Worlds Chennai 2014

Can't wait to go to Chennai next year. I won't debate but I think it will be an amazing and unique experience to be in Chennai for WUDC(World Universities Debating Championship) 2014. I should start saving now! :)

UMSU Debate Open 2012

It's nice to meet my debating friends again. I feel like going back to my university years when I debated lots. Really miss my old days... Wish I could go back to the university! :)

 

 

Coaching session with LP3i fun students!! (Session 1 and 2)

Well, Pram kinda suddenly told me, "Ms, would you please become our debating coach?" Then I thought, oh well, weekends I have more free time, and plus, since the India trip cancellation, I have more free time, so well, It was really fun coaching...

First day ( 30th April 2010)

-Doing lots of introduction on British Parliamentary style, well, they are going to join a tournament soon, I simply hope they are well-prepared.
-Then we come to video watching session with the motion "This House would patent traditional knowledge and folklore" as this at least creates further comprehension on how the matter, manner, method are carried out.

I was behind the laptop...:P

Second day ( 1st May 2010)

Giving them a motion to casebuild "This House would allow corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure in juvenile detention centre"...

so serious....!!! Even the coach is busy taking pics... :P

sshhhh

Now, students in action:

Anyway, It went very well... Everyone did their best, and hopefully they could perform better in their d-day.

Freedom of speech, how far can it go?

Recently there was a debater who offended a group in Worlds championship. The debate itself was set up as a fun, relaxing debate session, i.e Master Debate which is separated from the main competition. During his speech, he called all ESL speakers sex slaves.

"Who needs child prostitutes when we have ESL speakers here as sex slaves."

This debater is expelled from the tournament for this comment.

Now as u can see from the link above, many people started questioning about the freedom of speech, even creating another contention. I am not trying to say that the dismissal of this man from this worlds is ok, maybe public apology would have sufficed. But interestingly, this condition has led me to think on how many people rely on "freedom of speech" as if it's completely justifiable to insult others as within personal opinion or merely for fun.

I would rather agree with Bong, an experienced debater and now coach in Indonesia, and let me quote her here while she was commenting on this issue.

"Free speech is not 'free' in the sense that there aren't any boundaries to it. This is the reason why, despite free speech being championed all over, there still are libel laws.

This is also the reason why doctrines such as 'the fighting words' doctrine have been carved out as exceptions to First Amendment freedoms. Words which incite people to hate, ridicule and/or discriminate people from a particular group, do not deserve First Amendment protection, because by their "very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace" (Look at Chaplinsky vs New Hampshire, circa 1942). There is a strong public policy and order rationale behind the doctrine, which is both prudent and wise.

The fact that this LSE debater chose to utter these inflammatory statements falls within the fighting words doctrine. Thus, IMHO, any chance at using the First Amendment (i.e., free speech) is unjustifiable. That he did not intend to cause such is not the test here. The test is the effect it has on the audience OR the particular group. Another test is the 'value' of the comment to the exposition of ideas.

Alluding that ESL speakers are perfect substitutes to sex slaves cannot, at least to the educated mind, possibly forward the discourse on preventing the spread of this serious crime.

As for people who blindly invoke free speech, kindly remember that the reason free speech is such a prized freedom is because it aids society to seek the truth, and to divulge this truth to the greater part of society. It has roots in societies which were repressed and oppressed, where expression was met with death.

If anything, this LSE debater made a mockery of this freedom."

Indeed, this is I guess the most ideal answer to this contention. Freedom of speech also has its limitation. Many ESL debaters (mostly Asians and Eastern Europeans) have come far to participate in Worlds, such big International debate competition, and maybe have put double effort simply to participate in this event. They really don't deserve to be mocked even in a public forum such as master debate no matter how humorous it can be which I think a really poor sense of humor.

Think first before you speak.