6 UH students among debate audience

Presidential candidates Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich stand before the national anthem during the Republican Presidential Primary Debate at the University of Houston Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. less Presidential candidates Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich stand before the national anthem during the Republican Presidential Primary Debate at the University of Houston Thursday, ... more Photo: Gary Coronado, Houston Chronicle Photo: Gary Coronado, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 135 Caption Close 6 UH students among debate audience 1 / 135 Back to Gallery

Just six of the more than 42,700 University of Houston students will have a seat in the Moores Opera House for the Republican debate Thursday night.

Under its agreement with CNN, which is hosting the debate, UH received tickets for just 25 of the 800 seats in the theater. A university spokeswoman said 14 of those tickets went to UH regents, President Renu Khator and "special guests." The remaining 11 were distributed to students, faculty and staff through a lottery that hundreds entered.

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"We knew that tickets will be limited, but '25' was a much lower number than I was ready to hear," Khator wrote in her blog on Wednesday. "Even though we gave a portion of the tickets to students/faculty/staff for random drawing, it barely made a dent in the demand. So we had to think of every possible way to get people engaged and involved."

The exclusivity hadn't chilled the mood on campus, where CNN was broadcasting live from outside Cullen Performance Hall all of Thursday. A panel of TVs in the student center, where the students who can't get into Moores can attend a watch party, aired CNN all day under an arch of red, white and blue balloons. Student organizations were set up all around, selling tacos, baked goods and more to raise money.

Dozens of students lined up outside behind the stage where CNN was broadcasting, hoping to get some airtime. Some held sign, like Ryan Rodgers, 19, and Tooba Iqbal, 21. They carried signs reading "Trusted" to show CNN viewers that even a "liberal" school like UH has fans of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

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"We're showing nationally that Ted Cruz does have supporters here on campus," Rodgers, a hotel and restaurant management major, said.

Across the street, Melanie Franco, 21, and Erica Petersen, 21, stood under a massive banner advertising the event, holding signs protesting it.

"Will the GOP pay for my canceled classes, because I HAD to," Franco's sign said.

"Donald Trump has made discriminatory remarks about 2 in 5 UH students," Petersen's said.

The two said they have nothing against the debate, but feel CNN has "taken over" campus and given little back in return. Classes were canceled, streets were closed, parking was difficult at best.

The 40 students that picked to work as volunteers ran errands for CNN on Wednesday and Thursday. Few would actually get to meet the candidates, Franco said.

Petersen pointed out that UH is the second-most diverse campus in the nation and the Republican frontrunners who will be given a stage at the school have said "very discriminatory things against our students."

"This is our home and they're bringing these people into our home," Franco said.