USC students reacted to abortion rights and climate change, among other issues, after the first — and perhaps only — presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris during a watch party Tuesday night hosted by the Annenberg Cross-Cultural Student Association.
Students said one of the the most critical issues of the debate they watched for were abortion rights and the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“My biggest issue is abortion rights, and I felt that Trump’s [performance] was disappointing but not surprising,” said sophomore biochemistry major Naomi Kassahun. “He also lied and said that you can execute a baby, and he just made it easier for Kamala.”
Kassahun, who is from the swing state of Pennsylvania, referred to Trump’s claims that Harris, if elected, would allow for the abortion or “execution” of newborns after birth. Moderator Linsey Davis of ABC News clarified that Trump’s statements were false, leading to the student crowd’s largest reaction of the night.
Echoing this sentiment, freshman journalism student Loralei Rohrbach said, “Roe v. Wade is very important to me as a woman, and I’m pretty Catholic, but even as a Catholic I’m very pro-choice, and it really upsets me when [Trump] hides under this Christian guise of being pro-life.”
Marcellas Belay, a sophomore studying political science, said she believed Harris succeeded in her performance on abortion rights.
“I think Kamala did pretty good on this issue and hitting back against Trump and him appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade,” Belay said.
Abortion was not the only issue important to students, however. Adam Henderson, a freshman majoring in economics, added his support for Harris’ affordable housing plan.
“I know that’s an issue,” Henderson said, “especially in Southern California for a lot of people.” Henderson said Harris’ proposal to provide first-time home buyers with a $25,000 home credit would be particularly helpful for college students in the current economy.
Senior art major Arjun Bhargava said their most pressing concerns were the climate crisis and the Israel-Hamas war and felt that neither candidate succeeded in addressing these issues.
“Harris’ willingness to change her position on fracking shows that she won’t really go against corporate interest, and same thing with their stance on not seriously acknowledging the genocide in Gaza, and not being willing to criticize Israel,” Bhargava said. “They both seem like they’re, to some extent, willing to be complacent in corporate greed and violence.”
One simpler but important issue was addressed by Rohrbach, who reflected on the political polarization of the debate and the election in general.
“I just think that we can vote differently and believe differently, but if we all believe in the good of America, why can’t we talk?” she asked. “If we sit down and boil down the issues and what we believe, I think at the end of the day, we’ll find that we’re a lot more alike than we are different.”