From “most important debate of the century” to “inconsequential and surface level” the responses to the presidential debate on Sept. 10 varied. While many people had specific expectations for former president Donald Trump, this was seen as Vice President Kamala Harris’s debut — as it were — despite having served a full term in the role. So, how were those expectations met or changed? And what impression has Harris made on our community?

It’s been frequently said that this is the most important election of our time which makes this quite possibly the most significant debate we will ever watch, as it was the first (and maybe the last) time we’ve ever seen Harris and Trump face off against each other. “I was really excited for the debate for a number of reasons, knowing those two had never met before was very interesting to me,” Ida B. Wells history teacher Max Trezise said. This “First Meeting of the Candidates” was heavily publicized to build excitement and viewing numbers.

Going into the debate, there were a lot of expectations about how much of a spectacle it would be. “I think I really bought into the hype about both candidates,” says IBW government teacher Tim Loveless. With so much attention to how both candidates have performed with public speaking in the past, it was easy to make assumptions that “Trump would be crazy and incoherent where Harris was sharp, focused and impressive,” said Loveless.

This was such an important debate that was so heavily publicized that many teachers heavily encouraged students to watch it. “Originally I watched it just because my English teacher suggested that we watch it,” said junior and Speech and Debate member Elise Gorsegner-Harless. History teacher Allison Croney said, “I told my senior political economy class if they watched it and wrote a little bit about it they’d get extra credit, then I realized I’d have to watch it too.”

However, despite expectations and hopes that the debate would be productive, many are annoyed by its conclusion “It’s interesting, [high schoolers] don’t have any real memory of presidential debates where it was serious,” said Croney, “it’s wild that this is the first one that so many people will remember, and that they will not remember the content, just the unhinged sound bites.” Croney is not the only teacher with this feeling, IBW English teacher Alexa Bryant-Capellas expressed concerns that the debate is being treated as “a joke.” 

There seems to be a general consensus that this debate was another low point for American politics. “In normal times I think debates are really important to watch to understand more about the candidate’s positions on policies; in this case, it was more important to watch to see how the candidates react to pressure,” said Croney.  Many students echoed Croney’s disappointment with the lack of content. “Many of the conversations were very inconsequential and surface level,” said junior and Speech and Debate member Jay Elstad-Mastrolonardo. 

The debate left a lot of questions for IBW students, many feeling that issues they found important weren’t addressed. “It was weird, they didn’t talk about climate change or anything,” Gorsegner-Harless said. This is a show of how the quality of presidential debates has gone down over recent years, Croney said “[I am] bummed that for so many high school students this is what is normal in politics for them, and it shouldn’t be because it’s not normal”  

Students are very disappointed with the results of the debate “I was hoping that they were gonna stay on topic and answer the questions and not start personally criticizing each other,” said Aaron Villarreal, a junior at IBW. Many students share similar grievances “It was humorous and amusing in the moment, looking back it’s disappointing,” Elstad-Mastrolonardo said. However, many adults found the debate was very successful. “Harris did a wonderful job, she was very articulate,” said Trezise. During the debate, an ABC journalist went so far as to say she was “downright presidential” in post-debate coverage. 

Many are upset that they won’t see more from the candidates in a second debate. “I don’t know if it feels like we took a step forward or not and I would’ve liked to see more from Harris and Trump in a debate setting.” Adrien Worley IBW juniorsaid. While Worley isn’t alone in wishing to see more from the candidates, some feel that a second debate between Harris and Trump would end in a similar pattern of jokes and disappointment. Elstad-Mastrolonardo said “I’d learn more from a vice presidential debate”