Turkish Debate Festival at TAC
Tarsus American College hosted the TAC Debate Festival on March 9, under the leadership of the Turkish Language and the Literature Department and Turkish Debate Club.
The event, which saw its second instalment this year and was joined by Mersin Final Anatolian High School, Toros Science High School, TED Adana College and TAC, was the scene to both entertaining moments and stiff competition between schools, as expected from the very nature of debate. In the elimination round, Toros Science High School and Mersin Final Schools were matched by a draw to discuss whether, "There should be limitations on the wages of athletes who earn big wages". Then, TED Adana College and Tarsus American College took the stage to discuss whether, "Consumerism is harmful." The first round matches were very competitive and exciting. The final round had Tarsus American College and Toros Science High School, discussing the topic, "Popular contest shows are damaging the arts". Everyone in the audience held their breath during this last match and at the end, the members of the jury awarded Toros Science High School the first prize, with TAC being the runner-up. All participants, including teachers and students, were presented with certificates.
At the end of the tournament, representatives from all schools had happy smile on their faces. The guests expressed their appreciation to TAC for making them feel at home, and they expressed their desire to meet again next year as they thanked the organizing teachers, Mr. Niyazi Pavlaz and Ms. Tuba Karabağ. Before we sent them on their way, we took a group photo to make this day memorable.
TAC has already started to work on next year’s Debate Tournament, with the hope of increasing the number of participating schools and improving the quality of debate while maintaining the fun and utimately help to promote a culture of debate in our region.