Most of the day was spent becoming familiar with the topics and preparing probing questions for the evening's Institute of Ideas Debating Matters debate competition. The debate took place at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. The school is a boys' grammar school located in Belfast, catering for over 1000 pupils between the ages of 11 and 18. It's known by the locals (i.e., taxi drivers) as Ernst. Why, I don't know, but it would have made my journey travels much easier had I known this little tid bit of information prior to booking taxi's to and from 'Ernst'. I've come to the conclusion that many taxi drivers are not as familiar with the city surroundings as one would assume a taxi driver would be. Or else, upon hearing my accent, they wish to test the possibilities of how long they can wander the streets aimlessly to increase taxi fares. Maybe I've become a bit jaded after repeated trips where drivers feign ignorance as to where exactly 'University Street' resides at Queens University.
Back to the debate -- I was joined by three other judges, two of whom were 'old hats' at the game, having done this several times previous. One judge, Pauline Hadaway, from a paper titillatingly entitled 'Belfast Exposed' was most helpful in helping me navigate the ins and outs of proper structuring of questions. Bert Rima, like myself, was a 'first-timer' at the whole debate judging task ahead of us. Professor Rima is a professor of immunology at Queen's University; he played the part of distinguished lecturer quite well with salt and pepper messy hair (almost reminsicent of Doc Brown from Back to the Future) dressed in a tweed jacket with elbow patches, and sporting a brooding demeanor. The final judge, Newton Emerson, was a thirty-something cocky columnist, t.v. and radio personality with a permanent smirk blazened across his face.
Round 1's 'Genetic screening' topic was a bit like a mock debate in that it was one-sided since the opposing school was unable to attend due to weather conditions. St. Patrick's Academy (against) did a fine job of substantiating their arguments (although arguments were a bit lacking in examples at times). Round 2's 'Extremism on campus' was a bit more dramatic in debate on the 'for' side with members from The Royal Belfast Academical Institution (i.e. Ernst) performing theatrically instead of relying on sound logic in opening arguments. However, they came around by responding to audience questions rather nicely. However, the 'against' team from the Royal School of Armagh just squeeked by with a win due to their teamwork and slightly more polished nuanced responses. Round 3's 'Privacy online' debate was quite lively, and as the sole American in the room, I soon became the brunt of several remarks related to the U.S. Constitution and America's war with England. I'm sure the whole 'WikiLeaks' debacle of late played a part in some of the conversation. But it was all in fun and several students personally approached me afterwards extending apologies for their exuberant behavior. As with Round 2, the winners in the Final were students from the Royal School of Armagh who were better prepared and able to respond to questions posed. All in all, it was a very interesting evening; I was extremely impressed with the composure of (most of) these 16 year old students. They and their teachers should be quite proud of their accomplishments.
Of course, getting a taxi back to the apartment was just as challenging as getting one to Ernst. My taxi driver did share a bit of lore with me that might shed some light on why there continues to be such confusion over the whereabouts of my apartment. It's 2 University Street and I'm always asked if it's at the top end of the street. My response is no, it's about the middle which inevitably creates confusion and the driver turning down instead of up University Street. Seems the two rather large building which take up half of my block were erected years ago when Queen Victoria was slated to visit Queen's University. The street was considered 'ugly' so to spuce it up properly for such a visitor as the Queen, facades were erected on the back of the structures. Thus, literally speaking, my apartment doesn't reside on the 'top' of University Street, but technically, it does. So, from now on, when I'm asked if it's at the 'top' of the street, my response will be "Yes!" The taxi driver's response -- 'I was right, and you were wrong, but I learned a long time ago not to argue with a woman -- even if she's wrong. Wise words from a driver who got a little bit extra tip that night for sharing a story of Queen Victoria's visit, educating me as to the mystery of 2 University Street, and allowing me to save face.
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