“This house shall come to order”

UPEI hosts debating tournament

he weekend of October 29-31, UPEI ee was the host of the Atlantic Debating

Tournament. There were various uni- versities represented. After registration on Friday, many participants found their way into the night life of Charlottetown. Nine o’clock in the morning came quite early for a few debaters. Coffee seemed to help bring many back into consciousness, or at least semi- con- sciousness. The debates were certainly inter- esting. The topics included cosmetics, commu- nist China, Christopher Columbus, the prison system, and many other interesting themes. The impromptu public speaking was nothing short of hilarious. Cliches made for some amusing speeches. The final speeches were hands-down winners, with Kelly Lamrock (from St. Thomas University) as Kevin Costner in “Rocky. 14-Nightmare on Elm Street Part 7’’, walking away the winner. The audience was in

stitches, to say the least.

Sunday morning rolled around and it was back to the debates. Once again the topics were, to say the least, memorable. One topic of note was the proposal to make Newfoundland a separate country (with their language being Newfanese- nothing more has to be said).

The final round pitted St. Thomas against Dalhousie. The debate centred on making the world of Make Believe (Mister Rogers’ Neigh- bour) a democracy- overthrow King Friday. Needless to say, the peanut gallery was actively involved in the debate (the table tops took quite abeating). In the end, the opposition team from Dalhousie was victorious. The participant with the most points as an individual was Kelly Lamrock.

Other not-so-official awards went to Dalhousie (Best Party People), Mt. Allison (The Largest Contingent and The People Who

The Federal Election

Shannon Younker muses on the redrawn political map

was clear whether the Bloc Quebecois

or the Reform Party was going to win the silver medal, but election night was an interesting diversion from studying. I felt that the folks down at the Barn were missing a great money-making opportunity, though. In addi- tion to beer and shot specials when the Jays got runs in the Series, the Panther Lounge should have presented a similar ‘‘drink specials when- ever the Liberals win a seat’’ deal. Most of us in the barely 20-something (i.e. younger than Stan Livingstone) set don’t remember politics before Brian Mulroney. It was a shock to me to see the PC’s go from a large majority to losing official party status (You need 12 seats. They won 2.) It does sound impressive, though, to say that 50% of your elected candidates are

I must admit that I fell asleep before it

_ women (Elsie Wayne being one of the P.C.

pair).

This was not nearly as big a shock as learn- ing that the Bloc Quebecois had a viable chance of becoming Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. This is incomprehensible to someone who has

been memorizing facts about the ten provinces since CBC started broadcasting Sesame Street. It is difficult to picture a position for separatists in the House of Commons. For this reason, people of widely varying political views were cheering Preston Manning’s Reform Party can- didates in Alberta and B.C.

I was pushing my burgeoning political inter- est on my friends throughout October by en- couraging them to vote. It didn’t do much good. This is your future! I said. They didn’t buy it. Well, I hope they were all Liberal lovers, be- cause I won’t put up with their complaining about the status quo from now until 1998. Even worse was sitting through the results with peo- ple more ignorant about the election process than I. The difference between a poll and a riding, for example, is important. I may not be doing well in statistics class, but I can calculate a majority when I have to.

In conclusion, congratulations M. Chretien, bienvenue M. Bouchard, give my condolences to Ms. Campbell. If you can honestly say that youcan improve my life, more power to you all.

Hada Tendency to Lose Things), a Kings Judge (Mr. Vodka), the UCCB debating president (Sawyer Brown Lookalike), and Janice Enman (Organizer of the Year, naturally). Of course, you had to be there to understand most of these. If you really want to know, talk toa member of the Debating Society.

Many thanks to all judges, to Mariott for feeding the masses of people, and to anyone who in any way, shape or form helped make the tournament a success. Much appreciation has to go to Janice Enman, who organized the tournament. See, Janice, we told you it would be great!!

After this weekend, it can never be said that Debaters cannot party- and, of course, debate (some with little or no sleep and while hung over); but hey, everyone had a good time.

YVONNE MACKEAN

etters

Dear Editor:

I would like to use your letters column to say thank you on behalf of the Debating Society to all those who made our tournament this past weekend such a success. All the debaters who attended had nothing but praise for U.P.E.I. and for the city of Charlottetown. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to judge for us - without judges there would have been no tournament. I would also like to thank Betty, Heather, and everyone else at the Barn for taking all those messages for us, and Mark for helping us entertain our guests on Friday night. Marriot Foods,the Kirkwood Motel, and Rob- ins Donuts also deserve thanks -the food was terrific!

I myself would like to thank all the members of our Society, as well as Dr. David Sims and Dr. Sean Hennessey for everything that they did to help out. Everyone’s contributions made our Atlantic Tournament one of the best ever!

Sincerely, Janice Enman Tournament Director

November 4, 1993/X-Press/11