JCI Dublin - Junior Chamber International Dublin

Everybody wins in the end

On Thursday, February 21st, 2008 the JCI Dublin Debating Competition took place in London College, Merrion Square. The theme of the competition was "Is television bad for children?"

Two teams went head to head in this competition:
- defending the argument that TV is bad for children: Michelle Daly, Mark Kelly and Tudor Borlea
- opposing the argument, claiming that TV is good for children: Elizabeth Donohoe, Kevin Guerin and Julien Rouaud

The judges were Raymond Reilly, Kevin Hatherill and Joe Heron, and the presenter was Anthony Moran. Eveline Cardon helped organize the event, unfortunatelly she could not join us on the night though.

The debate was heated and fun, each team puting up a very good show. Extreme arguments ranging from talking about "the TV can't hurt you, it's just a box" to "TV has created a generation of zombies" raised laughter, nevertheless some very serious and valid points having been raised as well. Violence, obesity, unrealistic expectations from life were just a few of the arguments raised by the defendants of the theory. Education, brain stimulation, and moderate use were just a few of the counter-arguments used by the opposition.

The main speakers were Michelle Daly for the pro-team and Elizabeth Donohoe for the against-team. In the end, the judges decided that the opposing team made a stronger case, albeit on a very close margin. Nevertheless, everybody truly won - and had a box of chocolates in the end to prove it!

Tudor Borlea
JCI Dublin - February 2008