j^ovembei 29,1989
Page 9
n
Debate
, continued from pg. 1
didn't even worry about it,"
said Gill-
When asked about the
substance of the debate,
Simpson stated, "We went
over all the related aspects
to world hunger with a fine-
tooth comb. We incorpo
rated many of the offshoots,
but everything was related.
It's important to remember
that the issue itself still is not
solved. Shannon Gill stated
that she felt the best debates
came early in the mornings.
"We discussed possible so
lutions to solving world
hunger in third-world coun
tries. Some were practical:
some impractical," she said.
Other subjects drawn into
the debate were marijuana,
gummy-bears, children as
world leaders, muppets,
and bong water.
The event was sponsored
by Unique Physique, Subs-
n-Cream, Campbell Soup,
The Fayetteville Times-Ob-
server, and Cablevision.
Donations of can good were
accepted, and shirts were
sold for the benefit of solv
ing world hunger. Personal
sponsors were also re
cruited.
There were many others
who also gave much of their
time to the Debate-a-Thon.
Fellow team members John
Wheeler and Shin Cha, de
spite threats of being eaten
and castrated, served as
time-keepers throughout
the debate. Missy Magill
and Wendy Harris signed in
visitors, of which there wer
over 1^00. Along with
Mecklenberg representa
tive Charles "Wally" Mann,
they spent nearly twenty
hours p>er day, over the five
days, working with the proj
ect. Many also dedicated
their time serving as wit
nesses, such as Kerry
O'Neill, who sat through
several rotations. O'Neil
described the experiences as
'The biggest thing to hap
pen to St. Andrews since I've
been here." Professor O.E.
Smith spent many hours
documenting the event on
video casseste, for verifica
tion as well as historical
purposes.
Lisa Dubs, advisor to the
team, said that everything
unfolded just as they had
hoped. She added that
members of the college pro
vided wonderful support,
and that the feeling of "col
lege community" was really
enhanced. Dubs described
the topics as "sonderful",
and said that the Debate-a-
Thon exemplified a typical
parliamentary debate.
Dean Cynthia Greer
passed out complimentary
bottles of symbolic cham
pagne to the team and
members of the audience
when the record was bro
ken. The team members
also treated the audience to
cake.
The debate was originally
planned to last 107 hours,
but was suspended when
John Cox announced, "1
propose that we end the
debate, and go spray Bobby
(Simpson)."
History Club Presents
International Night
Lane Moore
The History Club pre
sented Beijing International
night in the Gathering Place
and Belk Center hallway on
November 13. The event
began with International
Programs including Brun-
nenburg, Stirling, India, and
Venezuela. Each booth dis
played material about their
program and advice from
students and faculty who
were involved in these pro
grams. A slide show and
presentation given by Tom
Wilhams, Betsy Tate, and
the St. Andrews students
who journeyed to China last
Spring. The evening con
cluded with an informal
discussion among four pro
fessors about the future of
China.
The Gathering Place was
covered with banners much
like those during the dem
onstrations in Beijing. It was
very well decorated
with flags, blown up pic-
hjres, and newspap>er clip-
P''^gs displayed around the
foom.
The forum infornially
‘"ed to explore the future
relations between the
United States and China.
They discussed the issues of
travel, the feelings of being
in a foreign culture, and
special stories of friends
they made in China, Ameri
can and Chinese. The stu
dents also maintained, that
even though times were
tense in the last month with
demonstrations, they felt
safe. They also further ex
plained the purpose behind
the movement and also tried
to explain that the media's
version of the "Democracy
movement" was oversim
plified. Our "democracy"
was not their aim, rather
they called for reforms, such
as the removal of officials,
more liberal, and more po
litical reforms. The move
ment had elements of free
doms but not total democ
racy.
During the evening the
students who went to China
commented on the aca
demic program, their per
sonal experiences with
e-A
Students and professors attending International Night,
sponsored by the History Club
appropriate sanctions, the
effect the United States can
play economically to stabi
lize the Chinese govern
ment or when necessary, to
deny the fruits of a healthy
relationship.
The Beijing International
night was a success in many
ways. It opened the St.
Andrews community to the
International programs, the
Beijing program and the
"Special Spring of '89," and
provoke critical thinking
between faculty and stu
dents on future issues in
China.