Engineering students win debate competition

Story by Ivon Katz, lecturer, AUST
Photos by William Zabel

The winning team

Jomtien - Throughout the past ten weeks, students enrolled in the Asian University of Science and Technology’s Intensive Academic Program have been doing more than going to classes, studying and learning English. They’ve been competing for top honors in the university’s annual debating championship.

Debating whether “Thailand should change it’s time zone”

The debates were originally the idea of Dr. Ronald Boyle, of the university’s Inter-faculty Department of Continuing Studies. Dr. Boyle said, “I originally conceived of the debates as a means of raising students’ confidence and of improving their fluency in English.” He went on, “We’ve seen real progress... in every student who has participated in the debates. We’re very happy with the outcome and we plan to make debating part of university life.”

Dr. Ronald Boyle presents the Ciceronian Cup to Jirawat Songsirijit, member of the engineering students’ debating team.

The debates followed a similar format to those used by collegiate debating societies worldwide. Over the course of the Intensive Academic Program, students debated whether teenagers should be allowed to go to discos; whether couples should live together before getting married; whether it is better to study at home than abroad; whether it is better to study business than to study engineering; and whether it is better to live in an urban area than in a rural one (semi-final).

In the hotly contested final, the Bachelor of Engineering students convinced the judges that Thailand should change its time zone. The runners-up, representing the pre-MBAs, had won two previous rounds. During the ceremony following the final, the engineers were awarded the university’s Ciceronian Cup, named after Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman politician and rhetorician.

People at the center have the resources to manufacture bed sheets and pillowcases for the terminally sick AIDS sufferers at the center.

On Sunday August 19, Pattaya Sports Club charity chairman Bernie Tuppin and webmaster Phil Sagar visited the Camillian Center in Ban Chang to donate material to manufacture bed sheets and pillowcases for the terminally sick AIDS sufferers at the center.

Father Giovanni (left) accepts the Pattaya Sports Club donation from club charity chairman Bernie Tuppin.

Previously the manufacture of the sheets was done by the Bernie’s wife, but the PSC since learned that people at the center have the recourses on hand to do the work themselves.

Learning early? This youngster already knows how to use a hand phone!

The PSC donated 650 meters of material to the center, which is enough material to make 150 sets of sheets and pillowcases.

The project cost totaled around 26,000 baht, which comprised the material cost of 20,000 baht and 6,000 baht for the seamstresses to do the work at the center.