The UTM Debating Club hosted their annual Student Speak-Off, a public speaking tournament, on Thursday in the CCT Building. Students debated the UTM Students’ Union elections and several UTM Athletic Council candidates used the opportunity to campaign.
Students practised their public speaking skills by speaking on a given topic for two minutes in front of an audience and jury. Awards were presented to the top seven speakers of the evening.
Contestants decided to criticize many of the efforts of UTMSU during their speeches, bringing up policies being improperly implemented and their allegedly stubborn and dense nature. One particular student mentioned the “in-your-face attitude” for gaining votes during election season.
RAWC U, one of the three UTMAC slates, used their speech time to campaign for their party. Matthew Butler took the stage and talked about his goals and plans to improve student life at UTM.
“I feel the event went off quite well. I think we have an amazing group of members and a very dedicated executive team who bring about the best events on campus,” said Eric Madan, the president of the UTMDBC. He added that the debaters in the club have gone to tournaments where universities across Canada gather to compete.
The judges were club executives Robert Seredynski, Brad Northcote, and Matthew Lozinski. Butler took first place and Tuneer Mukherjee took second. They were awarded gift cards for Chapters.
