THE J.L. D’SOUZA MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DEBATE

Posted on: 28 August 2024

The prestigious J. L. D’SOUZA Memorial International School Debate was hosted on the 28th of August, 2024 by St. Joseph’s Academy, Dehradun. A total of 14 schools participated in this Competition. Among them were some highly prominent outstation schools such as St. Mary’s Academy, Meerut and Wynberg Allen, Mussoorie as well as well- known Dehradun institutions such as Convent of Jesus and Mary, St. Jude’s School, Ann Mary School, RIMC School and other equally popular schools. The event began with the introduction of the various teams and the judges – Mr. Randhir Arora and Ms. Divija Pande. Each team, for the sake of anonymity, was given exotic names such as Mars, Poseidon, Neptune, Juno, Aphrodite, Ceres, Apollo, etc. after Greek and Roman mythological gods and goddesses. The preliminary round was conducted in two venues – the School library and the school’s Audio-Visual room. Seven teams debated against each other at each of the venues. In the first venue teams like Vulcan, Apollo, Juno, Neptune, etc. fought a fiery war of words and debated furiously on the merits and demerits of ‘Overindulgence with Metaverse Leaving Children Disoriented and Disconnected.’ After a hard-fought battle teams Juno and Neptune emerged winners to make it into the next round, while teams Aphrodite and Pluto overcame all opposition at the second venue. Although the debaters from St. Jude’s School – team Apollo did not progress further, they conducted themselves in an exemplary fashion and came away with a plethora of valuable information and a wealth of experience that will help them in the future. The finals were held at the grand St. Joseph’s auditorium. In a glittering and impressive digital display all fourteen teams, along with the pictures of their Greek and Roman gods and goddesses was screened on a panoramic backdrop. After the introduction of the esteemed panel of judges comprising of Ms. Divija Pande, Ms. Mubashir Ahmed and Ms. Swarleen Kaur, the four teams – Juno, Pluto Aphrodite and Neptune, competed with each other on the topics ‘This House Believes That the Upheavals all across the World are a Manifestation of the Vested Political Interests,’ and ‘This House Believes That Indian Sportspersons are the Kites that fly against the Winds of Indifference and Callousness.’ Both topics were debated with fervor and passionate rhetoric and eventually, two schools – Ann Mary and Convent of Jesus and Mary emerged the two giants who debated against each other in a riveting parliamentary oratory on the topic – ‘This House Believes That the Upheavals all across the World are a Manifestation of the Vested Political Interests,’ Eventually the judges, after much deliberation declared Convent of Jesus and Mary as the winners of the coveted J.L. D’Souza Memorial trophy. They were closely followed by the runners-up – Ann Mary School. The function ended with the judges giving their opinions on the way the speakers from the various Schools spoke. They complimented each and every school and said that every one of them conducted themselves with aplomb and confidence. The Chief Guest of the occasion Brother Joseph, Principal of St. Joseph’s Academy, gave away the awards and certificates to the teams and presented Convent of Jesus and Mary with the trophy.