On television screens and projectors across campus lecture and residence halls, GW students gathered to watch the live 2024 presidential debate Wednesday.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off on live television on Wednesday at 9 p.m. for their first — and possibly only — debate ahead of the November general election. Three months earlier in June, Trump debated then-presumptive Democratic nominee President Joe Biden, who dropped his re-election bid after a poor performance.

While students hosted small private watch parties in residence hall common spaces and rooms, several political student organizations hosted larger gatherings. The GW College Democrats hosted its watch party in conjunction with the organization’s first general body of the meeting of the year in the Betts Theatre at the University Student Center, while three floors up, GW Democracy Matters, a non-partisan student organization, held a watch party in the student center’s amphitheater. Nearby, the GW College Republicans had their watch party in the basement of Phillips Hall.

At GW College Democrats’ watch party, the atmosphere was lively, with members playing debate bingo, cheering for Harris and laughing at Trump’s remarks. The GW College Republicans’ party was a calmer, more intense viewing, with students making occasional comments but largely remaining silent.