Ohio university quits hosting first US presidential debate

WASHINGTON - Due to rising security concerns and costs, the Wright State University in Ohio on Tuesday quitted as the host of the first US presidential debate, which will be hosted by the Hofstra University in New York instead.

"This is a very difficult decision," announced Wright State University President David Hopkins, citing the growing concern about the safety and security of the campus and local community as well as the daunting expense for hosting the Sept 26 debate.

"The current national environment has made security even more critical," Hopkins said.

He was referring to the recent two police killing incidents in the US states of Louisiana and Texas, in which two black gunmen killed a total of eight police officers and wounded a dozen others in the past two weeks.

The killings were preceded by two cases involving police killing of two black men in the states of Louisiana and Minnesota, which sparked angry black protests nationwide.

Unlike private universities, the Wright State University is a public university which cannot limit public access to the campus, which adds to worries about security.

At the same time, the costs of hosting the presidential debate is also rising due to the increased security needs.

The university originally expected to spend between 3 million and 5 million US dollars to host the debate, but the cost of additional security could raise the total expenses to as much as 8 million dollars.

The Commission on Presidential Debates immediately announced Tuesday that the first presidential debate will be shifted to the Hofstra University in New York, the alternate site that has already hosted presidential debates in 2008 and 2012.

Another two presidential debates will be held respectively at the Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri on Oct 9 and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Oct 19.