April 5, 2016 - One of the goals of the Academic Committee of the Ashesi Student Council is to nurture curiosity and vitality within the community, while encouraging the students to be thoughtful, eloquent and fun loving. It is in this vein that the committee organized a debate between the students and the staff and faculty.
According to Kingsley Agyekum '17, Chairperson of the Academic Committee, not only is debating “a good medium to form habits of curiosity and eloquence,” but also the debate formed a primer for the establishment of the debate society. “We kick-started this debate to stir up that desire to question statements and also encourage students to want to be a part of such the association,” he added. “Instead of doing it the usual way- create a society then hold a competition we wanted them to feel the impact of debating and let that impact drive them towards the club.”
The debate, on the motion “The government that governs the least, governs best” followed the British Parliamentary style. Against the motion was the team from the staff and faculty comprising Fred McBagonluri, Dean of the Engineering School, Nana Ama Entsie, Administrator at the Business Administration Department and Michael Fiifi Quansah '14, Alumni and Public Relations Officer. The student’s team was represented by Desmond Darlington ’16, Maxwell Mbailla Aladago ’18 and Kwabena Twumasi Ankrah ’19.
Both teams, making strong cases for their topics, engaged key topics around current affairs touching on governance in Ghana, in the Middle East and in the United States. In the end, the team representing the staff and faculty won the debate, and representatives from both teams were presented with medals and prizes.
Not only did the debate allow for an exciting intellectual exchange, but also it was an opportunity for staff and faculty to interact with each other outside the classroom and regular office hours. “Ashesi is one of the few places you find staff, faculty and students engage in such a friendly, intellectual and entertaining event,” said Nana Ama Entsie. “This opens up the relationship between staff, faculty and students and also fosters mentorship and strong networks.”
“We hope that just as this ASC continues to stir school spirit and a rich culture, the academic committee can contribute it's quota to the intellectual growth of students and maintain the high standards Ashesi has set for itself in previous years,” concluded Kingsley.
