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News for Week 12! Monday Meeting - BBQ 1pm! MAD's end-of-year BBQ is upon us once again, so come to the front of the law building to get some food, a drink and to discuss the year that was! Member Training 5pm - Guest Speaker Waleed Aly On Monday evening Waleed Aly will be speaking about Islam, secularism, terrorism, the intersection of religion and politics - all very exciting and relevant for debaters. Afterwards we will have practice debates on a related topic. This is your last chance before exams, so make sure you come along! Waleed Aly is an Australian lawyer and Muslim community leader. He is a member of the executive committee of the Islamic Council of Victoria and the Council's head of public affairs. He is a frequent commentator on Australian Muslim affairs, regularly writing for the Age and the Australian newspapers. He is also a lecturer at the Global Terrorism Research Centre at Monash University. WUPID Adjudication Spot While we have organised most of our contingent for WUPID, we still have one adjudication spot open! This spot is sponsored - i.e. registration will be paid, and everyone is eligible. If you are interested email external comps officer, Rhys Campbell with your CV of all relevant adjudication and debating experience. This is a great opportunity, so regardless of your experience, you should contact Rhys if you are interested. The Great Alumni and Friends Debate 2008 - "Is it a good thing I have forgotten more than I have learned?" Two current MADdies, Amit Golder and Claire Lindsey, along with former MAD president, Jake Clifton, are participating in next week's Great Alumni and Friends Debate, as part of Monash's Educate08 activities. The debate will take place at 7.00pm on Tuesday (7 Oct) with refreshments at 6.30pm, at The Clarendon Ballroom at The Langham Melbourne, 1 Southgate Ave, Southbank. For anyone that would like to attend, please RSVP to rsvp@adm.monash.edu.au. Its almost booked out so be quick. Other speakers include Ms Jane Clifton - actress, singer and published novelist, as well as Dr Sally Cockburn (aka 'Dr Feelgood'), Australia's leading health communicator. News for Week 11! Monday Meeting 1pm L1 - WUPID selections/Public Speaking Following the minor glitches we ran into last week at selections, we will kick off our Monday meeting with WUPID selections using trial rankings. Team will be finalised and there will be no more delays. Afterwards, we will be holding MAD's annual PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION. It's always a fun event and there winner will win the coveted Public Speaking Plaque and have their names among greats like Sam Kastelan. Participants will be asked to speak on a funny topic/quote/whatever the chair decides! Fun to be had by all! Come down and participate! Member Training L1 - 5pm With Women's, WUPID, Worlds and PLENTY of local tournaments coming up, this Monday we will be giving everyone in the club the opportunity to do some practices debates. We will be having 2 debates, and of course, pizza, so come along and put the skills you've learned this semester into action! End of Year BBQ Monday of Week 12 (first day back after the mid semester break) will be the MAD Farewell BBQ. The year is over, so come along and celebrate a great year of debating, and enjoy some awesome free food and alcohol! This is the last official MAD event before the Minis, so make sure you come along! Time: 1pm Location: TBA
Results of Executive Committee Elections I am pleased to announce the results of today's AGM, where we conducted elections of the 2009 executive. The results are as follows: President: Damien Vice President: Colette Secretary: Meredith Treasurer: Dom MWOPs (Members Without Portfolio): Amit, Fiona, Gemma, Rhys, Mel M, Scott, Nita IT Officer: Ravi Congratulations to all of you, and bad lack to those who didn't make it on the exec this year - this year's competition was very tough and I encourage you to run again next year! Worlds/WUPID Trials If anyone wants to debate at Worlds or WUPID later this year, then you'll have to come along to trials on Sunday 14th September. If you're interested then email Rhys. Also, if you want to go as an adjudicator, you'll have to hand in your CV to rhys, or email it to him by the 14th. This can be done on the day for those trialing as well. Following trials, there will be a selection meeting on Monday Sept 15th at 2.30pm (ish - after the AGM) in L1. You must be there if you intend to go to either tournament. Freehills Grand Final: Wednesday 10th September Come along this Wednesday evening at 6.30pm to the snazzy Freehills boardroom (101 Collins St) to see out top four team battle it out for the Freehills Cup: Fierce, Queer Eye, Tinfoil Hates and I've Lost My Appetite. The Best Speaker and Best Novice will also we annuonced. All members of the club and participants in Freehills this year should come along and watch what will no doubt be an excellent debate in a location one up on L1. Dress: Smart/business (no jeans, no tshirts, no thongs). Think shirts, ties, skirts, suits. The 2008 Vice Chancellor's Public Debate You are all invited to attend our Public Debate, one of MAD's biggest events of the year. Presenting world class speakers on the biggest issues of the day. This year, the topic of the debate is: "That we should fear the rise of China" Details: Wednesday 17th September 6.30pm (the debate will start at 7pm). C1 Lecture Theatre Finger food provided Speakers include: Carlo Kopp - Defence Analyst Anthony Garnaut - China Academic Marika Vicziany - Director of the Monash Asia Institute And speakers to be confirmed from the Australia-China Friendship Society and Australia-China Business Council. Member Training Monday 5pm This Monday night, Leloy Claudio former lecturer at Ateneo University in the Philippines and now a PhD candidate at Melbourne Uni will run a member trainign session. Leloy has made the Grand Final at Australs. been a top-ten speaker and won various tournaments in Asia. Most importantly, he will be a DCA for Monash Australs 2009! Afterwards there will be practice debates which are open to all members. This will be great practice before Worlds/WUPID trials. Worlds/WUPID Trials If anyone wants to debate at Worlds or WUPID later this year, then you'll have to come along to trials on Sunday 14th September. If you're interested then email Rhys to say you'll definitely be there! Also, if you want to go as an adjudicator, you'll have to hand your CV to Rhys, or email it to him by the 14th. This can be done on the day for those trialing as well. Following trials, there will be a selection meeting on Monday Sept 15th at 2.30pm(ish - after the AGM) in L1. Be there if you intend to go to either tournament. Finally, a reminder that the AGM will be on Sept 15th at 1pm - be there! Freehills Date Changes (again, apologies for the confusion) The final round of Freehills and the semi final will take place THIS MONDAY 1ST SEPT at 5pm. Come and debate one last time or battle for your team's place in the highly contested grand final. The grand final for Freehills will take place on WEDNESDAY 10TH SEPT at 6:30pm at Freehills Law Firm, 101 Collins St, Melbourne. Dress will be smart and the view is apparently really something. Coffee/tea provided and the MAD crew will celebrate with drinks afterwards in the CBD. Many apologies for these changes, they were unavoidable. If you are unable to attend the final round please send viv an email at vmjon1@student.monash.edu.au. Viv is still looking for adjudicators for these 2 final freehills night so please let her know if you are available. Womens Reminder that anyone women from MAD planning on coming to womens (sept 26th-28th) need to officially register by emailing Viv with the following information at vmjon1@student.monash.edu.au - name - contact details - debating or adjudicating - debating partner Its going to be a great weekend, see you there! Monday Meeting 1pm L1 Given our upcoming AGM, where members will be able to run for positions on the 2009 executive, we are have an information session/discussion about the role of the executive, and each member of the current exec will give short talk about their role and who would suit it, and all it entails. This should give you all a better understanding of the positions you might be thinking of running for, and positions that would suit your strength. See you all there! Speaking of which, the AGM is in week 10! Our Annual General Meeting, which will include exec elections, and a few constitutional changes that we didn't get to at the EGM, will be held on Monday at 1pm on September 15th (week 10). It is incredibly important that we have the maximum amount of members there that we can, so that the meeting will run properly. Come along! Public Debate Whilst MAD Members have participated in many public debates organised by other bodies, every year MAD itself organises a free debate that is open to the public on a topical and stimulating issue, in what has become known as the annual Vice-Chancellor's Public Debate. The speakers in the debate will be prominent representatives of their field, and the debate is always a lively and entertaining affair. Date: Monday 15th September. Topic: "That we should fear the rise of China". Keep the date free! More details to come!! Worlds Trials At this stage we will only be having 1 trial day (Sept 14th), however, if demand is high then we will have 2 days. Stay tuned for more info. Pre Worlds Tournament in Europe For those of you who will be in Europe in November in anticipation of Worlds the next month, then you may be interested in the Cleary Gottleib Cambridge IV 2008. Dates: 14th and 15th November. The registration fee will be ?G75 per team. Included in this registration fee will be food and alcohol on both Friday and Saturday nights, breakfast on the Saturday morning, accommodation for both nights and our famous black-tie social on the Saturday night, held after the Grand Final. There will be no registration fee for judges. Monday Meeting - 1pm L1 This Monday will be our annual Womens Debate in honour of the upcoming Womens tournament. It will feature Fiona Prowse, a great legend in female debating and DCA of the tournment itself, as well as the best MAD has to offer in young talented women. It will be on a contentious women's issue too. Great debaters + lovely ladies + debates about feminism = good times, so come along and bring your peeps. Freehills Round 3 and 4 - Monday 5pm Come along at 5pm and do it all over again. Be ultra nice to Mel, she's overworked and tired and doing Viv's job. Teams are reminded that if for whatever reason they cannot compete in the comp they are to contact Viv BEFORE Monday and let her know - NB: by registering all teams committed to debating all 6 rounds. DATE CHANGE: the Freehills Grand Final will now be on Monday the 22nd September. This is due to changes to the Public Debate. Women's The 2008 Australian Women's Debating Championship, hosted by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) is coming up! Women's is an all female tournament that aims to increase the profile and involvement of women in debating, and has a novice focus. The tournament is of exceptionally high quality, with many greats such as Naomi Oreb, Elizabeth Sheargold and Julia Bowes having started off at women's. This tournament is a great way to get back into debating for 2nd semester in an all girl environment. It's also great fun with awesome socials! Dates: Friday 26th September - Monday 29th September. To indicate interest speak to Viv (women's officer) or Rhys (externals officer) As an added incentive, MAD has decided to sponsor each woman attending the tournament $100 (up to a total of 15 women, and as long as you're debating in an all MAD team or adjudicating) Matter Forum: Asia Matter forums continue in Week 7 with a deeper look into the many disparate nations that constitute "Asia." From China to Japan, the Association of South-East Asian Nations and the evil Burmese Junta, come and explore the dark-side of Australia's favourite holiday destinations. Tuesday 1pm with Ravi Dutta, MAD Office Thursday 12:30 with Victor Finkel, MAD Office MUDS BP Day Date & Time: Sunday 24 August, 11-5pm (we will attempt to finish earlier) Venue: Law school - there will be signs up to guide you Bring: $5 if you want pizza lunch RSVP: tan.candice@gmail.com The following schedule is only a guide that we will follow closely on Sunday: 11 am: BP Training session 1 11:45 am: Topic 1 release 12 pm: Round 1 debates 1:20 pm: Lunch 1:50 pm: BP Training session 2 2:40 pm: Topic 2 release 2:55 pm: Round 2 debates 4:15 pm: Start wrapping up
Monday Meeting - 1pm L3 Melany Tedja speaks This week the lovely Melany Tedja will be coming to talk to us about a range of Development related issues, including poverty and famine, the food crisis, and the population bomb. Not only is she a fantastic debater, but Melany has worked for the United Nations Development Program, amongst many other incredible jobs she has had, and is currently completing an honours in Sustainabilty at Monash. Melany is working on making Monash Australs '09 the first fully sustainable debating tournament and will teach you all a lot, so come along and take part in this fantastic opportunity to hear from one of Asia's brightest young people. Freehills Round 1 and 2 this Monday! Freehills will kick off this Monday at 5pm in L1. Team registration will close at 6pm Sunday night so get in quick! Do not assume that just because Viv knows you might be debating that you are registered. Registration is completed by sending Viv an email. Please register in teams of up to 3. Every team must comply with the NOVICE RULE (1 person who has never debated at Worlds and not broken at Australs). Dates are: Round 1 and 2 18th August Round 3 and 4 25th August Round 5 and 6 8th September Grand Final (In the snazzy boardroom of Freehills Law Firm - supper provided!) 15th September ADJUDICTORS! I want you, all of you!! With a great deal of people debating this year I'm becoming increasingly worried about the lack of adjudicators. Be warned, if the situation gets worse experienced debaters in 3 person teams may be pulled out to fill numbers in certain rounds. This will, obviously, be avoided wherever possible. ANU Mini Registration for ANU Mini is now open so make sure you get on board for the first and most fun of the mini tournaments this year! With rego set at the low low price of just $35 (TBC), including meals and drinking fun, this is not to be missed! The tournament, running over the 5th-7th of September, has 4 rounds, 1 Friday night and 3 Saturday, and 2 rounds of finals on the Sunday. If you're interested email Rhys with your name, phone number, whether you're debating or adjudicating, if you have a team lined up, if you're road tripping or flying, and if you want to stay in the MAD organised accommodation. Deadline to register is Monday the 25th, so make sure you email Rhys soon! Really cheap flights: Tiger Airways has flights for $60 RETURN if you book before August 10! So get on board!!!!! Want a little more training? Melbourne Uni can provide... MUDS be running an Advanced British Parliamentary training day on 24 August (Sunday) from 11-5pm at the Law School. They will have Liz Sheargold as the trainer and it will be fantastic opportunity to pick up advanced training tips on BP from someone so experienced. There will also be two rounds of debating on the day to further hone those skills. Details are: Date: Sunday, 24 August 2008 Time: 11 - 5pm Venue: Melbourne Law School (there will be signs up) Bring: $5 if you want pizza lunch Women's The 2008 Australian Women's Debating Championship, hosted by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) is coming up! Women's is an all female tournament that aims to increase the profile and involvement of women in debating, and has a novice focus. The tournament is of exceptionally high quality, with many greats such as Naomi Oreb, Elizabeth Sheargold and Julia Bowes having started off at Women's. This tournament is a great way to get back into debating for 2nd semester in an all girl environment. It's also great fun with awesome socials! Dates: Friday 26th September - Monday 29th September. To indicate interest speak to Viv (Women's Officer) or Rhys (Externals Officer) Worlds Trials Finally, for those of you who would like to come to Worlds in Cork, Ireland (which is going to be awesome!!) or would just like to have practice at trials (as you should!) keep the weekend of Week 9 free! That's Sat Sept 13th for stage 1 and Sun Sept 14th for stage 2 free! Stage 1 is for those who have not debated at a worlds before. Register your interest by contacting Rhys . More details to come in the next Tastebud!!
Freehills - Starts next week! The annual Freehills internal competition is starting again! Hosted by Freehills law firm, this is MAD's annual BP internal comp. Register a team of up to three people by emailing Viv. NOTE: All teams must contain at least one person who has not debated at Worlds before/broken at Australs as a debater (this person does not have to debate every round if you have a team of three). Also note that registering a team commits you to debate all 6 rounds. The dates are as follows: Round 1 and 2 18th August Round 3 and 4 25th August Round 5 and 6 8th September Grand Final (In the snazzy boardroom of Freehills Law Firm - supper provided!) 15th September Get your rego in quick, it's going to be as big as Sashi! Women's The 2008 Australian Women's Debating Championship, hosted by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) is coming up! Women's is an all female tournament that aims to increase the profile and involvement of women in debating, and has a novice focus. The tournament is of exceptionally high quality, with many greats such as Naomi Oreb, Elizabeth Sheargold and Julia Bowes having started off at women's. This tournament is a great way to get back into debating for 2nd semester in an all girl environment. It's also great fun with awesome socials! Dates: Friday 26th September - Monday 29th September. To indicate interest speak to Viv (women's officer) or Rhys (externals officer) ANU Mini Registration for ANU mini is now open so make sure you get on board for the first and most fun of the mini tournaments this year! With rego set at the low low price of just $35 (TBC), including meals and drinking fun, this is not to be missed! The tournament, running over the 5th-7th of September, has 4 rounds, 1 Friday night and 3 Saturday, and 2 rounds of finals on the Sunday. If you're interested email Rhys with your name, phone number, whether you're debating or adjudicating, if you have a team lined up, if you're road tripping or flying, and if you want to stay in the MAD organised accommodation. Really cheap flights: Tiger Airways has flights for $60 RETURN if you book before August 10! So get on board!!!!! MAD Matter Forum: ECONOMICS AND DEVELOPMENT Matter forums have kicked off to a great start with great turnouts in week 4! In week 5, the matter forums will be on economics and development, hoping to answer questions like: who does GDP benefit? How does the economy work? What is the Government's role in the 'Free' Market? Is aid better than trade? Why does everyone hate the World Bank? Hope to see you there! Times are as follows: Tuesday 1pm with Ravi in the MAD office Thursday 12pm with Victor in the MAD office Monday Meeting - NOTE CHANGE OF TIME AND LOCATION FOR THIS WEEK!! 12PM, R5 (Rotunda) Monday Meeting - Exhibition Debate
Congratulations To All Monash Australs Teams!
Monash To Host Australs 2009! Monday Meeting - Welcome Back Drinks at the Bar MAD Success at ADAM MAD v MUDs debate Practice Debates and Training Session, Monday evening 5pm Melbourne 1 v Monash 1 Debate ADAM - June 27-29 Australs Easters Regressive Debate Martin Sorensen Grand Final MAD's internal comp, the Martin Sorenson Competition, is on this Monday night at the Nott (indoor) Beer Garden from 7pm. Come watch our semi final winners "Why the fuck aren't Luke and Roj in the bar?" and "The Ciaran McDonnel-Worth All Stars" battle it out for the trophy. Don't forget to head over earlier, most MADdies will congregate from 6pm, for a drink and a bite to eat. See you there! Martin Sorensen Competition Starting next Monday MAD is holding the Martin Sorensen Competition. This a 3 on 3 style competition similar to Easters and is MAD's major internal event of semester 1. Teams of up to 4 can be entered or you can enter individually and we'll put you in a team. Novice rules apply to this torament in that in every debate there must be at least one novice speaking and no more than one 'experienced' debater. To enter or for more information contact Viv. Australs Trials Trials for the Australasian Debating Championships are fast approaching. Australs is one of the best debating tornaments to attend, featuring debaters from all over Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This year Australs will be held in the Philippines over the winter break. If you're interested in going come along to the trials and who knows, you might even get sponsorship. Feel free to come to trials even if you're not sure you want to come along. Stage one trials are on this Saturday, 3th May, for those who haven't debated at Australs or Worlds before. Stage 2 trials will be held the following Saturday. To register for trials email Rhys. Afterwards, we will be having Easters prac debates. Be there! Monday Meeting 17th March Today's Monday Meeting has been moved. The mini olympics, to be held at sports and rec, has been postponed. Instead we will be having Victor's matter forum on the topic of environment. It will consist of an informal discussion about important environmental issues and be followed by a Russian style debate, where anybody will have the chance to give a short speech on a related topic. Very informal and informative, it will be a lot of fun and is definately worth coming along to.
On Friday 14th March MAD is holding the 2008 Commencement Dinner at Sofia Pizza Restaurant in Camberwell. The meal will include garlic bread, all you can eat pizza and pasta, dessert and coffee. This will be a great night so come along and enjoy the food and company. Tickets are being sold by Blacky next Monday at 1pm and 5pm. If you can't make these times just email the Social Officer. The night will kick off around 7.30pm and go until around 1am. Tickets are $20 for Culture Card holders and $25 for those without. Ticket price includes all food, soft drink and wine.
Freshers' Competition New to MAD? Put a team of three together or sign up as an individual to compete in MAD's Freshers Comp. Freshers is held on Monday 17th and Monday 31st. The debates kick off at 5pm and pizza is provided. Aimed at novice debaters and new members this comp is a stress free way to vent all that summer angst and get to know your fellow MADdies. Sounds pretty awesome to me.. Sign up here. Easters 2008
The biggest event of Semester 1 is fast approaching! Easters, the Australian Novice debating championships will be held over the ANZAC day long weekend, April 24-28, and is the perfect way to improve on and try out your debating talent, get to know your fellow debaters and have a lot of fun! The deadline for registration is April 3rd, the Wednesday after getting back from the mid-semester break, but get in early to ensure that you have a spot and can travel on the awesomely fun bus provided by MAD. Cost: $260 for registration. Includes 4 nights accommodation, food and drinks at every social event! If you're travelling up on the bus with MAD it'll cost another $40 return. That's cheaper than flying and much more enjoyable too. To register, just click here and fill out the form.
Thanks for visiting us at O-Week and welcome to MAD! If you haven't yet signed up come to our stall on Tuesday. The first week of uni and debating is all about meeting and greeting new MADdies. The first meeting of the year is at 1pm on Monday the 25th of February in L4, Law Library. There's really no debating going on in Week 1, rather we're having a champagne welcome to get to know you all! Just show up and we'll provide all the champagne and food! We're also hosting a BBQ for all the first years and new debaters, with food and drink (yes, that means alcohol) provided. It's on Thursday the 28th of Feb at the park on the Yarra River. It's also opposite the Botanical Gardens. The BBQ/park area is near the corner of Anderson Street and Alexander Avenue, South Yarra. You can get there by taking the No. 8 tram to the end of Anderson St and walking along the Botanical Gardens. Click here for the map. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know everyone before the debating actually starts!! We hope to see you all there!!
Another year has begun, and we must reluctantly start our studies again soon. A new year of uni also means a new year of debating tournaments, MAD socials, and unspeakable debaucherous activities. If you're a first year, check out our stall at O-week and sign up! Membership is free if you're a Culture Card holder. Those who were members last year still need to sign up, so make sure to come to the stall during O-week, or alternately on the 26th of February. The year starts with the Freshers BBQ, Commencement Dinner to officially open the new year at MAD, and Freshers tournament for all the first years and novices. So there's a lot to look forward to, not to mention trips to the Philippines and Ireland later in the year! Welcome back everyone!
MAD's premier debaters, Fiona Prowse and Tim Jeffrie, have done not just Monash but Australia proud at the recent World Championships, careering through the finals to make it all the way to the Grand Final of the World University Debating Championships, and going very close to pulling off MAD's 3rd World crown. Fiona was ranked the 10th best speaker at the tournament, with Tim not far behind. Along the way they knocked out our very own Victor Finkel and Sashi Balaraman in the Octo-finals, a highly creditable performance by both of them. MAD starred in the judging pool also, with Kylie Lane, Tom Chapman, Roland Dillon, Claire Lindsey, Ajay Kevat and MADdie in exile Stephen Worcester all judging important finals debates. Bringing by far the funnest, and perhaps the biggest contingent in the world once mercenaries and hopeless romantics are factored in, MADdies dominated the massive parties which took place throughout the tournament, and were heavily involved in the complete destruction of several rooms at the Ambassador City Hotel in Pattaya. A massive thankyou must be issued to the amazing people from Assumption University, who seemed to have half of Thailand employed in ensuring the highest quality tournament ever. From people carrying our bags in to the accommodation, to transporting the convenor in to the Grand Final by elephant, it seemed no effort had been spared by the tireless organising committee. Congratulations to Assumption on a fantastic tournament, and congratulations to Oxford on their deserved victory. |
