The public is invited to attend this free event.
When: Sunday, May 20 from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Where: East Side Community High School, 11th street entrance between 1st Avenue and Avenue A, New York, NY
“Debate in the Neighborhood” culminates in this final tournament that brings teams of high-school aged students together to debate the topic:
Ethnic profiling is a justified means of combating terrorism
The students, from the Hindu Temple Society of North America in Flushing, the Jamaica Muslim Center, and the Sikh Cultural Society and Gurdwara in Ozone Park (in partnership with UNITED SIKHS) have been honing their debate skills since late February when the program launched, and will compete this Sunday in a final, prize-winning competition.
The public is invited to come cheer on these future leaders of the City of New York. Media are encouraged to attend at any time, but please note that elimination rounds will be taking place throughout the day, and that the most exciting debates are likely to be the final ones, which begin at 4:30 pm, and will be followed by an awards ceremony.
“Debate in the Neighborhood,” a collaboration of The Interfaith Center of New York (ICNY) and the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) New York office, and funded by Open Society Youth Initiative, brings debate beyond the conventional school environment directly to immigrant and first-generation students, giving them access to an enriching educational tradition. Additionally, the program fosters understanding, cooperation, and a free and lively exchange of ideas among students from diverse cultures, ethnicities, and religious traditions demonstrating that opposing views can be explored in ways that connect rather than divide people.
The program’s debate topics are centered on “Securing Liberty”, a text published by IDEA about reconciling the threat of terrorism and democratic values in the post 9/11 United States.
