NMT To Host Student Debate

Thursday, March 22, 2018


Tech students to debate both sides of the driverless cars topic

   


debate brochure

New Mexico Tech is hosting an on-campus student debate on Sat., March 24, and the winning teams are going to take home some pretty serious prizes.

The debate will consist of 32 teams consisting of two students, each from different departments.  Each team may have a coach, provided that coach is a NMT faculty or community member.

The first-place prize is $1,200, with second place receiving $800 and third $400. The deadline for registering for the debate is Monday, March 5, 2018. Click here to register.

The topic for the debate is driverless automobiles, with four rounds of subtopics: ethics, economics, legal and oversight leading to a final round during which teams will argue whether such vehicles should be legal and allowed on public roads.

The debate is sponsored by New Mexico Tech, the Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs, and the New Mexico Society of Professional Engineers.

For more information, please see the FAQ below or click here. Interested students may also contact Dr. Ashok K. Ghosh, Mechanical Engineering at 575-517-5505 or ashok.ghosh@nmt.edu.

 

FAQ

New Mexico Tech Student Debate Competition 2018, Saturday, March 24th 2018

Question 1: Who are eligible to participate?

Response:

  • NMT students who have registered during the Spring 2018 are eligible to participate. The first 32 QUALIFIED teams will be able to participate.
  • Each team comprised of 2 students from inter-departments. To be qualified, team members have to be from SEPARATE DEPARTMENTS.
  • Teams may have a coach who is a NMT instructor or a community member.

 

Question 2: How much each prize will be?

Response:

  • 1st Prize - $1,200 for two students
  • 2nd Prize - $800 for two students
  • 3rd Prize - $400 for two students

 

Question 3: What is the date and place for this competition?

Response:

  • Saturday March 24th, the weekend after the Spring Break
  • NMT Campus

 

Question 4: How do I enter in this competition?

Response:

Entry form is available at :

http://www.nmt.edu/library/index.php

 

click NMT Debate 2018 . On the bottom of the page entry form is available.  

 

Question 5: What is the theme of this competition?

Response:

  • Round 1: Debate - Ethics
    • Team 1: Defense: Driverless cars are safer than cars with drivers
    • Team 2: Defense: Driverless cars are more dangerous than cars with drivers
  • Round 2: Debate – Economics
    • Team 1: Driverless cars are cheaper and more efficient than driven cars
    • Team 2: Defense: Driverless cars are costlier and less efficient than driven cars
  • Round 3: Debate – Legal
    • Team 1 Defense: The use of driverless cars should be legalized
    • Team 2 Defense: The use of driverless cars should not be legalized
  • Round 4: Debate – Oversight
    • Team 1 Defense: Driverless cars should be treated as normal cars
    • Team 2 Defense: Driverless cars should be treated as its own form of transportation with its own rules.
  • Round 5: Debate - FINAL Round
    • Team 1 Defense: Driverless cars should be allowed.
    • Team 2 Defense: Driverless cars should not be allowed. 

Question 6: What is the format for this competition?

Response:

DEBATE FORMAT

  • Opening Statement by Team 1 – 5 minutes
  • Rebuttal by Team 2 – 2 minutes
  • Opening Statement by Team 2 – 5 minutes
  • Rebuttal by Team 1 – 2 minutes
  • Closing statement by Team 1 – 5 minutes
  • Rebuttal by Team 2 – 1 minutes
  • Closing statement by Team 2 – 5 minutes
  • Rebuttal by Team 1 – 1 minutes

 

Total time for a round is 26 minutes. Time between rounds is 30 minutes

Starts at:

  • Round 1 - 9am
  • Round 2 – 10am
  • Round 3 – 11am
  • Round 4 – 1:30pm
  • Final Round – 2:30pm 

Question 7: Who are the sponsoring organizations?

Response:

  1. Vice President of Academic Affairs, NMT and
  2. New Mexico Society of Professional Engineers.

Question 8: When will I know if my team has qualified?

Response: You will receive an email notifying that your team is qualified to take part.

Question 9: Who to contact for more information?

Response:

  • Ashok K. Ghosh, Mechanical Engineering,

575-517-5505; ashok.ghosh@nmt.edu

 

Qualified teams will receive more information after March 5th.