Albion College seeks to hold GOP debate By Jeremy W. Peters Daily Staff Reporter With the announcement last week that Albion College plans to become the second college in the state to host a presidential debate, many have been left asking themselves why the University of Michigan has never been host to such a prestigious event. Vice President for Government Relations Cynthia Wilbanks said the University did in fact look into holding a debate last year, but decided against it. "We did a lot of investigation into whether we had suitable facilities to hold a debate," Wilbanks said. "But we discovered we did not have the types of facilities in close proximity to each other." Unlike the primary debate sponsored by the Michigan Republican Party at Calvin College earlier this month, the University wanted to host a post-convention debate with the nominated candidates participating. Debates that occur after the primary season fall under the jurisdiction of the Presidential Debate Commission. Because debates sponsored by the commission are much larger events that only include the parties' nominees, the facilities needed to accommodate them must be of immense size. Wilbanks said the University considered Hill Auditorium and Crisler Arena as possible sites to hold a debate, but they soon found neither venue had enough space and a nearby area to house the press corps for the event. "Because we could not adequately meet (the commission's) needs, we decided not to submit an application," Wilbanks said. Wilbanks said railroad tracks cutting across the Athletic Campus rule out Crisler Arena as a possible site. While the University will not host a presidential debate this year, Albion may suffer a similar fate. Although the college has invited all six Republican candidates, none have announced plans to attend. "We have not yet received any responses, but we still think the timing for our debate is very advantageous," Albion spokesperson Sarah Briggs said. The college has scheduled its debate for Feb. 20, two days before the Michigan Republican primary. Dealing Albion yet another blow, Gov. John Engler has said he does not support the debate. Engler spokesperson John Truscott said the primary reason the governor is not supporting the Albion debate is because of the school's location in the sparsely populated south-central region of the state. "We have the priority that if a debate is going to happen, it will be in Southeastern Michigan," Truscott said. Truscott added that he is currently in communication with Texas Gov. George W. Bush's campaign about a possible debate in Southeastern Michigan before the Feb. 22 primary. "I wouldn't expect it to happen at Albion," Truscott said. The Michigan Republican Party is also apprehensive about a debate at Albion. "We are not endorsing the debate, and we are not planning to get behind the effort," Republican Party spokesperson Ed Patru said. "We're certainly not going to thwart any efforts by Albion, but as a party, we have chosen to give deference to the governor's point of view." Originally on page 3A in the 1-24-2000 issue of the Daily.