Guilderland Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, October 23, 2008
At Hofstra debate
Burger in the frontlines, shepherding the press
By Saranac Hale Spencer
GUILDERLAND — Elizabeth Burger spent the hours preceding last week’s presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. shepherding reporters around her campus.
“It was really cool,” said the freshman print journalism major from Guilderland. Working an off-campus lot, directing the media to the debate hall, Burger was impressed by how much goes into each event. Her job was to check credentials, she said, “Basically, we were the first checkpoint.”
Burger volunteered to help with the debate’s logistics when she heard that it would be held at Hofstra, she said, explaining that having been a Girl Scout for years created a taste for volunteerism in her.
Of the debate itself, which she watched in person, Burger said that there was no clear winner, observing, “They were both being safe with what they said.”
Her choice for president, though, is very clear. “Obama. Definitely Obama, all the way,” she said. “He’s just very inspirational,” she explained of her reasoning. “We need something new.”
Although she didn’t get to meet the candidates, Burger said that she was pleased with the experience and liked meeting and talking with reporters. After the debate, she said, “It was really cool how they wanted to know how the students felt.”