ORADEC competes in Melbourne

After 13 years, the Far Eastern University Oratorical and Debate Council (ORADEC) returned to Australia to compete for the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships or Australs last July 1 to 10, 2009 at Monash University , Melbourne . One hundred teams, 55 universities from 12 countries joined this premier youth event in the Australasian region.

Competing only for the third time in the tournament’s 35-year history (1996 at Australian National University ; 2008 at Ateneo de Manila University; and this year), FEU is still considered a neophyte competing institution. ORADEC debaters defeated teams from the University of Melbourne on the motion That the developed world should not sell contaminated material to the developing world for processing, Griffith University of Brisbane on That governments should obtain a majority stake in companies that they bail out, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand on That we should ban the use and development of all unmanned offensive military weaponry and Monash University-Sunway, Malaysia on That single parents in prison should be provided special treatment to allow them to raise their young children from behind bars.

Donning FEU green and gold jackets, ORADEC debaters had above-average scores according to the adjudicators. As proof that they were in the crucial match-ups, the team was adjudicated by Tim Sonnreich, two-time Australs Best Speaker. In very close margins, however, they lost to defending champion University of Sydney, University of Auckland (next year’s host school), Chinese University of Hong Kong (one of the top Asian schools), and Multimedia University Malacca, Malaysia (former Australs semifinalist).

FEU team, composed of Jesus Falcis III (4^th year, AB Pol Sci), Marco Sana (3^rd year, BSC Legal Management) and Gerald Baro (4^th year, BSC Legal Management), marked a 4-4 win-loss card, which was one win away from the 5-3 card needed to break for the octofinal round.

Prof. Joeven R. Castro, ORADEC adviser/coach, adjudicated in the tournament. He chaired six of the eight elimination rounds. He was chosen to chair rounds for his high scores during the adjudication exam after a test debate and the clarity of his debate adjudication during an interview with the Adjudication Core. He adjudicated teams from Australia , Korea , Japan , New Zealand , and Indonesia .

FEU joined Ateneo de Manila University, two Philippine universities represented in the Monash Australs.

The Australs is an opportunity to enhance critical thinking skills and modes of discourse using the English language. By competing with world-class debaters and be evaluated by top adjudicators, the debaters learned new trends in the manner, matter, and method of international debating. Intercultural friendships and networks were also developed.