Strong reaction from Berkeley to Senator Kamala Harris's debate performance

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- Senator Kamala Harris stirred up some emotions in Berkeley during the debate Thursday night when she talked about being bused to school. That school was Thousand Oaks Elementary in Berkeley.

"Wow. Wow. That's really interesting. She is really strong. I didn't know if she would convince people, but she is really coming out ahead," said Ana Smulian, who got tears in her eyes when we told her about the school. She was passing by it Friday morning on her way to Pilates class.

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The Dean of Public Policy at UC Berkeley praised Harris's performance.

"I thought it was extremely deftly done, and I thought it was important for Americans to think about how important integration really was," said Professor Henry Brady.

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A member of his faculty just wrote a book on the topic of integration, so he is glad to see it being discussed. He does think she took a risk though calling out Joe Biden.

"The danger is this: Joe Biden was against federal busing mandates and if she is going to be asked by the national media 'are you in favor of federal busing mandates?' She is going to get into a tricky area," he said.

Professor Brady did not want to make a prediction about the election, saying it is too soon.