“Dianne Feinstein,” “John McCain” and “Jesse Ventura”
will square off in a no-holds-barred debate on Wednesday, Feb. 28,
at 5 p.m. in Reamer Auditorium.
And by the end of the day, one will be elected
“Simulated President” (SimPres for short)
by members of the “American public”— that is, anyone
who shows up to watch.
The debate and election are the culmination of a class
project for Electoral Politics with Prof. Zoe Oxley. Students this
term have been conducting an election, complete with position
papers, speeches, ads and press briefings.
The candidates are Christina Tremante as Feinstein,
Michael Vrakatitsis as McCain, and Max Braz as Ventura. And just
as students are playing the roles politicians, others will
portray journalists from real news organizations: Brooke
Crowder (New York Times), Brad Fisher (New York
Post), and Marcy Hersh (Mother Jones). The rest
of the students are on candidates' staffs.
All Union students, faculty and staff are invited to attend
the debate, and all will be asked to vote at the end.