CANDIDATE ENCOURAGES STUDENTS TO PROTEST DEBATE

Independent gubernatorial candidate Larry Rice called upon Southeast Missouri State University students to protest the exclusion of third-party candidates from a debate that will be held at the university next week.

Rice is one of five candidates who was not invited to participate in a televised debate taking place at 7 p.m. Monday at Academic Hall. Major-party candidates Bob Holden and Jim Tallent will participate in the event, which will be televised live on KFVS TV-12.

Rice said he was told by university and television officials the debate will include only major-party candidates because debates are more manageable with two people.

Organizers have said the hour-long time slot divided among that many candidates wouldn't allow for a substantive debate.

But Rice has his own theory.

"We're being locked out because we don't get the big money," he said. "They like to talk about each other because basically in a lot of areas their ideas are very similar. I've got a whole set of ideas I can bring into this debate, and they're afraid of that."

Rice and a handful of supporters gathered in front of Academic Hall at the university Thursday afternoon to discuss a planned protest to be held prior to the debate. Members of the Society for Free Thought and the Campus Libertarian Party are among those planning to attend the rally.

"We feel the university is one of the most appropriate tools to do this, but if they're hosting it with taxpayer money, they should allow all of the taxpayers' candidates to be represented," said Chris Hittinger, president of the Society for Free Thought. "We need more viable political options."

Matt Leckett, chairman of the Campus Libertarian Party, called the idea of a debate with only two candidates "ludicrous." In our reality, it's just the Democrats and the Republicans, and they're being run by a bunch of extremists," he said.