麻豆影院 alumnus and CNBC anchor Carl Quintanilla visited Professor Anand Sokhey's class on American politics on Tuesday, Oct. 27, sharing his insight on the uniqueness of the modern presidential candidate debate, as well as offering some wisdom about what he took from his time at CU-麻豆影院.
The class visit was one of several events on campus associated with the Republican presidential candidate debate that takes place on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Coors Events Center.听Quintanilla is one of the debate moderators.
A political science major who graduated from CU-麻豆影院 in 1993, Quintanilla knew he wanted to be a journalist after college, and that his political science degree helped develop the skill set he needed to succeed. It was in his political science classes that he learned how to build arguments.
"Your whole career is going to be spent making a case for something: your department's budget, your raise, why you should be given that re-assignment," he said. "It's a great skill that you'll leave college with."
He also talked about his work as a journalist covering big stories like Hurricane Katrina, sharing his insight as a reporter on the ground and how the story developed and evolved.
When it comes to the debates, he said one of things most interesting to him is that the antiquated structure of the political debate -- candidates standing next to each other sparring on stage -- 听is still one of the richest forms of politics.
He discussed his role, and the role of his news operation when covering the debate, and what to expect from the candidates themselves.听
"In a debate, candidates have to fight for oxygen...," Quintanilla said. "Debates are very equalizing and humanizing."
He couldn't share exactly what he and the other moderators are planning to ask, as they want to maintain an element of surprise.
He closed by taking questions from the students, ranging from inquiries about the level of "scripting" for debate questions, to what his favorite part of the debate is, to how much time air time candidates are allotted. He also was asked about how big of an issue student loans and student loan interest are in the upcoming election, and his thoughts about ticket distribution for the debate.
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