On Tuesday night, student representatives of the Republican and Democrat parties met in the Pause to discuss the virtues and vices of George W. Bush's presidency thus far.

"Has George W. Bush been a good president?" Matt Pelikan asked in the opening arguments of the "100 Days" debate. "That's the crux." The first 100 days of an administration are traditionally considered an indicator of things to come.

The brouhaha began a bit chaotically, as Pause Coordinator Sumner Musolf struggled to suspend an American flag from the ceiling and volunteers hastily set up folding chairs as the spectators began to arrive.

"I'm going to flip my virtual coin here," said John Farrell, Political Awareness Committee coordinator, who moderated the debate and chose the "pro-Bush" representatives as the initiating side.

Eric Hoplin, in the pro-Bush opener, said their argument would focus on "the ability of George W. to change the tone of Washington."

The pro-Bush debaters, Rachel Belter, Doug McGregor, Britton Rice, and Hoplin, stressed bipartisanship as one of the hallmarks of the Bush presidency. They quoted Ted Kennedy as praising Bush's "graciousness" and pointed out Bush's attendance at the Democratic Planning Retreat.

Pelikan, in the anti-Bush opener, said that a presidency depends on three things: vision, strength of character, and ability to govern.

"We believe that George Bush fails on all three," he said. Pelikan and his colleagues, Rachel Ricker and Matt Deguise, criticized Bush's cuts from the Environmental Protection Agency and education.

"We can't afford to have those programs taken away," Pelikan said.

After the opening arguments, the debate was structured to focus on taxes, international relations, the environment, and education. Questions were entertained from the audience, who sat in Democrat, Republican, and independent sections of the floor.

On taxes, Belter said, "The money belongs to the people, not to government." She believes that high taxes reflect the government seeing people as "ignorant financial babies."

Congress recently approved a $1.35 trillion tax cut over the next few years, a fact the Republicans attributed to Bush's skillful handling of inter-party relations. Pelikan responded by saying that tax cuts reflect "a projected surplus- the economy doesn't support it."

Education debates focused mainly on the voucher issue, with the sides espousing the traditional Democrat and Republican views.

Concerning international relations, pro-Bush McGregor said, "International relations weren't supposed to be an issue at this point in the presidency," but continued that the recent problems with China were solved because "we now have a clear thinking, sensible adult in charge."

Deguise disagreed with this, pointing to what he saw as Bush's poor decisions in continuing relations with Taiwan and breaking the Kyoto treaty. "He is a brash activist for his reactionary ideals," Deguise said.

Later debate focused attention on free trade, related to the FTAA decision, the national missile defense system, and the proposed oil drilling in Alaska.

On the latter issue, Hoplin supported Bush's decision by pointing out that the drilling will take place on only 2000 of the 20 million acres in the area, in tundra that is inaccessible to humans. "It will produce 1.5 million barrels of oil a day for the next 25 years," he said.

Noisemakers were provided for spectators to voice their reactions during the debate, and remarks were frequently punctuated by whirrs, beeps, and boos. Senior Chad Grell said of the debate, "I was more impressed with the Republican presentation, as funneled through Hoplin."

Junior Zac Olsen said, "Although the strength of the content of the debate fluctuated, I found the passion exemplified by members of both parties inspiring, especially Matt Pelikan."

Pelikan wrapped up his side's arguments by lighting a candle on the debating table. "George W. is taking a hard right road. I think this is a dark time for America. Let this light shine for the next four years."

Hoplin said the debate was "a solid exchange of ideas." He paused before continuing, "But I clearly think we won."