As a college freshman, Jack Bloom watched the first televised presidential debate in 1960 that pitted U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy against Vice President Richard M. Nixon.

The intense discussion in his dormitory that followed the debate inspired Bloom, an associate professor of sociology at Indiana University Northwest, to re-create that experience for another generation.

Bloom hosted a viewing and discussion Thursday evening for the televised debate between vice presidential candidates U.S. Sen. Joe Biden and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

More: Visit our election special section for the latest news, candidate profiles and more.

Related story: Vice presidential debate viewing draws the curious to IUN

Related story: Palin stands her ground with Biden

Related story: Some facts adrift in veep debate

More than two dozen students, faculty and community members gathered at IUN's Moraine Student Center for the first of three such viewing events. Bloom will host two more get-togethers during the presidential debates Tuesday and Oct. 15.

"This is one of the most important elections in decades," Bloom said. "We've been going a certain direction for 30 years, really, since Ronald Reagan was elected. If McCain wins, the course will be confirmed. If he doesn't, we'll go in a new direction."

Fellow faculty member Rachelle Brock, of IUN's Urban Teaching Education Program, said the gathering "was a way to come together rather than sitting at home screaming at the TV." High school and college students seem more interested in this campaign than in past years, said Brock, a Gary resident.

"When Obama and Michelle came to speak here, you could see the students were involved," she said.

Before the debate, Chesterton resident Kathleen Forgey said she was "in trepidation. I fear that Sarah Palin will do well in the debate. She is well-rehearsed." However, Forgey said, "I want to share in the electricity that I hope will be here tonight."

Forgey, who teaches anthropology courses at IUN, said Indiana "is a pivotal state in this election. I have a vested interest in this election."

For Jim Rutherford, a sociology and anthropology major from Crown Point, the economy is first on his list of concerns, and he wants answers, he said.

"We are facing a national crisis that parallels what (President Franklin D. Roosevelt) had to face," he said. "There is no circuit breaker regarding Wall Street. No one's minding the store. I'm with Pete Visclosky when he said no one helped us when our economy was hurt in Northwest Indiana."

Rutherford said he is particularly upset about the $700 billion bailout for Wall Street that passed the U.S. Senate and is up for a House vote, possibly today.

"We didn't have a telethon for that $700 billion," he said. "We're hemorrhaging money."

Other students came to see how the candidates performed and how politics played out on the college campus.

Jeff Anderson, a freshman sociology major from Gary, said the university is a place of liberal politics.

"Most of the energy has been on the Obama, the liberal side," Anderson said. "There is a liberal bias in the university setting."

Smiles broke out during the debate as Palin mentioned "Joe Six-Pack and soccer moms."

But mostly the audience watched intently as the candidates discussed the economy, some with their arms crossed and others leaning forward to catch every word.

"I like that," said Reynold Richmond, a freshman fine arts major from Gary, as Palin spoke about how predatory lenders bilked the American public and encouraged people "to buy $300,000 houses when they could only afford $100,000 houses."

Richmond, an Obama supporter, said Palin was "on top of this. She knows her topics." But, he added, "Biden knows more."