"DebateWatch 2004" will take place in Room 104 of Sequoia Hall near the center of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge. The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. in anticipation of the 6 p.m. start time of the debate.

Oct. 13 is the last in a series of three debates between President George W. Bush and challenger Sen. John Kerry. The evening's topic is the economy.

"This event is a great opportunity to bring students and the community together to talk and share ideas during this very important political season," said Becky Opsata, director of forensics in Northridge's Department of Communication Studies and coordinator of the event.

DebateWatch is a voter-education partner project between the National Communication Association and the Commission on Presidential Debate. The project involves inviting students and community members to watch one of the presidential debates and discuss it afterwards, rather than relying on the media "spin" to form an opinion.

When the debate ends, viewers are divided into groups for a facilitated discussion on key issues of the debate. Participants then complete a report on their impressions, which is then forwarded to the Commission on Presidential Debates for compilation.

This is the first time Cal State Northridge's Communication Studies Department has participated in the project since it began in 1996. The Oct. 13 event is sponsored by the university's Speech and Debate Team.