School of Public Policy Welcomes Budapest Open 2015 Debaters

Hundreds of students traveled to Budapest on March 6-8 to participate in the Budapest Open 2015 Debate Tournament at CEU.  The Debating Society of CEU in association with ELTE and Corvinus University hosted the three-day debate tournament, which was won by Nika Jelanska and Peer Klussendorf from Zagreb. “It was a great success,” raved CEU Convener Shreya Bhattacharya (MPA ‘16). 

The School of Public Policy (SPP) hosted all debate participants at a meet-and-greet reception on Saturday evening. Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Administration and Finance Edward Branagan welcomed everyone to SPP and made a brief presentation about the School’s two-year MPA program. Many SPP students were on hand to welcome the debaters, and to answer questions about the School. “It was a terrific opportunity for SPP,” said Branagan. “The School offers Public Policy Debate Scholarships and so we were especially eager to connect with this group of people.”

In addition to helping to organize the tournament, Suluck Fai Lamubol (MPA ’16) was also one of the debaters. “I’ve always been interested in debate, but never really had the chance to practice. I think debating is an important skill because it helps you to critically think and reflect on values that you may take for granted,” said Lamubol. Although she did not participate in the tournament herself, Bhattacharya is also a keen debater. “This was a valuable learning experience for all of us, and a great chance to promote our School,” she said.