High School Students Got New Experiences during UPH Debate Simulation

Situation during the Debate Simulation 

On Saturday, January 21, 2015, Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH) had given an opportunity for High School students to experience college through a variety of creative programs. Upon beginning this new-year, the Marketing and Admission Department of UPH held a Political-Business Debate Simulation. This event was held as means to introduce the Political Studies Department of UPH Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP).

There were approximately 64 students from various High Schools in Tangerang, Jakarta, Lampung and Purwokerto, who participated in this event. But first of all, before the debate simulation begins, all participants were taught about debating tips and techniques. This event was facilitated by the main debate team of UPH Faculty of Social and Political Science, who has been specifically prepared to follow various debate competitions. The main team consisted of Praisel Ester Pua, International Relation (IR) 2014, SheillyKhonada, IR 2014, Gracia Nicole Tan, Political Sciences 2016, Shindy Depindra Putri, IR 2015, Adiputra Kaban, IR 2015 and Irfan JelinBatee, Political Sciences 2016.

These High School students looked very enthusiastic to hear explanations from their facilitators. As expected, for the participants this new experience was seen as very useful, because in general, most of these students are interested in debating. Some of the important information includes the terms used during a debate such as, motion which means the topic discussed and team split, which means splitting roles for each member of the team. The facilitators also explained about the roles of each speaker for both teams, pro and cons. Each team will have three members, who have different roles. The first speaker has to define the topic, explain the team split, set a parameter and elaborate the first argument. The second speaker of the pro team has to present their second argument and the speaker from cons team has to state their refutation towards the first speaker and present their second argument. For the third speaker, both pro and cons team, are not allowed to present new arguments, they have to be able to present their refutation against all arguments from opposing team and thus strengthen their stance.

For this debate simulation, there were 4 motions; the first one is, ?This house believes that Indonesia is prepared to face ASEAN 2017 trade era?, then secondly, ?This house believes that political issues in one country can engage the growth of innovative business?, thirdly, ?Government will have to apply taxing for endorsement business? and lastly, ?This house believes that social media is the best means for Students Activity Units (UKM)?s communication?

The event was held in two rooms to accommodate a comprehensive debate simulation. The room was set like a real debate forum. Participants were then divided into 8 teams of 8, with different roles for each member, according to their facilitator?s advice.

For those who had never participated in an event like this, they have great skills and potentials, especially in elaborating arguments, said one of the adjudicators. Moreover, ?Best Speaker? from each team was also chosen, they were scored based on their argument points, how they state their arguments and refutes, their grammatical form of speech as well as their body language during an argument.

Aside from Debate Simulation Workshop, on January 21, 2017, there were two other events for High School students; they were English Ability Test (EAT) and Personality & Talent Test, which were followed by 120 participants. For students who were present at the debate simulation workshop, EAT or Personality & Talent Test, they will be able to get free application form with a Promo Code which is valid from January 21-23, 2017 for Political Sciences Department