits 10:18 you really can't overestimate how much 10:21 time and effort goes into these things 10:24 yeah I think another really unique 10:27 dimension of the debates that you hold 10:29 is you know a primary election Iowa 10:32 caucuses are the first in the country so 10:35 it's really an opportunity for voters to 10:37 signal their allegiance to two 10:40 candidates early on and this has lasting 10:42 effects throughout the entire primary 10:44 voting calendar right so with that in 10:48 mind what is unique about a debate in 10:50 Iowa versus maybe a debate in another 10:52 state yeah I think I think a lot of 10:57 people assume that the candidates come 10:59 into Iowa for their caucus campaign and 11:03 they yeah they spend months on the 11:04 ground just talking about soybeans and 11:06 corn 11:08 and that's not true haha Freddie money 11:11 Oh who hasn't spent time in Iowa we do a 11:15 lot of things other than grow soybeans 11:17 and corn the interests of Iowa voters 11:22 actually overlap with the interests of 11:25 voters all over the country so you know 11:27 Iowa voters are interested in talking 11:29 about health care and then energy and 11:31 education and foreign policy and a whole 11:35 range of interests and concerns and 11:39 policy issues that that everyone across 11:41 the country is talking about so in terms 11:44 of issues I'm not sure it's that 11:45 different I think one of the things that 11:47 is different about Iowa is the level of 11:51 engagement that voters expect to have 11:54 the people who come people who are in 11:57 that room for an Iowa debate are people 12:02 who have met these candidates not once 12:06 not twice not two or three times right 12:09 but have met the dozens of times these 12:12 people have gone to a lot of events as 12:14 people are you know parts of party 12:18 organizations and their hometowns and 12:20 you know you can go to the smallest you 12:24 know County party barbeque and they've 12:29 had presidential candidates come through 12:31 for a year right so um so there's a 12:34 level of familiarity with the candidates 12:36 and I think that that can be a real 12:39 challenge for some candidates because 12:41 sometimes their persona on stage and 12:45 their persona and these small gatherings 12:48 might be different and so marrying those 12:51 images and really demonstrating to 12:53 voters that the person they are when 12:56 they're out on the stump when they're at 12:58 the barbecue when they're in the church 13:00 when they're at the diner right like 13:02 that that kind of person who seems 13:04 really relatable that that translates 13:05 easily to this more presidential forum 13:08 of standing on stage in a debate and so 13:12 I think that's that's a challenge that a 13:14 lot of candidates have to have to meet 13:16 in Iowa that they don't have to meet in 13:18 a lot of other places excellent so for 13:22 those of us that are hosting 13:24 presidential or vice presidential 13:26 debates across the the 2020 election 13:28 cycle here so University of Michigan I 13:30 said we're hosting a general debate in 13:32 October of this year and you know 13:34 University of Notre Dame Belmont 13:36 University University of Utah are all 13:39 kind of in the same space and at various 13:41 stages of planning so last question for 13:45 you is what advice do you have for us 13:47 that are her on this this end of the 13:49 planning spectrum so first piece of 13:52 advice is always build the team build it 13:55 early and make sure it's strong because 13:58 it really will be there will be trying 14:01 times so making sure those relationships 14:04 are good and then the you know second 14:10 piece of advice I always I was you know 14:12 get students involved from the beginning 14:14 and and be creative and brainstorm about 14:17 how students can be there obviously 14:19 every student wants to be in the hall 14:21 and debate night and that may or may not 14:22 work out based on the venue so how are 14:26 you kind of thinking through other ways 14:28 that students can get involved one of 14:31 them is as we said right one of the best 14:33 things of being on a college campuses we 14:35 have this role in facilitating 14:37 citizenship and debates are particularly 14:41 important historical norm and and 14:44 historical you know they are a moment in 14:48 history of this campaign and so to give 14:51 students an opportunity to experience 14:53 that on their campus in their back yard 14:56 to see that politics is real it's not 14:59 about fancy people in suits far away 15:02 it's about them right so even if they 15:06 can't be in the room what else can they 15:08 be doing right and it might be that 15:11 they're working for media organizations 15:13 or it might be that they're you know 15:14 they're working they're volunteering to 15:16 take tickets on the night off or it 15:18 might be that they're organizing watch 15:20 parties across campus right there are a 15:23 lot of different ways that students can 15:25 do this our student or student 15:27 government in the past has done 15:29 Ilia they called it politics and 15:32 pancakes right like where students could 15:34 come the morning 15:35 the debate and talk about politics and 15:37 have pancakes and and be excited to be 15:40 on a campus where a debate was being 15:41 held right so kind of finding those ways 15:44 just even if it's not at the hall it's 15:48 not a part of the debate itself if 15:49 there's a way to get them interested and 15:51 talking I think that's tremendously 15:53 important and then my third piece of 15:56 advice always it is sometimes really 15:58 easy to get lost in the weeds um all 16:02 these tiny little details and logistics 16:04 that have to come together to make it 16:06 work and you know I really can't 16:13 overestimate the yeah just the sheer 16:18 amount of unexpected things that will 16:23 that will pop up and will be frustrating 16:25 and will be you know distracting along 16:29 the way but taking a few minutes every 16:32 so often to appreciate that you are a 16:35 part of that you get to do this I think 16:38 it's also really important so you know 16:41 finding a few minutes every so often to 16:44 just kind of take a deep breath and look 16:46 around you and say this is a moment in 16:48 history for this campaign and for this 16:50 nation and I get to be here and I get to 16:53 facilitate it and and it's all in 16:57 service to something bigger I think it's 16:59 just really important that that people 17:02 be able to do that excellent well thank 17:05 you so much Rachel for joining us in 17:07 this conversation and sharing so many of 17:09 your insights into what goes into 17:11 planning and executing excellent and 17:15 thank you for joining us in a short 17:17 segment on debates I know we are looking 17:19 forward to hosting a debate here um in 17:22 October and we hope that you engage with 17:24 the community and engage in this 17:26 conversation Lomi Appliance Ad pela.earth/lomi 58:29 NOW PLAYING MOVE Series - Shaping Open Source Programming: Helping Yourself, Others, and Society Michigan Online 255 views 2 weeks ago 16:32 NOW PLAYING Architect Breaks Down 5 of the Most Common New York Apartments | Architectural Digest Architectural Digest 1.9M views