[img_assist|nid=32659|title=Ready to Go|desc=Student supporters of candidate John McCain gather behind a Fox 5 News reporter during a live broadcast.|link=node|align=right|width=|height=0]Greetings from Hofstra University, the site of the third and final presidential debate. Photo Editor Jenn Vargas and I arrived early this morning, eager to get a look at the campus preparing to host one of the most heated discussions in history. In the aftermath of the McCain campaign’s controversial accusations of Obama, and against the backdrop of an increasingly fragile economy, students and mainstream media outlets are gearing up for a talk that can influence the crucial November 4th vote.
Classes are cancelled today on campus, and come noon students are finally emerging from their dorm rooms. Tables are set up in the student center, and glamed-up television faces are dispersed throughout the sweatshirt-clad student body. Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, ABC and CBS are among the media outlets peppered throughout the suburban campus. At 1 p.m., MSNBC will be filming an episode of Hardball.
Student activism on campus is clear. So far, we have seen a re-enactment of the civil war, a polar bear “seeking change,” and a “clean coal” Santa Clause sauntering around, shaking students’ hands and getting the crowd psyched. Security is tight, but our carefully planned disguise as college students was enough to let is in without suspicion.
We’re off to roam — check back later for updates from Hofstra.
[img_assist|nid=32661|title=Natural Habitat|desc=A polar bear waits outside of the Hofstra student center.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=300px]