‘Technique’ Editor to Represent Student Media With Debate Coverage

Thursday, the nation will turn its attention to Atlanta for the first 2024 presidential debate. There will be no crowd inside the Warner Media campus on Techwood Drive, where the debate will take place, but the Technique's managing editor, Alec Grosswald, will be in the center of the media frenzy taking place across the street.

Granted a credential to attend media row and the spin room inside McCamish Pavilion alongside national and local media, Grosswald will provide live updates and a behind-the-scenes look inside the event on the publication's Instagram page. Additional updates will be posted to the paper's website throughout the evening.

The third-year mechanical engineering student and his colleagues on the editorial board fielded policy questions from classmates with the intent of giving the student body a seat at the table.

"Our goal is to take students' questions and broadcast the answers from campaign surrogates in the spin room," he said. "We want the students to have a voice. That's something we've discussed as young voters, and not feeling valued is a potential driving factor behind low youth voter turnout."

Leading into Thursday's debate coverage, the paper's editorial board will share one of its "consensus opinion" pieces outlining thoughts on the current state of youth voters in Georgia as the election cycle ramps up. The Technique will release a comprehensive recap early next week from Grosswald's coverage, complete with interviews and reactions.

The debate's proximity to campus created an opportunity for the student newspaper to garner real-world experience alongside journalists from around the world, and Grosswald is elated to represent the Technique on the floor.

"It's gratifying that bigger news organizations and institutions are recognizing the value of student media, and it's validating that we'll have the same opportunity to get answers for our audience," he said. "This is a real opportunity to grow our platform and the voice of student media."

Thursday's debate will cause congestion throughout the Georgia Tech campus. Learn more about its impact on travel and parking here.