Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s rocky relationship, Narendra Modi and Barack Obama’s newfound friendship and lines from the Upanishads — all this and much more featured in The Jefferson Debates IV, presented recently by The American Center, Calcutta, and iLead. The motion was, ‘The US-India relationship will define future global economic growth.’
“The number of times Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton got back together is still a matter of curiosity. Every time they got back together, people asked: ‘Is this a different equation? This time who needs whom?’ I believe the Indo-US relation is much like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton,” said Josh P. Majumdar, a student of Jadavpur University (JU), speaking against the motion.
Six three-member teams participated in this annual inter-college debate. While two students spoke for or against the motion, the third member helped them with the research. Shri Shikshayatan College, iLead and NSHM spoke for the motion, while Unitedworld School of Business, Loreto College and Jadavpur University fought against the motion.
The moderator for the afternoon was Greg Pardo, deputy director, American Center, and the judges were Sangeeta Dey Chanda, an economic specialist at the US Consulate in Calcutta, Fulbright scholar Charles Strauber and Sameek Ghosh, a programme specialist at American Center, Calcutta.
JU bagged the first position, Loreto College placed second and Shri Shikshayatan College came third. Dipanjana Roy, a second-year student of economics at Loreto College, was chosen as the best speaker. She found flaw with the motion itself, pointing out that, “Only two countries cannot change the global economy. Global economy is an interconnected entity.... The motion is oblivious to areas of world economy which are lagging behind.”
Later she told t2 she has been debating from her schooldays. “I was really excited to participate in a prestigious event like The Jefferson Debates. The standard of debating was really high. The topic was controversial but it was related to my subject,” said Dipanjana.
A biz fest & more BCom seats
Managereal 2015, the annual management fest of IISWBM, was held on its campus off College Street, in association with The Telegraph-YOU. The two-day fest was attended by students from institutes like St. Xavier’s College, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Army Institute of Management, iLead and Jadavpur University. They participated in 12 events, including debate, quiz, Sell it to Win It, Ad Contest, Best Manager, Finance Game, Marketing Game and a photography contest. There were two online events as well — a scavenger hunt and a case study. The biggest turnout was for the quiz.
After the end of two days of competitions, IISWBM was adjudged the champions, though St. Xavier’s College gave a tough fight. The fest ended with a prize distribution ceremony, where cash rewards were given out to winners, along with trophies and certificates.
(Text: Avisikta Roy Chowdhury)
St. Xavier’s College will start BCom honours for boys and girls on the St. Lawrence School campus on Ballygunge Circular Road from the 2015-16 session. Classes will be held from 3.30pm to 8.15pm.
“This is yet another expression of our Vision 2020,” said college principal Father Felix Raj. The campus will be self-financed, administered by St. Xavier’s College and will have the same curriculum, rules and regulations as the college.
Further information and admission details will be available on the college website (www.sxccal.edu) in the second week of May.
Malancha Dasgupta and Anuka Roy
Pictures: Anindya Shankar Ray
