Announcement & Congratulations!

Mirja Hamalainen lecturer in the Language Center and advisor to the UTA Debate Society has received a Fullbright Scholarship for the Fall. Mirja will be lecturing in the Speech Department and coaching at The University of Vermont. She will be working closely with Prof. Alfred Snider and members of the Lawrence Debate Union to advance her knowledge and skills in British Parliamentary.
Congratulations Mirja!
-K

Notes/ Thoughts on the Guest Lecture by David Arter

On 2.23.10 the UTA Debate Society had a guest lecture by David Arter. David Arter is a lecturer in the Political Science and International Relations Department. Prof. Arter used his dynamic speaking style to engage a large group of students and lecturers. With an array of humor, Finnish Language and engaging analysis Arter had the group compelled. I personally learned alot of information about Finnish political and culture that I had never previously considered.

Following the lecture we had a debate with a few new BRAVE students that were willing to participate. The motion of the debate was:
* THB that Finnish should be the only official language in Finland.
The debate was successful and I was impressed by the new students that participated. It was also nice to see that I was the only non-Finn in the debate. This made for a better quality debate and it was interesting to see the different perspectives.

Things to think about:
RECRUITMENT! RECRUITMENT! RECRUITMENT!
*Announcements in your lectures, it will take a minute and could attract alot of potential debaters!
*Flyers!! We still have the flyer that was designed by Chris. If you would like copies to disperse through the city and campus send me an email and I will take care of it!
*Advertisement: Avisi etc.

NEXT MEETING:
*I will be giving a short lecture on structuring speeches and specifics of role fulfillment. I believe that the members of the debate society are really improving and we are ready to step up our skills and focus on the fundamentals of debate!!!
*Following the lecture we will have a debate! I will be bringing a list of motions and I will select one, and then we will draw positions in the debate. It will be a bit more challenging but I think participants will find that it is more simple than it appears!

Any questions, concerns or comments feel free to either email me or post them on the blog!

Thanks
Karen
Kgnelson@uvm.edu

Meeting Notes 2.16.10

Update: What happend at the last meeting?

DECISIONS:
Recruitment- We need to be constantly recruiting people!! This includes both Finnish and International Students.
So how do we recruit people????
-Flyers: Chris has designed a flyer which has had some distribution through the City and Campus. We discussed the idea of organizing a large group of people to meet on Campus and distribute flyers. We can set this up prior to the next meeting by using the mailing list. And we can include a note about the guest lecture by David Arter.
-Show Debate: The idea of having another show debate was mentioned. Except this time we would have it in more of a public venue and it would include members of the UTA Debate Society.

Meeting Time- We have decided that the meetings will be starting promptly at 17 (5 pm) every Tuesday!

What was next......VIDEO!!!
We watched a video from The International Debate Academy in Slovenia '07. The Motion of the debate was about apologizing for colonialism. The Link to the video is still available on the Blog.

DEBATE>>>DEBATE>>>>
We had a full debate in the BP Format. The motion of the debate was This House Believes that GMF (Genetically Modified Food) is the solution to World Hunger. The debate was very successful and it showed alot of improvement!

ANNOUNCEMENT!

Prof. David Arter from the International Relations and Political Science Dept. is coming to our next meeting on Tuesday Febr. 23rd. Prof. Arter will be giving a lecture on Finnish Culture and Politics. We will then have a debate on a topic discussed in the lecture. And following the debate we will have an open discussion with Prof. Arter. This is going to be a great event for the society! If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or concerns feel free to let me know!
Thanks
Karen
Karen.Nelson@uta.fi

BP Debate: Apologize for Colonialism

In our last meeting members voiced a desire to see an experienced British Parliamentary Debate. This is a debate that took place at the International Debate Academy in Slovenia. The motion: This House Would Apologize for Colonialism.

http://debatevideoblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/debate-bp-apologize-for-colonialism.html

If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to let me know!

Updates from Meeting on 10/2/10

The third meeting of the UTA Debate Society was very succesful!!! So.... what was achieved:
Recruitment- Flyer Disbursement
Kija will be designing and disbursing flyers throughout the Campus and City
Pekka and I will be meeting on Friday (12/2/10) at 11:45 in the front of Linna to hand out flyers, anyone and everyone is welcome!

Possible recruitment ideas:
*In Lectures make an announcement about our debate society, it can brief and should include the meeting location and date.
*Contacting ESNT FINT and the Student Union about advertisement/recognition of our debate society (I will be taking care of this)
*Jenni is putting together a mailing list, so if you know of any friends/collegues that are interested in the debate society email their contact information to Jenni and she can add their name to the list

BIG NEWS!!!! The UTA Debate Society is know on facebook so spread the word. The Group name is simply UTA Debate Society so join and send the link to all of your friends.

Following discussion we had our first debate in the British Parliamentary format. The Motion (Topic) was THBT every child deserves a mother and a father in their home. The debate went well and participants were able to practice their public speaking skills, role fulfillment in the BP Format and speaking for 7 minutes.

PLANS for the next meeting:
Continuing to discuss and brainstorm ideas for recruitment!
We will be watching a video of an experienced debate in the BP Format!
And will continue by discussing the importance of role fulfillment and how it was used in the speeches in the debate.

Thanks
-Karen

Examples of training topics for the Spring

Mirja and I have formulated a list of basic topics for the study and practice of public speaking and debate. The purpose is to allow members of the UTA Debate Society to develop their skills both in the meetings and independently. We are planning on discussing these at the meeting and are interested in feed back.
How to structure an argumentation

The use of data and analysis in argumentation
Structure in the BP format
Role fulfillment in BP
Prep time
Public Speaking 101
Practicing English for clarity
Adjudication and Feedback
Continual Recruitment

Thanks
Karen and Mirja

Second meeting

Six students came to the second UTA Debate Society meeting. We started getting organised. There will be a mailing list for the participants. If you want to join it, please contact Jenni Juvonen (jenni.juvonen(at)uta.fi). We practised public speaking by giving 4-minute impromptu speeches and ended up in debating the interesting topics. Next time we are hoping to start debating in a more formal format and planning social events (any suggestions?).

We hope to see more members next time!

Next meeting: 9 February 5 pm in E301 at the Language Centre

Meeting on the 2nd of February

Our second meeting will be held in E301 at the Language Centre. Last time we decided to start at 17.00. The room and the time for our Tuesday meetings will be the same all spring.

Welcome all and bring your friends with you!