AUS debate team wins NYUAD British Parliamentary Debate Championship

American University of Sharjah (AUS) Debate Club members Badar-ud-Duja and Tuqa Khalid won the British Parliamentary Debate Championship held by New York University, Abu Dhabi on May 11, 2013. Four teams of two students each participated from the AUS Debate Club and competed against clubs from Middlesex University, Dubai; Higher Colleges of Technology, Sharjah; and Masdar University, Abu Dhabi.

The teams competed in three rounds where they were ranked in order of performance of their respective debate roles as well as their content. Teams with the highest rankings proceeded to the final round. The topics for the parliamentary debate ranged from arts and sciences, to politics and economy with "Globalization Marginalizes the Poor" as the topic for the final round.

"It was an amazing experience to participate in the New York University Abu Dhabi Debate Championship. It was the first time I had participated in a British parliamentary style debate, and I surely learned a lot from it. I would like to thank the AUS Debate Club for this wonderful opportunity," said Anam Merchant, a senior student majoring in management and a member of one of the AUS teams.

"The AUS Debate Club is one of our very active clubs at the university. They organize a range of events and activities including workshops on public speaking, presentation skills, interview skills and a series of debate championships at the university. They are equally successful in the intercollegiate level with their recent victories in the Emirates Environment Group Public Speaking Competition, Skyline Intercollegiate Debating Championship, American University of Dubai Debating Championship, and BITS Pilani University Debating Championship," said Dr. Moza Al Shehhi, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. "I thank the members of the AUS Debate Club for their efforts, and we recognize their achievements that promote a positive image of AUS among universities across the UAE," she added.

The students' participation in the event was organized by the Students Clubs and Organizations Office of the Office of Student Affairs.