Nothing says Valentine’s Day quite like a debate! In 1992, Ridley College began the tradition of holding a formal debate close to Valentine’s Day and this year was no different.  While Ridley debating has a long history at the school, prior to 1992 the only debate that actually took place on the campus was the Fulford Cup. Member schools take turns hosting the Fulford Cup, meaning that Ridley would host only once every 6 years. In order to raise the profile of debating, and to feature and attract students to this important para-curricular activity, the co-coaches at the time decided to host an annual debate in second term in and around Valentine’s Day. It started with a student campaign in 1992 with “bring a date to the debate” and the tradition grew from there. The topic of this year’s debate was the 1960s and its social, political and economic impact and the format of the debate was parliamentary style.   The winner of the debate and recipient of the Cronyn Trophy was Ms. Erin O.

Watch the debaters in action:

“In an age when most communication is done electronically and when people are more likely to ‘Tweet’ than meet the importance of debate has never been greater.  As well, healthy debate is the centre of our democracy and there are too few opportunities even in countries such as ours to debate publicly and properly, yet it’s considered an important 21st Century skill that remains a part of the democratic spirit…” – Mr. O’Rourke

To view more pictures from the debate:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52074008@N03/sets/72157625894113425/