Tuesday night, Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump met face-to-face for the first time for their only scheduled debate. The two candidates discussed hot button issues including immigration, abortion and the state of American democracy.

The Emerald conducted a survey where students shared their post-debate thoughts. University of Oregon senior Bevin Kelly responded that their support for Harris has been even more validated.

“It hasn’t changed, it further made me support Harris,” Kelly said in the survey.

Emily Stevens, a senior at UO, said that reproductive healthcare was another discussed issue.

“I fear that [the] wrong candidate will be elected and women will lose their human rights and that our country will be more divided than ever,” Stevens said.

When it came to debate performances, many students believed that Harris came more prepared and did a better job at answering the moderator’s questions compared to Trump. 

“Trump just kept dissing and arguing with not only Harris but with the moderators. [It was] very disrespectful behavior toward everyone in the room,” UO sophomore Em Wilkey said.  “Rather than acknowledging and answering questions, he critiqued Harris’ comments and answers.” 

Junior Kayla Chang said that Harris not only performed better than Trump, but she answered the questions with strong rhetoric.

“The issues most important to me are abortion and affordable healthcare. I think Harris is a huge advocate for affordable and accessible healthcare,” Chang said.

Using one word, students described their feelings about the debate as: unwell, fulfilled, good, concerned, nerve-racking, extreme, frustrated, pitiful, hopeful and scared.