The British are coming . . . again: UGA to debate Oxford Union on U.N.'s role in Iraq
Christine Albright, 706/583-0455, calbrigh@uga.edu
Christine Albright, 706/583-0455, calbrigh@uga.edu
Sep 26, 2003, 08:37

ATHENS, Ga. – For the second time, the Oxford Union Society has challenged the University of Georgia to a formal debate, and UGA’s debating societies have accepted the challenge.

On Wednesday, Oct. 15, Fraser Campbell, past-president of the Union, and several of that famous organization’s best debaters will compete against an elite UGA team. The resolution is titled "In the Post 9-11 era, the U.S. Is a Better Guarantor of Peace Alone Than with the United Nations." The event is sponsored by the UGA at Oxford Program and takes place at 8 p.m. at Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall in the Performing Arts Center.

"In February 2002, the president and three officers of the Oxford Union traveled to Athens after several UGA students on the Oxford program challenged them to a debate while they were in England," said Judith Shaw, director of UGA at Oxford and a professor of English. "The team from UGA won that first debate, but the British competitors immediately challenged UGA to an Oxford-style rematch. This second debate, then, should be especially exciting."

In the last decade, UGA has fostered one of the leading study-abroad programs in Oxford. The UGA at Oxford Program was established in 1989 by Shaw; thirteen students of English spent the summer at Oxford that first year. Over time, the program has expanded to include history, political science, religion, classics, art history and biology classes among many others.

In 1999, under the guidance of UGA President Michael F. Adams, the UGA Foundation purchased a three-story Victorian house in North Oxford to serve as UGA’s first residential study-abroad center. UGA at Oxford is now one of only three American programs – and the only program at a public university – to operate year-round.

In addition to the original UGA at Oxford Program – now named the Franklin at Oxford Program – other specialized programs from across the university now operate at the residential center under the umbrella of UGA at Oxford. The center now also hosts Terry at Oxford, SPIA at Oxford and a British studies Junemester. A new program from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication will run summer 2004, and the School of Law is putting together a program for 2005.

The Oxford Union was founded in 1823 as an arena for the free exchange of ideas among students, and it soon became the forum for political debate in Oxford. Many British prime ministers have served as past presidents of the Oxford Union, and such world figures as Robert Kennedy, Mother Theresa, Yasser Arafat, Jimmy Carter and Nelson Mandela have addressed its members. Many UGA students join the Union upon arriving in Oxford, and because of UGA’s status in Oxford as a respected sister institution (UGA students actually hold associate membership at Keble College during term), a healthy rivalry has developed between Oxonians and UGA.

The Oxford Union Society will argue in support of the resolution. Returning from the last debate will be Campbell, who’s now reading law at Pembroke College. Fraser will bring with him David Watson, an M.A. student in international business at Brasenose College and past-president of the Union; Edward Tomlinson, a third-year student in classics at St. John’s College and president-elect of the Union; Tobi Rufus, a second-year law student at Hertford College and treasurer-elect of the Union; and Amie Barnes, a third-year student in history at Worcester College and former union secretary.

UGA’s debate team, comprised of members of the Demosthenian Literary Society, the Phi Kappa Literary Society and the Georgia Debate Union, will argue against the resolution. The UGA debaters are team captain Ken Rufo, a Ph.D. candidate in speech communication and an assistant coach with the Georgia Debate Union; Bobby Wesley, a senior majoring in political science and history and Demosthenian; Naveen Ramachandrappa, a senior also majoring in political science and history and member of the UGA Debate Union; Christopher Berry, a senior philosophy major and member of Phi Kappa; Sarah Winchell, a senior double-major in English and women’s studies and a Demosthenian; and Luke Stubblefield, a senior majoring in English and advertising and a member of Phi Kappa. Both Winchell and Stubblefield are Franklin at Oxford alumni.

As is the tradition for Oxford Union debates, members of the debate teams will appear in black tie. The teams have agreed upon a modified form of parliamentary debate in which allows for both interruptions and cross-examination. "The last debate was really dynamic, and the audience, which was unexpectedly large for an academic event, thoroughly enjoyed the competition," said Shaw. "This time we’ve decided to allow interruptions and comments throughout; it will be like the ‘Prime Minister’s Questions’ on television. It really should be entertaining."

UGA at Oxford is offering this second debate as part of the inaugural celebration for its new fundraising organization, the Friends of Oxford, which has been established to help support UGA students who study at the university’s residential study-abroad center in Oxford.

The competition will be judged by a distinguished panel, including President Michael F. Adams; Wyatt Anderson, dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences; the Hon. Michael Bates OBE, Her Majesty’s Consul-General in Atlanta; the Hon. Cathy Cox, Georgia Secretary of State; Vince Dooley, UGA athletic director; the Hon. Norman S. Fletcher, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia; the Hon. Leah Ward Sears, Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia; and the Hon. Zell Miller, U.S. Senator.

The debate will be preceded by a reception for the Friends on the lawn in front of the Performing Arts Center at 6 p.m.; students, faculty, staff and interested members of the community are encourage to attend the reception and meet the debaters and judges. Tickets to the reception are $15 per person and can be purchased by calling 706/542-2408 or by e-mail at oxfordrsvp@bellsouth.net. The debate is open free to the public.