On July 16, 2015, CU-Boulder, CNBC, and the RNC announced that there would be a presidential primary debate held on October 28th at the Coors Center in CU-Boulder. In the original announcement made by CU-Boulder, it was promised that students would be able to buy tickets for the debate.

The Daily Camera reported on September 18th that this would not be the case. Only 50 selected students and staff would be able to attend the debate, and republican donors and supporters would fill another 950 seats, bringing the total to 1,000 audience members in an event center that can house 11,000 people.

We believe that students should be represented better in the audience on such an occasion in our democracy, as we face unique issues that candidates should be addressing at a debate that is centered around fiscal/monetary policy. Students also deserve more than a measly 50 seats as it is our tuition that is paying for the maintenance and operation of the Coors Center.

We call on the RNC and CNBC to make at least another 900 tickets available to students so that they make up 50% of the audience.