Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Phi Theta Kappa Co-Vice President of Leadership Brent Johnson (center) of Booneville moderates the debate between the Young Democrats of America (left) and the College Republicans (right) on the campus of Northeast Mississippi Community College Thursday, September 25.

DEBATE HELPS STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT IMPORTANCE OF VOTING

BOONEVILLE, Miss. -- With the first presidential debate at the University of Mississippi just a day away, Northeast Mississippi Community College held its own informational session about the two main party candidates and their platforms to help inform Northeast students, faculty and staff about the importance of voting.

The Northeast Iota Zeta chapter of Phi Theta Kappa honor society sponsored the event, which allowed members of the Young Democrats of America and the College Republicans time to voice their opinions to seven important topics and give their respective candidates’ position on the matters.

Three members from each organization were allowed one-minute, forty-five seconds to respond to questions about fuel and energy costs, the war in Iraq, illegal immigration, same sex marriage, primary education, the economy and college funding in front of a standing room only crowd in the Patterson Hall auditorium.

Ward Bynum, Samuel Bragg and Kyle Harvey all of Corinth stated the response for the College Republicans while Tyler Biggs and Kaela King both of Iuka and Donald Cox of Jackson gave the Young Democrats side.

Each organization was allowed to make a one-minute, thirty-second closing statement at the end of the debate.

Both organizations – Young Democrats of America and College Republicans – will be on hand Tuesday, September 30 as the Northeast Student Government Association and Phi Theta Kappa hold a voter registration drive at the Haney Union on the Northeast campus. Circuit clerks from Northeast’s five-county area will be on campus to help students register to vote for the general election in November.

Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, is the largest honor society in American higher education with 1,250 chapters on two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions. More than two million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 100,000 students inducted annually. Recognized by the American Association of Community Colleges, Phi Theta Kappa is the official honor society of two-year colleges. Northeast’s Iota Zeta is a five-star chapter, the highest rating attainable and was recently named a Top 100 chapter in the international organization.

Advisors of the Northeast chapter are Ray Harris, Andrea Mathis and Barbara Shackelford, all of Booneville and Susan Scott of Corinth.