For Immediate Release: November 12, 2001
MWC STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN "THE NATIONAL DEBATE-IN"
Fredericksburg, Va. - The Mary Washington College debate team will participate in "The National Debate-In" on issues pertaining to September 11 and its aftermath on Sunday, November 18 on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Members of the MWC debate team will join other top-ranked intercollegiate debate teams from across the United States in dedicating their intellectual, research and rhetorical resources to public debates designed to answer the public's call for reasoned argument on issues including civil liberties, the causes of terrorism, diplomatic versus military solutions, arms control, "war" rhetoric, and more.
John Nagy, a senior from Springfield, Va., and Adrianne Barnett, a senior from Dumfries, Va., will debate against the University of West Virginia on the question: "Should the United States pursue a non-violent foreign policy agenda in response to the September 11 attacks?" Nora Cronin, a junior from East Meadow, N.Y., and Michael Hagan, a senior from Yardley, Pa., will debate against Clarion University on the question: "Is the media a necessary and sufficient force for a vibrant civil society in the post-September 11 world?"
The national intercollegiate debate community organized the event with the idea that debates are a uniquely valuable vehicle for civic engagement. At a moment in history that demands the best for the United States, it is their opinion that it is essential that proposed answers to the questions raised by September 11 be subjected to careful, critical analysis.
"Unlike the three-minute sound bite-sized television shouting matches, academic debate's dialectical method carefully compares and evaluates ideas," said Tim O'Donnell, director of debate at MWC. "The debate community, like the public at large, does not have easy answers and is not of one mind concerning all of the policy ramifications. But what debaters do have to offer is the ability to organize and explore the arguments citizens need to grapple with."
He said the expectation is that debaters and the public will leave the debates ready and willing to ask the next questions and to seek reasoned answers to them.
For more information about the "The National Debate-In"call O'Donnell at (540) 654-1252, or visit "The National Debate-In" Website at www.wfu.edu/~debate.
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