When Syracuse’s mayoral candidates take the stage this evening, the spotlight won’t just be on politics. It’ll be on the students behind the scenes.

CitrusTV, the University’s student-run television station, is producing and hosting the live mayoral debate, offering a rare, real-world media experience that rivals professional newsrooms. The debate takes place at 6:30 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.) in the K.G. Tan Auditorium in the National Veterans Resource Center at the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building. It’s open to all, with a focus on Syracuse residents: those who will ultimately decide the next mayor of the city.

For students like Luke Radel ’26, a student in the Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and managing editor of the forum for CitrusTV, the opportunity is the culmination of years of hands-on learning.

“I’ve been so grateful to be part of CitrusTV since my freshman year,” Radel says. “To be part of the largest and oldest student television station in the country comes with resources to put together a major event like this, which might even be difficult for many professional news organizations.”

The debate, which will be moderated by Radel and fellow student Anjana Dasam ’26, is more than a broadcast. It’s a showcase of what student organizations can offer: leadership, collaboration and the chance to take bold creative risks.

“My outlook at CitrusTV has always been to be bold and take big swings,” Radel says. “There’s no better time than college to experiment and try ambitious ideas out.”

CitrusTV is one of more than 300 student organizations at the University, each offering unique opportunities for students to grow outside the classroom. From camera operators to executive producers, students have taken the lead on every aspect of the debate’s production, and in doing so, are gaining experience that prepares them for careers in top-tier media outlets.

“This has been a team approach,” says Radel, who credits co-moderator Dasam, executive producer Emma Poper, general manager Owen Williams and many others. “We’re excited to provide this opportunity for our colleagues to be part of a large special event like this, as it will help to prepare them for jobs at places like CNN or NBC where town halls and debates happen every cycle.”

As voters tune in, it’s not just the candidates who will be making an impression. It’s the students who made the broadcast possible.