UNLV presents series of events about debate

A series of political events and discussions surrounding Thursday's Democratic presidential debate at UNLV will be held on campus this week.

A variety of groups and organizations plan the events including today's debate between the student Democratic and Republican clubs to Friday's panel discussion on national security sponsored by the Brookings Institution and UNLV.

CNN will conduct and broadcast the actual debate live at 5 p.m. Thursday from the Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. No tickets are left.

All of the events listed below are free and open to the public. Only Friday's foreign policy discussion will require tickets, which are free.

• Today at 6:30 p.m. in the UNLV student union theater, the UNLV College Republicans will debate the UNLV Young Democrats on national issues. Local political columnist Jon Ralston will moderate.

• Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the university's north field, the ONE, an organization that seeks to eliminate AIDS and poverty, will host a concert featuring the bands The Cab and Ashbury.

• Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Beam Music Center Recital Hall, the Black Mountain Institute will host the debate, "The (Failed?) State of American Politics -- an Election-Year Assessment" featuring state Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, former CNN news anchor Aaron Brown, and New Yorker staff writers Ryan Lizza and George Packer.

• Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Marjorie Barrick Museum auditorium, professor Max Neiman of the Public Policy Institute of California will host, "Spilling Over: The Migration Between Attitudes Regarding Immigration and Policy Preferences."

• Friday between 9 a.m. and noon at the student union theater, the Brookings Institution and the university's Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies will host a panel of foreign policy experts and political analysts for a discussion on national security. Tickets are limited and available 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today through Thursday at the student government booth in the student union food court.

Also, on Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m., UNLV will host the discussion, "Caucuses -- The What, Why and How," which Ralston also will moderate. Panelists will include state Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, Nevada Republican caucus director Hans Gullickson, UNLV associate professor of political science David Damore, plus one additional member from each party. A reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. outside the auditorium.