It has been observed by the Union and by the university that apathy has now become ingrained in the lifestyle of the students. And, when they do participate, the quality of participation is compromised by irrelevant and nonsensical mockery of individuals or a faulty understanding of what the issue really is. The ADU wants to contribute, as part of its social responsibility and a fulfillment of its ideal, to the campaign for enriching community awareness in the school. This is why for the coming school year the Ateneo Debate Union will be hosting more regular public debates. Public debates are not only a showcase of the debate but are a way to get people engrossed in issues. For the past years, we have done public debates on divorce, on employment, and even on the historical narrative of Rizal’s rise to the status of a National Hero. The debates have been tailored to cater to the needs of the times. This year, we plan to hold public debates with students and faculty members of the different schools and colleges of the Ateneo. Public debates with the different schools and colleges are expected to elicit more attention from the students. Seeing their colleagues and professors speak on issues gives a face to the activity because now they can relate better to the speakers. It also tries to make the students understand that you do not need to be a part of an organization such as the Union for you to know that issues, for example, on the environment, human rights, and government transparency would affect you and your closest social groups. The effort is aimed towards making discourse an activity that everybody can take part of. Moreover, these public debates will be using the 2-on-2 format. The format was chosen on the basis of its compatibility with the goal of the public debates. With this format, we give more focus on the discussion of differing views and perspectives on a certain topic or issue rather than giving highlight to the rudiments of the common format of debate. With this format, we can also have more time to have an after-debate forum where a host shall ask members of the audience their opinions on the issue and takes on the debate. Aside from the public debate, ADU is also planning to start issuing joint statements. The joint statements will necessarily be brought about by an issue or conflict that the members of the Union feel are of urgent concern to the Ateneo community. These joint statements, researched on and discussed among the Union members, seek to challenge otherwise apathetic students to make their own stance. Whether or not they agree with these joint statements is not the ends that we want to achieve but rather the awakening of a questioning and critically-thinking mindset in the students. These joint statements are far from an effort of homogenizing opinion; in fact, we are trying to have our students put their opinions on the table and discuss about them. We think that pushing for advocacies and having a discourse on controversial yet relevant issues are a way to raise socially aware and intellectually disciplined individuals. We believe that all these efforts promote the Ateneo kind of personal growth—a growth that changes you and changes your society. This herculean task can nonetheless begin by having our students ask questions, and creating and defending opinions. We further believe that genuine democracy, as a building block of the Filipino nation-building, is founded upon diversity of opinion, respect, and compromise. Our efforts in our public debates and joint statements are all geared towards these things. The Ateneo Debate Union firmly believes that our duty is beyond helping our members maximize their intellectual, social, and moral capacities. The Union takes upon itself the challenge of helping shape our fellow Ateneans to grow and become Filipinos who have a voice and who take the right course of action for the greater social good.
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