Communication students mix words with foreign guests
Two ULM debaters faced two young men from England who have been in the practice of debating for years Tuesday night as part of the Bill and Linda Rambin Debate series in Stubbs. Many students and faculty came to form a decision on if having an introduction to communication studies class should be a requirement for the mass communication curriculum or if it should simply be optional.
The two communication majors representing ULM, Jasmyne Beard and Marshall Shannon, are juniors currently in Dr. Lesli Pace’s Argumentation and Debate class. They earned the chance to debate with their British opponents through performing well in class. Their opponents from England, Richard Robinson and Ben Jasper, were thrilled to accept this offer presented by Dr. Lesli Pace, associate professor of communication at ULM. Robinson has an undergraduate in law and Jasper from London has an undergraduate in history and masters in politics.
Beard presented her argument in favor of communication studies being required for the curriculum of college students. She expressed how communication has been the focus of society for many years. The key components we need in society to function are analytical and critical thinking skills, explains Beard.
She argues that once students are exposed to an introductory course in communication studies, they will realize how vital it is for students to be required to take this course.
Robinson, on the opposing side of the argument, states that no one should be forced to take any college course. Robinson said, “Students taking a class that they are not interested in taking might not be beneficial for them in the future.” In his opinion, college students should be treated as adults and be allowed to pick andchoose their personal preference of courses they want to be knowledgeable in.
Students from the Neville Varsity Speech Team attended the event and were in favor of the opposition.
“I believe that they refuted the arguments in favor of government and effectively delivered their opposing arguments very well,” said Evan Bursey, junior Neville Varsity Speech Team member.
The other ULM debater Marshall Shannon supported the fact that communication studies can be used in everyday life. Shannon explains that having these skills will be useful ranging from business employers to personal relationships. His main argument is that “students need introductory courses before moving on to a deeper focus in that subject.”
“I that we can challenge ourselvesthrough our system,” said Mara Loeb, associate director of international students, in favor of Government education. “I believe that [the British representatives’] claim is false because our two educational systems are so different.”
Jasper, debater supporting the opposition, points out that professors study deeply in their field of specialty, so why is it fair for them to have to turn all that knowledge into a little three-hour course? College students will begin to see their education more and more like high school, says Jasper, since they do not get to pick all the classes they are interested in taking. “Wouldn’t it better for those students to develop their skills elsewhere?” Jasper asked.
All of the people who participated at the event got to vote at the end of the debate where the opposing side was successful. This means that the audience was in favor of having the option to take the introductory classes for communication studies.
The next event will be in the spring where scholars from different countries will talk about their areas of expertise. For more information contact Dr. Lesli Pace at [email protected].
