Many students leaving the Science Center auditorium said they thought Carter had improved his position in the campaign by showing he has a command of foreign policy issues.

Students also said they thought Ford had not spoken as well as he had in the first debate, and had damaged his image through occasional verbal stumbling.

The Institute of Politics was forced to close its doors last night as students crammed into two different rooms to watch the debate, and to watch themselves later on WNAC TV news.

Midway through the debates, the students focused their attention on a group of Harvard's "foreign policy experts" as they analyzed the proceedings.

David A. Keene, a fellow of the Institute and formerly a Reagan campaign staff member, criticized Carter for attacking Ford "from positions of both the left and the right."

Almost 40 people gathered around the T.V. by the grill in the lower level of Currier House last night to watch the debate.

The reaction was lively, and began as Carter's opening statement provoked the comment that "He's out for blood tonight!"

After the debate was over, Siri Bennett '77 said that "both were more willing to voice strong opinions this time." Bennett added that she felt Ford had won since, in her opinion, "Carter seemed to run around the issues."

Kevin Price '77 said that Carter had clearly won. "By saying things like Eastern Europe is now free from Soviet domination, Ford showed his basic inexpertise in foreign policy."

However, some students felt the debate showed little. John Duff'79 said, "The two candidates were just trying to make each other look as bad as possible. It was like a game instead of a realistic discussion of the issues."

When Ford finished his summation with "Thank you and good night," a student watching at the Institute added to the laughter when he exclaimed, "Ford thinks he is Walter Cronkite!