By Aldreana Sereneo
The College of Education of Capiz State University (CapSU)-Main Campus was hailed as the champion of the debate competition during the Culture and the Arts Festival 2023, held at the university’s Conference Room on Thursday, November 30.
Coached by Prof. Vicmar Solano, a CoEd faculty member, the team was composed of six (6) students, namely Camille Ann Dicon, James Zedric Arancillo, and Meljud Benecio as the speakers, and Ervi Kile Bulquerin, Aldreana Sereneo, and Aira Nicole Delostrico as the researchers.
“It was my third debate this year, and I got used to having arguments with random people, but the exhaustion and pressure are still there. As a researcher, I had fun, and I just laughed out of my “mystery ball” strategy of guessing their fallacies and contributing to the arguments that the speakers threw to the opposing bench. Above all, we offer this win to the College of Education,” Bulquerin conveyed.
In the elimination round, CoEd, as the affirmative side of the proposition “Death Penalty should be Reinstated in the Philippines,” contended against the College of Management (CM); on the other hand, with the same proposition, the College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology (CEA) battled with the Bachelor of Industrial Technology (BIT) Department.
Team CoEd and Team CEA were the two teams that managed to advance to the final round, wherein both exchanged perspectives about “Parliamentary Government be Adopted in the Philippines.”
The latter emerged as the 1st runner-up as they affirmed the given proposition, while the former was named the champion as they firmly defended the negative side; meanwhile, CM procured the 2nd place and BIT secured the 3rd place.
“Participating in the debate was an extraordinary experience that fostered camaraderie and teamwork among my peers and me. The overall experience was surreal, and my team and I shared some stressful but meaningful nights together. We encountered all imaginable stress, which words cannot explain, but through that process, we learned valuable lessons. I believe that the most important takeaway from the experience was not the victory itself, but rather the journey and the lesson we learned: to never give up and keep striving for greatness,” Arancillo gratefully expressed.
Dicon procured the best debater and the best speaker in the elimination round; meanwhile, Arancillo clinched the best debater and the best speaker in the final round.