2008 Woodie Awards
British teams beat Webster in MySpace debate
Online Exclusive
By: Breanna Herschelman
Issue date: 10/26/06 Section: News
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The popular Web site MySpace has created a rise in privacy issues in the United States and all over the world. When the British National Debate Team came Oct. 24 to debate Webster's team, the two battled to see just how far MySpace really does cross privacy lines.
The debate was parliamentary style, which is commonly used in college debate competitions. Parliamentary debate is used in both Britain and the United States. In parliamentary debate, two people debate against another team of two people, but the audience can join in with questions and statements as well.
Webster's team, composed of junior vocal jazz performance major Alaina Gonzalez-White and senior film major James Hansen, took the government side of the debate. Recent Oxford University graduate Fraser Campbell and Oxford student Gavin Illsley took the opposing side. The government side presents the problem while the opposing side refutes the government's case.
Illsley and Campbell came to the United States for a six-week tour of universities across the country to debate their teams. They each applied for the position through a national committee, of which Scott Jensen, Webster director of forensics, is a chairman.
The British team is nearing the end of their stay in the United States after visiting universities in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.
Both teams said they have competed in debate for many years. Campbell said he enjoyed the debate and noticed the engagement of the audience, which he said was a determining factor in a Parliamentary debate.
The audience was allowed to openly shame the debater through heckling or saying witty remarks. Members of the audience could also stand to ask questions at any time, and the debate allowed 20 minutes for speeches from the audience floor.
At the end of a round, the audience decided who won by moving to sit on the side of the room of that team. The farther an audience member sits away from the middle, the more they agree with the team. The British team won more support from the audience. They were declared the winners of the debate.
The debate was parliamentary style, which is commonly used in college debate competitions. Parliamentary debate is used in both Britain and the United States. In parliamentary debate, two people debate against another team of two people, but the audience can join in with questions and statements as well.
Webster's team, composed of junior vocal jazz performance major Alaina Gonzalez-White and senior film major James Hansen, took the government side of the debate. Recent Oxford University graduate Fraser Campbell and Oxford student Gavin Illsley took the opposing side. The government side presents the problem while the opposing side refutes the government's case.
Illsley and Campbell came to the United States for a six-week tour of universities across the country to debate their teams. They each applied for the position through a national committee, of which Scott Jensen, Webster director of forensics, is a chairman.
The British team is nearing the end of their stay in the United States after visiting universities in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.
Both teams said they have competed in debate for many years. Campbell said he enjoyed the debate and noticed the engagement of the audience, which he said was a determining factor in a Parliamentary debate.
The audience was allowed to openly shame the debater through heckling or saying witty remarks. Members of the audience could also stand to ask questions at any time, and the debate allowed 20 minutes for speeches from the audience floor.
At the end of a round, the audience decided who won by moving to sit on the side of the room of that team. The farther an audience member sits away from the middle, the more they agree with the team. The British team won more support from the audience. They were declared the winners of the debate.
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