Debate Club hosts first debate of the semester on free speech
Students at UTM’s Debate Club explore the limits of free speech during the club’s first debate of the semester.
On October 3, the University of Toronto (U of T) Mississauga’s (UTM) Debate Club hosted a debate about free speech in Maanjiwe nendamowinan. Participants debated the motion, “This house believes cancel culture has done more harm than good for free speech.”
Participants were put in two separate classrooms, one for novices and one for experienced debaters. The Medium attended the debate and observed the novice debate.
In this debate, the “Government” side argued in favour of the motion while the “Opposition” side argued against.
The Government side argued that cancel culture unfairly persecutes those who do not conform to the herd mentality. They also argued that this persecution creates echo chambers, which prevent individuals from learning from their mistakes.
The Opposition side argued that, without cancel culture, aggressive groups are more likely to form against those who hold different values and opinions. The Opposition also argued that there should be censorship, especially on hate speech, to maintain a safe online environment. The judges deemed the Opposition to be the winner of the novice debate, based on their performance.
Following the event, The Medium spoke with Debate Club President Edwina Ng about the significance of hosting debates at UTM.
“I think it varies per person,” said Ng. “We have a wide range of students coming from different programs and different backgrounds, and I think that’s what makes debate so great.”
According to Ng, the primary reason people attend her club’s events is to enhance their public speaking skills. Post-debate, participants receive verbal feedback from the judges on their strengths and areas for improvement. This feedback helps participants develop stronger communication skills.
By listening to different perspectives or arguing in favour of opinions other than their own, one can develop critical thinking skills and build empathy towards those who hold opposing views.
Speaking on the October 3 event, Ng said that the topic of free speech is an important one to debate.
She said that the recent death of Charlie Kirk sparked a new interest in discussing the extent to which free speech should be allowed to take place. Kirk was an American political activist who was assassinated on September 10 while speaking at a university in Utah. This incident triggered reactions from many, including U of T Professor Ruth Marshall, whom the university placed on leave after she made remarks that supposedly condoned Kirk’s killing.
Ng expressed that debating about how people responded to the Charlie Kirk assassination is important for critical thinking. “You are not only talking about the ideological view… [but also] the moral feelings behind that.” She said her club wanted to “have students really reflect on that.”
“I think when you debate about [the attitudes in which people responded to the Charlie Kirk assassination], you are not only talking about the ideological view…[but] the moral feelings behind that,” and the club wanted “to have students really reflect on that,” said Ng.
Ng explained that her club aims to create a space that encourages the amplification of students’ ideas and opinions, regardless of their personal background or level of expertise. “We want to build a community of people who are so different,” she added. “We love everybody from different backgrounds: political, ethnic, everything you could possibly think of.”
“I want to emphasize that we really do welcome everyone,” said Ng. A lot of clubs tend to focus on one specific program or interest, but Ng said that “debate kind of incorporates everything. We want to talk about medicine, we want to talk about AI…technology…sociology…philosophy. There are so many areas we want to cover and invite people to really present something that is their strong suit, and give them an outlet to do that.”
Moving forward, Ng said that there is talk among the executives and associates of the UTM Debate Club of hosting an easy topic, such as “This House believes that cakes are better than pies,” or any other simple topic for those who are interested in participating but are not as familiar with the formal debate format.
Such easy-to-debate topics help increase engagement from UTM students by familiarizing them with the ideal debate format and etiquette.
The club aims to hold a debate biweekly, said Ng. Some debates will be unprepared, where participants receive the motion upon arrival and will not be allowed to conduct outside research. Others, such as the upcoming collaborative debate with the UTM Regenerative Medicine club, will be prepared. With prepared debates, individuals will have prior knowledge of the motion and have time for outside research.
Students can find out the motion of an upcoming debate via email if they are a general member of the club or by checking the club’s Instagram account @utm.dc.
