The Debating Society (DebSoc) has had a successful season, winning accolades in tournaments across India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. The Hansraj Parliamentary Debate, Philippine Debate Open, Ullens Online Debate Championship, and Indian Women’s Debating Championship saw the club excel at debating and adjudicating. 

Senior members of the club recalled a radically different DebSoc in their first year. In their opinion, the club was struggling to establish itself, and the general culture of the club needed a sea-change. The club was in stasis and they felt that most BITSians were not interested in debating as it was seen as an exclusive activity. The 2017 batch wanted to bring about the change that they believed the club needed. They began to overcome the members’ lack of exposure and guidance by conducting practice sessions, participating in tournaments across Delhi and Jaipur, and instilling the culture of experiential learning in the juniors. Gradually, they began to see results, and this incentivised them to work harder towards building a more dynamic club environment, which helped DebSoc achieve one of the highest turnouts at any club recruitment in 2019. 

While recounting their journey within the club, the coordinators—Avantika and Mrdul—recalled witnessing the evolution of the work ethic of the club. They added that this not only resulted in greater enthusiasm and participation among newer members but also redefined DebSoc and the culture within the club. 

The pandemic was a huge blow to most organizations on campus, but DebSoc took it on the chin. Usually, the costs of travelling to Delhi or Jaipur, the hassles of accommodation, and other logistical issues presented a hurdle that reduced participation. The rise of online debating tournaments removed all geographic barriers and allowed members to participate in international tournaments across Asia, Europe, and the USA. The Society utilised the period before the semester to conduct multiple practice sessions. This facilitated knowledge sharing using organised matter banks, and the sharpening of their skills. The coordinators added that the new academic schedule—being only five days of class a week—allowed them to participate more freely in tournaments that are usually held over the weekend. The opportune combination of these factors resulted in DebSoc gaining a series of victories across major tournaments.

Both Avantika and Mrdul agreed that the club would continue building on the culture that stresses on preparing detailed matter files backed by research on pertinent issues. They noted that in most debating societies, progress is often lopsided, resulting in a few good debaters, while other club members remain inactive. DebSoc, however, now has a more organic and uniform growth in members’ skill and talent. They added that they plan to make the society more inclusive by helping students overcome barriers to entry like proficiency in English and the lack of prior exposure to debating with sessions to build a foundational understanding of the activity.

The coordinators explained that the annual debate tournament hosted at BITS—QED—was suspended this year due to issues that had cropped up in the event, last APOGEE. However, the progress made during the lockdown has convinced them that they are ready to host it again in APOGEE 2021. They are happy with the transformation that the club has undergone and hope to continue building a better community of debating enthusiasts.