Southern Miss Debate Society to Host British National Debate Team

A debate between The University of Southern Mississippi Debate Society and the British National Debate Team will be held Monday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. in the Thad Cochran Center on the Hattiesburg campus. The event, sponsored by the Department of Communication Studies in the College of Arts and Letters,is free and open to the public.

Ettie Bailey-King and Willard Foxton of the British National Debate Team will face Brandon K. Hersey and Michael B. Sims from the Southern Miss Debate Society to debate the topic “Hate Speech Should Be Protected.” 

Two university students from Great Britain are selected each year to represent the United Kingdom and tour the U.S., debating teams at various universities. Other stops for the British team include Wake Forest University, University of Houston, Ithaca College, Cornell University and William and Mary College, among others.

Southern Miss will be the only school the team visits in Mississippi and one of the few universities in the southeastern United States. Members of the Southern Miss Debate society are “honored and excited” about the opportunity to debate the British, said Dr. Charles Tardy, chairman of the department.

“Like” the Southern Miss Debate Society on Facebook to learn more about event updates and the organization, and live Tweet at ‘USMDebate' to follow along the night of the debate. For more information, contact Southern Miss Debate Society at 601.266.4271 or visit the Department of Communication Studies website, http://www.usm.edu/communication-studies.