Hundreds of interested students attended the watch party in Larsen Student Union, where The Compassion Forum was streamed live on a large screen. Nicole Trimmer ’09 says, “The Compassion

Forum was a great opportunity to find out the perspectives candidates have on some of the issues clearly tied to the gift of compassion — because the story of Christ is one big compassion story.”

D. Kelly Phipps, spouse of the College president, says, “We are educating students for service, leadership, and reconciliation, and hosting the Forum fits precisely in our mission statement, fits precisely in an academic liberal arts setting.”

The College catering staff served thousands of additional meals to campaign staff members, media representatives, and security personnel over the course of the weekend. Kathie Shafer, vice president for operations, praises the staff, saying, “Messiah always does certain things extremely well; we made sure we let them shine this time.”