Grad students debate Brit champs

Two Pitt graduate students squared off with two members of the British National Debate Team on… Two Pitt graduate students squared off with two members of the British National Debate Team on the United States’ detention policies in Guantanamo Bay.

Damien Pfister and Stephen Llano, of the William Pitt Debating Union, took the position of closing the camp, while Kenneth Fleming, of Glasgow University, and Sion Owen, of Oxford University, took the opposition.

Dr. Gordon Mitchell, the event’s moderator and an associate professor in the communications department, invited the audience of 50 or so people to embrace the British Parliamentary style of the debate.

Hisses and table knocking punctuated the debaters’ statements throughout the session, which took place in the English nationality room of the Cathedral of Learning.

The opposing parties’ pews were oriented to face one another, also following the British style.

The debate began with six-minute speeches detailing the two sides’ positions, during which opposing members could rise and pose interrupting questions.

The Pitt students’ speeches described Guantanamo Bay as a camp that produces little useful intelligence, at the expense of fundamental rights.

The Brits’ rebuttal emphasized the government’s duty to protect its citizens.

Audience questions in the event’s second part generally targeted the British team’s stance on human liberties, igniting the discourse.

At one point, hissing began as a mere response to approving knocks.

Yesterday’s debate continued a 26-college tour for the select British team members and an 80-year tradition of exchange between British and American debating societies.

Fleming and Owen have already debated at Northwestern and Washington universities on various U.S. policies, including nuclear proliferation and Iran.

The English Speaking Union sponsors their journey while hosting the American counterpart in Britain and Ireland.

Pfister and Llano teach public speaking classes with a focus on argument at Pitt and the Community College of Allegheny County, respectively.

Recent Debating Union matches have tackled social controversies as well, drawing anywhere from 20 to 200 spectators.

Notably, the reigning Miss America appeared to underscore a debate on sexual abstinence.

On Monday, interest in the debate was strong. Within the audience, communications student Emily Bender said that she learned of the event in her rhetorical processes class.

Bender said that she found herself persuaded by a number of the William Pitt team’s points.

Kelly Upton, another audience member, said that portions of Fleming’s closing speech moved her.