Collapse of Debate Disappoints USD : Campaign: Some are cynical about the presidential confrontation’s demise, some let down after planning.

After weeks of planning, University of San Diego students reacted with slightly jaded disappointment Tuesday to news that the U.S. presidential debate scheduled for Sunday has been called off.

Students at the private Catholic campus had spent weeks preparing for the debate, spending $12,000 to erect a wall to display their political views, and planning a candlelight vigil for Saturday night to illuminate their writings.

News of the cancellation left some students irritated, but not too surprised.

“There’s definite frustration on the part of the students here,” said 19-year-old Jason Orlando. “Hey, if these two guys can’t just get together and sit down and talk about issues in a well-mannered sense, that kind of tells you about the political system.

“These guys are our two choices,” said Orlando, who penned “I’m really BUMMED” on the 140-foot long wall after the announcement.

Other responses on the mural wall, designed by students as an homage to differing political opinions, included “Nixon in 96” painted in bold purple strokes. The artist: a cynical 19-year-old business student who said he predicted Tuesday’s letdown from the beginning.

“I knew they weren’t coming. Bush already knew he lost in California. It wouldn’t be worth his while,” said Glenn Shihata, 19. “I think Bush is going to agree to have a debate. It’s just not going to be here. He’s going to have it someplace where he has a chance.”

Although Tuesday’s news brought an abrupt end to weeks of mounting excitement on campus, students and staff members said the debate planning will have a lasting impact at the 6,000-student university.

“It really caused interest and a lot of discussion,” said Student Body President Shane Bohart, 21, who planned the message wall as a way to express political ideas without confrontation.

Inscriptions include everything from minor insults to candidates, to comments on abortion and elaborate commentaries on domestic and foreign policy.

“The idea was to just respect each other’s differences and get away from the hatred and argumentative style that seems to be so pervasive,” he said. “We’re just going to continue doing it. If nobody comes, our message is still being heard by one another.”

“Students who normally pay little attention to national elections have been reading two or three newspapers a day,” said Kate Callen, a public relations officer.

Orlando said students still plan to make banners and go through with the candlelight vigil Saturday night.

In addition to the $12,000 spent by students, the university spent about $30,000 preparing the auditorium for the debate, said Jack Cannon, head of USD public relations.

Pacific Bell donated a $75,000 fiber-optic line to the campus.

USD had set a deadline of 2 p.m. Tuesday for the candidates to make up their minds about Sunday’s debate. Although Cannon said the university is willing to consider a later date, Sunday is no longer feasible--even if President Bush agrees to it in the eleventh hour.

“We had a very specific window, where USD felt it could work a presidential debate into our heavy academic schedule,” Cannon said. “After today, the university would have to begin incurring a number of unrecoverable costs.”

The campus’ Shiley Theatre, which would host the candidates, party delegates and an army of media representatives under the hot lights of national television, is not air conditioned. That would mean renting a portable system, at $50,000, Cannon said.

Then there are the holes that would be drilled in the ceiling for the lighting system, the 50 trailers to be rented for television crews, and the hundreds of phone lines and TV monitors that would serve about 2,000 reporters in a makeshift media room.

But Cannon said the university is eager to discuss the possibility of a new debate date with the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.