Photo courtesy of Claire Keultjes
Sophomore Stephen Hann, junior Eric Hamm, sophomore Caleb Heimlich and
junior Claire Keultjes stand in front of the Stonehenge during their debate trip.
Two of Great Britain’s most gifted debaters faced off against Hillsdale’s finest last Thursday evening, debating French domestic policy and learning something about transatlantic differences in the process.
British debaters Siôn Owen and Kenneth Fleming were selected through an application process that included an appearance before two members of British Parliament and an officer of the Bank of Scotland to participate in a debate tour across the United States, visiting colleges in Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan and most of the Eastern Seaboard.
Owen, 21, graduated from Oxford University where he studied law at Lincoln College. He has debated for both Wales and Oxford and served as president of the Oxford Human Rights Law Society.
Fleming, 21, a graduate of Glasgow University in Scotland, has won many awards for his rhetorical skills, including the Scottish national debate championship.
The two debaters arrived on campus faced with a busy three-day schedule of Parliamentary-style workshops at Hillsdale Academy, debates in Dow Rooms A and B and an appearance at Battle of the Bands, an event planned by Pi Beta Phi sorority and Phi Mu Alpha national music fraternity for men.
Owen and Fleming said although they relish the thrill of debating in the United States, they prefer their native British Parliamentary style.
“American debating tends to be less passionate,” Owen said. “And in the U.K. we attempt to bring the audience into the debate.”
Fleming echoed Owen’s sentiments.
“There is more spontaneity in British debate,” Fleming said. “You play to the crowd—it is less technical and more theoretical.”
In honor of “their friends from across the great pond,” associate professor of theater and speech Dan Henning encouraged audience members Thursday evening to participate like the British might—even during the U.S. style debate.
In addition to their U.S.-style debate on Thursday evening, the European debaters taught an hour-long workshop on British Parliamentary style debate on Thursday afternoon, which several Hillsdale debaters said they found helpful.
“British debating is more fluid and less technical than debating in the States,” Joy Pavelski, a freshman debate team member, said. “It focuses on the big picture instead of the little issues.”
Henning described the British visitors as “enlightening” and “fun.” He said Thursday’s debate exposed Hillsdale’s debate team to quality debating techniques while providing publicity for the speech department.
“The Thursday evening session presented our program to more Hillsdale College students outside our debate program and proved a valuable lesson in some of the nuances of good debate,” Henning said.
The English debaters visited campus soon after four Hillsdale debate team members returned from a visit to England to hone their own Parliamentary debating skills— juniors Claire Keultjes and Eric Hamm and sophomores Stephen Hann and Caleb Heimlich debated at the Bristol IV. The experience was “enlightening,” Keultjes said.
Keultjes said she prefers the British style debate because it encourages “high quality argumentation.”
“The British style is modeled on Parliament rather than on Congress,” Keultjes said. “As such it is louder, more aggressive, more fast-paced and encourages bashing your opponents.”