Glasgow debaters head for China

Debaters from Glasgow University Union are heading to Beijing after qualifying to be part of a European team that will pit their skills against China on 24-29th September. The Glasgow side of final year law student Ross Mitchell and third year politics undergraduate John McKee finished a magnificent 15th out of 350 university societies that debated in the European Championships, held in Galway, Ireland. The debates ranged from the banning of economic, political and military support given by any Western state to Israel and Pakistan to making reparation payments to women for gender inequalities. The tournament in China will see the top 15 European and Chinese universities debate over 4 days in 8 rounds, covering a wide range of topics. In the first two rounds, participants will gain points for winning. Once down to the last 16, the tournament is a straight knockout competition. The trip and competition is being funded by the Chinese government and the European Commission, and is another indicator that the skill of debating at Glasgow is strong and thriving.