The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences will host a presidential politics symposium and conduct live polling during the Republican presidential candidates’ debate prior to the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses on March 1.
CLASS has joined with the UH Law Center (UHLC) to present a half-day conference analyzing the 2016 presidential campaigns on Feb. 23, two days before the Republican candidates come to the UH campus to participate in their final debate before the Super Tuesday primaries.
Students from the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication and Department of Political Science will do live polling of people attending the UH watch party at the Student Center during the Feb. 25 televised debate. During the commercial breaks, students will do live broadcast commentary available on campus only, as well as use social media to provide written responses and reactions.
“The difference between the positions of the candidates, and the social, political, and economic consequences of those differences will be illuminated and dissected by the expert UH faculty in the humanities and social sciences,” said Steven G. Craig, interim CLASS dean and professor of economics.
At the Feb. 23 symposium, law, economics and political science professors will discuss the judicial, domestic and international implications of the fall election. The conference will be from 2:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 23, in the Student Center Ballroom. Register online at www.law.uh.edu/debate.
“The Law Center is excited to co-host this event with CLASS to have a full opportunity for faculty, students, staff, and members of the public to fully ventilate the legal, economic, and political issues likely to be discussed during the upcoming election,” said Dean Leonard M. Baynes.
“Super Tuesday: Analyzing the 2016 Presidential Election” will include three panel discussions:
- “Presidential Politics & Policy” with UHLC Dean Baynes and Associate Professor Brandon Rottinghaus and Assistant Professor Elizabeth Simas, both of the Department of Political Science
- “Supreme Court & Economic Implications of Presidential Elections” with CLASS Dean Craig, Assistant Professor Vikram Mahershri of the Department of Economics, and Professor Seth Chandler and Assistant Professor D. Theodore Rave, both of the Law Center
- “Presidential Elections & Latino Politics in the U.S.” with Professor Richard Murray, Associate Professors Jason Casellas Associate Professor Jeronimo Cortina, all in the Political Science Department, and Adjunct Professor Ignacio Pinto-Leon of the Law Center
The panels will be moderated by Law Center Associate Dean Marcilynn A. Burke.
The Republican presidential candidates’ debate, moderated by CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, will be Thursday, Feb. 25, in the Moores Opera House in the Moores School of Music on the UH campus. The on-campus debate is a ticketed event hosted by the Republican National Committee. The University of Houston is acting as site-host for this private event and does not have debate tickets available for sale or distribution to the general public.
Super Tuesday is March 1. Primaries or caucuses will take place in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming.