And about tonight's debate. Though student leaders disagree about who would make the best president for the next four years, they concur on one thing: It's good to see so many students interested in the race.

"No matter which candidate you align with, students need to vote," said Sumeet Bagai, president of the university's Student Government Association.

A 20-year-old junior, Bagai was excited by the flood of complaints when a football pep rally was scheduled at the same time as the first presidential debate on Sept. 30. Bagai said his office found that 75 percent of eligible Tech students are registered to vote. Student government workers are signing up more. They mailed in 200 voter registrations and 725 absentee ballot requests, and still have forms to go through, he said.

Bagai said what bugs him most is when he hears, "Oh, my vote doesn't matter."

"We saw what happened in Florida at the last election. ... It's time for students to be the swing generation," he said.

Students who saw the first presidential debate - many gathered for "debate watch rallies" - are divided on whether George Bush or John Kerry won, and on what political philosophy is best for their own futures.

"People are beginning to see that these aren't just abstract issues," said Aashish Karkhanis, a senior and president of Tech's Young Democrats. "Kerry said he's going to stop giving companies rewards for moving companies overseas. President Bush has really turned his back on us by giving tax cuts to companies that move overseas. Technological jobs are going overseas at an alarming rate."

Lauren O'Neil, a 20-year-old sophomore who heads the College Republicans at Tech, believes that students aren't interested in "anything financial." She argues that her candidate is on the right track.

"Jobs have been moving at an upward rate for the past 2 1/2 years and President Bush got us out of a recession that he did not start," she said.

Jonathan McGlumphy, a 25-year-old graduate student, represents the campus Libertarian Party and will vote for Michael Badnarik on Nov. 2. Philosophically, he believes Badnarik offers the best leadership options. Realistically, he knows the Libertarian won't get to prove it.

"Between the two major contenders, Bush has beenmore consistent. He has been consistent perhaps to a fault," McGlumphy said.

Dianna Reed, 21, said her campus chapter of the NAACP recently sponsored a debate featuring the Young Democrats, College Republicans and the Libertarians. Other campus debates ignored the Libertarians. "A lot of people don't get the chance to hear what the Libertarians have to say," she said.

Reed said she has made up her mind who will get her vote - but she's keeping it to herself. "The NAACP is nonpartisan," she noted. "We signed up 176 students to vote."

Claire Compton, the 21-year-old editor of the student newspaper, The Collegiate Times, won't say who she's voting for, either. She resorts to the one comment journalists hate to hear: "No comment."

Compton said she has noticed greater interest in the election among people her age, but "People should be looking more at domestic policy and Iraq and that stuff. We're of the age to be drafted."

The presidential debate has even invaded college football.

Bryan Randall, the 21-year-old quarterback who leads the Hokies football team, said he has found himself in the midst of heated debates at his teammates' gatherings off the field. This will be his first presidential election and the sociology graduate student said he hasn't decided yet who to support - or who won the first debate.

Football and studies didn't allow him to watch Kerry and Bush's first match, Randall said. As for tonight's contest, Randall said he'll catch it if the Hokies, who are on the road for a game with Wake Forest, make it to the hotel on time.

"Call me after the next debate and I may be able to tell you more," Randall said in a phone call from the Hokies locker room.