On Tuesday, April 10, Debate in the Neighborhood took on a much more serious tone. For the first time, students from the Hindu Temple Society of New York (located in Flushing), the Jamaica Muslim Center, and the Sikh Cultural Society and Gurdwara (located in Ozone Park) began to address topics of national security. Recognizing that America’s security concerns have changed dramatically since 9/11/2001, the day began with a screening of newsreel footage of the events of September 11, followed by a discussion of what the students remember of that particular day. One student, who was only five years old on 9/11, recalled watching these same images the day they were broadcast live. “I remember thinking how colorful it all seemed,” she said. “Until that day, I had always thought of color as a good thing.”
The conversation turned to then-President George W. Bush, and what the students thought of how he handled the situation. “Bush did what he was supposed to do,” a student remarked, “his ability to not show panic was what we expect of a leader.” But another student disagreed: “I think he over-reacted, and set an unfortunate tone of punishment and revenge.”
By mid-session, the students took a break from weightier matters with an exercise called “The Um… Game,” which challenged each student to speak on a topic for 60 seconds without saying “uh…” (click on the image below to watch a video clip):
Later in the day, the topic turned again to America and national security, when students were asked if they feel that the United States has stayed true to its fundamental values. With the creation of the Patriot Act, the institution of the Department of Homeland Security, and the formation of the Guantanamo Bay detention and interrogation center, has America struck the right balance between security and freedom?
“Rights to privacy have definitely been given up,” observed one student, who continued, “but some things must sometimes be sacrificied for the greater good.” Another student agreed, saying that “the U.S. has to be preserved in order for liberty to exist at all.” Other students expressed less optimistic perspectives. “How can we put people in jail without trying them first?” asked one student. Another countered that “if only one of the detainees proves guilty, then isn’t it worth it?”
Near the end of the day, the group was ready to take their first step toward a serious debate, as the students were divided into two groups to analyze the topic of “The Use of Torture of Suspected Terrorists in Order to Preserve National Security.” Recognizing that good debaters must be able to argue both sides of any argument, IDEA trainer Aditi Naik instructed half of the students to argue in favor of the use of torture, while the remainder was charged with opposing. Part of the absorbing conversation can be viewed in the video below, which begins with a student reading a definition of the word “terrorist” (click the image below to watch the video):
As Debate in the Neigbhorhood continues, students will be assigned to 3-member teams, practice for a final, formal debate on a topic relating to national security. Stay tuned for further reports.
A collaboration of ICNY and the International Debate Education Association (IDEA), and funded by Open Society Youth Initiative, Debate in the Neighborhood aims to engage immigrant and first-generation students in the enriching educational tradition of debate, and to foster understanding, cooperation, and a free and lively exchange of ideas among young New Yorkers from diverse cultures, ethnicities and religious traditions.
