DEBATE MORE THAN ACADEMIC.Byline: Greg Bolt The Register-Guard When they signed up for the course three months ago, students in a University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. class on public discourse didn't know they'd be debating war in Iraq a scant 24 hours before its expected launch. But as each day of winter term passed, the 13 students in the honors class watched the issue change from a point of debate to a near certainty. When President Bush announced the end of diplomatic efforts Monday night and gave Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (born April 28, 1937, Tikrit, Iraq—died Dec. 30, 2006, Baghdad) President of Iraq (1979–2003). He joined the Ba'th Party in 1957. Following participation in a failed attempt to assassinate Iraqi Pres. 48 hours to leave the country, they were still putting the final touches on their debate plans. "It was bizarre," senior Harvey Rogers said. "Every day we'd check the news, and there'd be something pertaining per·tain intr.v. per·tained, per·tain·ing, per·tains 1. To have reference; relate: evidence that pertains to the accident. 2. to this class. I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if any of us have ever followed a current issue so closely." The class, "Argument in the Public Space," was designed to help students "develop the habits of mind and speech to make good arguments in the public realm," said professor David Frank David Frank was born on the 24 September 1958. He is the executive producer of RDF Media. Frank was born in Nakuru, Kenya. , director of the UO's Robert D. Clark Honors College The Robert D. Clark Honors College is a small liberal arts college that is part of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Its namesake, Robert D. Clark, was a of the university, and key contributor to the founding of the honors college. . It culminated Tuesday with a panel debate on whether the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. is justified in waging war on Iraq. Over the course of the term, students gave speeches stating their individual opinions and also engaged in one-on-one debates with classmates Classmates can refer to either:
Frank said that at the beginning of the term, most of the class leaned to the liberal, anti-war side of the issue. And while no one switched sides, some did find themselves asking more questions than they had before. "I don't think there have been any epiphanies of students from liberal to conservative or from war opponent to war supporter, but at least they have a more enriched and enlarged viewpoint," Frank said. "They struggled with the issues." Several students said that while they still oppose a war, they find themselves closer to the center of the issue than when they started. They said they went from believing there was no good reason to send troops into Iraq to being able to understand why others see it differently. "There are definitely valid points to each side of the issue," junior Matt Rowan said. "I thought I was entirely anti-war, but doing the reverse argument I saw there are a lot of bad things happening in Iraq and the U.S. does have some justification for going in there." Jennifer Hubbard said she deliberately took the pro-war stance in the first two projects so she could better understand that argument. But in the end, she said, she wasn't convinced. "I have a really hard time justifying war in general, especially when I see there are other options open," she said. Colby Feves didn't change his mind either. He supported President Bush's stand before, and he supports it now. Feves gave perhaps the most impassioned arguments of the two-hour debate, driving home his team's contentions that 12 years of peaceful efforts have not worked, Iraq remains in violation of United Nations resolutions, inspections won't work and more would die under Saddam's continued dictatorship than in a war. He said it is America's "job as protector of the world to step in and stop this dictator." "It just reinforced what I already knew," Feves said at a post-debate gathering. "Enough is enough. It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to go in and take care of him." Students had to do extensive research, digging up investigative reports An investigative report is a document that is meant to provide information on a certain topic that is not easily obtained. It is meant to present the reader with a wealth of easily understood information and usually contains an interview or two on the subject. , newspaper clippings and government and United Nations documents to back up their arguments. What they learned tempered the views of many and brought the consequences of war into sharper focus for others. Cory Portnuff was on the anti-war side, carrying the argument that attacking Iraq endangers America. What he learned about the potential for reprisal reprisal, in international law, the forcible taking, in time of peace, by one country of the property or territory belonging to another country or to the citizens of the other country, to be held as a pledge or as redress in order to satisfy a claim. attacks by terrorists in the United States was disturbing. "I'm now scared. In 23 1/2 hours from now, I will be afraid to board a bus" in a large city, he said after the debate. With dual citizenship in Canada, he's even thinking about changing his plan to attend graduate school in Seattle. "I do not want to go to a big city. I'm thinking of going to Canada for graduate school. It's changed my life." CAPTION(S): Students Matt Orbell, Austyn Young and Alex Lowe Stuart Alexander "Alex" Lowe (1958-1999), was widely considered his generation's finest all-around mountaineer prior to his October 5, 1999 death in a massive slab avalanche on Shishapangma in Tibet. (right) confer during a foreign policy debate Tuesday at the University of Oregon. Please turn to BOLDWORD, Page D3 |
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