Editorial

Hofstra makes some presidential history

Posted

On Monday, the first of three presidential debates is coming to Hofstra University. When Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off, Hofstra will become the first institution of higher learning ever to host debates in three consecutive election cycles.

The residents of Nassau County should be proud of the university’s accomplishment. The Commission on Presidential Debates has noted the success of the debates Hofstra hosted in 2008 and 2012, and those of us who attended felt honored to take part in events of such great consequence, both of which went off without a hitch. Here’s hoping for a repeat next week.

As it has in the past, Hofstra will be temporarily transformed into the epicenter of political analysis, spin and, potentially, protest. This will most likely make Uniondale, East Meadow, Garden City and Hempstead — Nassau County’s Hub — a nightmare for those trying to get to or from school or work next Monday. County police have already announced that day’s road closures.

From 5 a.m. until midnight, Charles Lindbergh and Earl Ovington boulevards will be closed. And Hempstead Turnpike will be closed to all traffic between Oak Street and Merrick Avenue, by Eisenhower Park, beginning at noon and ending at midnight.

Conspiracy theorists might add Hofstra to their lists — How did it land another debate? — but we’d remind them that the university was not the Commission on Presidential Debates’ first choice. Wright State University, in Ohio, pulled out of hosting duties in July. The cost of ensuring the safety and security of students, staff, attendees and candidates — estimated at $5 million to $8 million — led to Wright State’s relatively last-minute reversal. That left Hofstra, a host runner-up, scrambling to prepare for an event of worldwide significance in a little over three months.

In the spring and summer, both candidates attracted a significant number of protesters. There has been sporadic violence at Trump rallies. Wright State President David R. Hopkins made it clear that this factored into the school’s decision. “There has been a growing crescendo of concern about what it would take to guarantee the safety and security of the campus and the community,” Hopkins said. “The expense would be daunting.”

Even with its successful experience in hosting two previous debates, Hofstra also had funding issues. To help cover the cost, the school turned to some of its wealthiest alumni. University spokeswoman Karla Schuster explained that real estate developers Peter Kalikow and David Mack — namesake of the site of the debate, the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex — along with Lawrence Herbert, the former chief executive of Pantone Inc., for whom Hofstra’s School of Communications is named, had “generously agreed to help underwrite the cost.”

In April, Trump, who was not yet the Republican Party’s nominee, came to Nassau County for a rally at Grumman Studios in Bethpage. Many residents of New York state, which has not given a majority of its votes to a Republican candidate since President Reagan’s 49-state victory in 1984, have appeared surprisingly enthusiastic about Trump’s campaign. Nearly 10,000 people filled Stage 3 at Grumman, while only a few hundred protested outside. But Trump’s rhetoric has hardly cooled in the months since, while Clinton has had no shortage of problems of her own. So, on this much bigger stage, with so much at stake, Hofstra should be prepared for a much larger gathering of protesters from both sides of the aisle.

And then there are those who are shouting that these two deeply unpopular candidates shouldn’t have the debate stage to themselves. But neither Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson nor the Green Party’s Jill Stein has polled high enough to be included, so Clinton-Trump it will be. We wish the moderator, NBC News anchor Lester Holt, the best of luck.

The thousands who descend on Hofstra next week may be drawn by the entertainment value, the controversy and the potential fireworks inside and outside the Mack Complex. Yes, that’s all part of the story, but we can’t forget that this will be a debate between two people vying to be the next president of the United States. History will be made in that arena, just six weeks before one of the participants becomes the leader-elect of the free world.