While eyes will be on the 12 presidential candidates on the stage Tuesday night at the fourth Democratic debate at Otterbein University in Ohio, one West Michigan man will be working behind the scenes to ensure the event runs smoothly.
Grand Haven native Matt D'Oyly is currently the Director of Events and Conferences at Otterbein University. The debate will be D'Oyly's first official event since starting at the university in July.
Otterbein is in Westerville, Ohio. It's a small university with about 3,000 students, but it has played host to several big names in politics: Mitt Romney in 2012, John McCain in 2008 and Bob Dole in 1996. Despite its size, D'Oyly is making sure the campus is prepared to host an event as big as a presidential primary debate.
"We've been working to figure out how to turn our recreation center into the debate hall that will host our 12 candidates on stage," said D'Oyly. "It's been really exciting to be able to work with CNN to bring the debate here to Otterbine. I was actually at the Coast Guard Festival in West Michigan when I got the original call ]from CNN] that they wanted to come to Otterbein."
D'Oyly said the excitement for Tuesday's debate is growing on campus. The DNC has given tickets to a number of students, letting them attend the debate. Although neither D'Oyly nor the students will get to interact with the presidential candidates on Tuesday, Matt says they will be watching for one very important topic.
"One thing I hope the candidates will talk about tomorrow is access to higher education. Something we are doing here at Otterbein is making sure that high education is accessible to everyone."
There will be 12 candidates who qualified for Tuesday's debate on the stage. Front runners Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders with be center stage.
Even though D'Oyly is living and working in Ohio, his background is purely West Michigan. He got his Masters degree from Grand Valley State University and worked for Hope College for five years and the Hope Summer Repertory Theatre for nine years.
The debate will be televised and is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. It will be hosted by CNN and The New York Times.
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