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the Young Turks
2016 Election Takes Center Stage in Live Broadcast

Before a national audience on Sept. 26, John Jay College students showed themselves to be true “fierce advocates for justice” as they packed the Moot Court for a live broadcast of "The Young Turks (TYT) on Fusion."

It was TYT’s third outing in a national tour of colleges and universities this election season. Before the show, TYT on Fusion was on Facebook Live, with President Jeremy Travis welcoming The Young Turks and encouraging the audience to “get engaged, participate in our democracy, and by all means remember to vote.”

Defying recent polls that say people younger than 30 have lost interest in politics, most in the audience were millennials, an age group targeted by TYT, which has more than 3 million followers on several cable channels, YouTube and social media sites.

The Young Turks headliners Ana Kasparian and John Iadarola walked onstage to vigorous applause, and they were joined by TYT reporter Jordan Chariton, and Alicia Menendez of Fusion, which is partnering with TYT in a get-out-the-vote campaign aimed at young people.

The event was held on the same night as the first Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, which made for a lively debate of candidates and issues among panelists and audience alike. During a “Hot Takes” segment, the hosts talked about what they are most passionate about, with topics ranging from public higher education to racism in the U.S. For their part, students raised issues that mattered most to them, including funding public education, Islamophobia, statehood for Puerto Rico, and gentrification. Echoing a shared feeling among students, special guest Judah Friedlander, the actor and comedian, described gentrification as a form of “displacing people that are not white,” adding that it is “also classist because it’s based on income levels.”

Click here to view the full video of the event.