As I watched the debate Monday night between College Democrats Chair Oliver Kiefer and College Republicans Chair Sara Mikolajczak, all I could think about was how pointed the questions were and how they blatantly favored the Democrats. While it has been commented on by some writers in The Badger Herald that the debate was a landslide victory for the Democrats, they have failed to report on the points that Ms. Mikolajczak clearly won ? such as abortion, taxes and general knowledge of the U.S. Constitution.

It also must be mentioned that the majority of attendees were, in fact, Democrats, who will of course say their side won and ignore any good points that were made by the Republicans. It seems to me the entire debate was a setup, a ploy to make Republicans look bad on a campus where the majority of students and faculty are liberal Democrats.

Never mind that Ms. Mikolajczak and several other College Republicans, myself included, spent the weekend at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where Ms. Mikolajczak herself spoke. Never mind that Ms. Mikolajczak shared the stage with some of the most important and influential leaders of our country, including President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain, to name just a few.

Never mind that her speech drew a standing ovation from a packed house, and several noted people commented on her speaking skills, such as Patrick Coyle, vice president of the Young America?s Foundation, and Stacy McCain, the assistant national editor of the Washington Times, to name a few. To attack her speaking skills is absolutely preposterous, considering she has spoken in front of far more important people than the students of the University of Wisconsin.

Just because the views of the conservative Republican Party are not agreed with on the campus does not give the liberal Democrats the right to disrespect them.

Instead of acting like immature children who do not want to listen to their teachers, maybe the Democrats should take a page out of the Republican playbook and start to respect and listen to those who disagree with them. We are all young adults on this campus, and we are some of the nation?s brightest, so it is time to start treating each other with some respect.

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Kristen Wall