Kirkland, January 15, 2007
World-class debaters from Oxford University met for three debates with Northwest University students in Redmond and Kirkland on January 4 and 5.
Oxford student body president Alex Just and his partner Andrew Goodman, chair of the Oxford Debating Society, accepted Northwest’s invitation to the public debates after the World Championships held in Vancouver, Canada.
Four Oxford teams placed among the top ten teams out of the 32 that broke to finals after nine preliminary rounds.
Alex brought with him an Octo-finalist award from the Championships, placing him among the best debaters out of nearly 700 attending the competition that attracted the best and brightest from 150 institutions from five continents.
The first debate took place at 2:30 PM on January 4 in the counsel chambers of the new Redmond City Hall. The spectacular glass and stone building, designed as a fuel-efficient “green” facility, was an impressive venue for the debate on global warming. The debate was cablecast on RCTV government access television which serves 17,000 Redmond homes.
"Hi Mum," said Alex when he began to speak, saying that his family was watching the debate at home.
Watch the debate at http://www.ci.redmond.wa.us/redmond/web1/rctv_schedule.asp
Communication Director Kim Van Ekstrom reported that high school classrooms from across the state and in Oregon were planning to tune into the debate to learn about both sides of the issue.
Redmond Mayor Rosemarie Ives introduced the debaters and joined several city council members in the audience. The topic, assigned as an academic exercise for role-playing, was: “Concern about global warming is overblown.” Northwest University debater Mark Kreiner and alumnus Nathan Novak affirmed the topic.
The audience voted for Oxford by applause after the round and each debater was presented with a gift bag from the city to remember the event.
Alex and Andrew were returned to the Redmond Town Center Marriott Hotel, official sponsor of the weekend, to relax before another televised debate at the Kirkland City Hall that evening. The hotel has been host to President Bush and the students enjoyed the central location and eating at Marriott's superb restaurant. http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/SEAMC
“The U.S would be better off if it looked more like the UK,” was chosen by the debaters for the Kirkland show debate. This round included light hearted as well as more serious comparisons between the two nations. Representing Northwest was Kortney Thoma and Team Captain Jed Nelsen. Oxford affirmed the proposition and after the debate the audience voted in favor of the proposition.
Communications Director Janice Perry presented each debater with a beautifully designed plaque commemorating the debate featuring British and American flags and photos of Oxford and Kirkland. She also arranged for snacks for the debaters and audience members to enjoy after the debate. Watch the debate streamed on KGOV. http://www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/depart/TV/Video_On_Demand.htm
On Friday at 12 noon, the students drove to the Microsoft campus for a show debate presented to an audience of one hundred employees who are members of the Microsoft PAC on the Microsoft campus in Redmond.
The topic of the debate was “Foreign aid does more harm than good.” Northwest students Nathan Chambers and Kevin Botterbusch were assigned to affirm the proposition and they focused their arguments on aid to Africa, arguing that much US aid goes to corrupt governments instead of actually helping the people.
The audience again voted for Oxford by applause after the round. Microsoft provided lunch for the team and International Relations Director Mike Egan presented gift Microsoft jackets to each student to remember the event. He invited the team back in the future.
Friday afternoon the Oxford students hiked to the base of Snoqualmie Falls before a dinner with Northwest University President Don Argue and his wife Pat at coach Gary Gillespie’s home.
Saturday was reserved for sight seeing in Seattle.
Sunday the Oxford debaters were hosted by Seattle University for a debate before an audience of 150 students and more sight seeing, before returning to Vancouver, BC for their flight home on Monday January 8.
Saying goodbye, Andrew invited Northwest students for debates at Oxford next year. Alex pointed out that he was selected for the British National Debate Team tour of the US next fall and Northwest hopes to sponsor him for more public debates then.
Detailed student bios and photos here: http://eagle.northwestu.edu/academic/artsci/faculty/ggillespie/Debate%20news,%20Brits%20are%20coming.htm
