American University Wins NCU Invitational Debate Series

Two months after securing the winning trophy in the Northern Caribbean University’s (NCU) 2024 Invitational Debate Series, Willow Roark and Robin Forsyth from the University of West Georgia are still basking in their victory in the competition.

The two-member team from the United States (US)-based university defeated 2023 winners University of Technology (UTech) in the finals of the competition on October 21, debating the motion: ‘This House Would Prioritise Case Management Over Punitive Measures in the Fight Against Organised Crimes In Jamaica’.

They walked away with medals, gift baskets and other prizes, over $40, 000 in cash and professional resume development services.

Speaking to JIS News, they credited their victory to preparation and learning from participating in previous editions of the competition.

With two previous wins, Mr. Forsyth is a seasoned debater in the tournament and while it is Ms. Roark’s first victory, it was her second time competing in the event.

“We prepared somewhat through the study of news articles and our understanding of the local politics of Jamaica, having competed [as a university] in this tournament for a few years,” Ms. Roark says.

He notes that they brainstormed ideas ahead of the matches, and how they would approach different scenarios.

Ms. Roark believes the team’s greatest tool were communication, the ability to make “out of the box arguments” and be “innovative” by thinking of “things that the other teams have not predicted”.

She endorses the competition, noting that it encourages “independent and critical thinking” by “really teaching people to think for themselves [which can help] in shaping the minds of young people”.

For his part, Mr. Forsyth tells JIS News that he learned a lot from the competition, noting that it was a different style of debating than the American Parliamentary (AP) format, with which he is more familiar.

The NCU Invitational is based on the British Parliamentary (BP) format, which consists of four teams – two government and two opposition, with each team having two speakers. Each team is assigned a specific position (government or opposition) and is expected to argue in favour of or against the motion.

On the other hand, AP follows a more flexible format where teams can choose their position on the motion.

“I think it helps me to think about what the moral and ethical appeal for an issue is above anything else,” Mr. Forsyth shares.

He is encouraging more young people to participate in debate competitions.

“Debating can help to shape the minds and lives of young people in a myriad of ways,” he notes, adding that “there is nothing better for cultivating critical thinking skills” than debating.

“Placing any issue in the perspective of multiple stakeholders is a really valuable tool in a world that is complex [with] changing information and constant conflicts,” he adds.

Coach of the winning University of West Georgia team, Dr. Michael Hester, admitted that the topic in the finals “was very difficult.”

“We were defending case management and there is a lot of pathos to punishing a wrong doer… and so the government side has to talk a lot about some of the harmful effects of organised crimes and why it was necessary to treat them more harshly,” he points out.

Dr. Hester tells JIS News that it was through keeping up with the happenings in the local landscape and listening to the opponents, that the team was able to walk away with the victory for the match as well as the overall tournament.

The NCU Invitational Debate Series, hosted by the Department of Communication Studies aims to promote advocacy by challenging debaters from local and international universities to advocate, propose, and defend arguments.

Montego Bay Community College and the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, placed third and fourth, respectively.

The other teams entering the competition this year were Church Teachers’ College , Moneague College and Northern Caribbean University (NCU).

The event was sponsored by NCU, NCU Media Group, Jamaica Information Service (JIS), Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ), Ministry of National Security, Island Traffic Authority, Kreative Content Freelancing Services, O’Snap Events and Business Development Services, Zappies Organics and others.