The APOGEE English Press sat down with Aditi Puri, one of the Co-Presidents of the Debating Society (DebSoc) to get an insight into their work for the upcoming fest.

Aditi mentioned that DebSoc had not organized any events during APOGEE previously, due to the fest dates being inconvenient per the Indian Debating Circuit calendar. However, they usually conduct two tournaments each year, one of them being after APOGEE. The BITS Pilani Parliamentary Debate (BPPD) had been scheduled for April 12–14, this year. It would be conducted online in the British Parliamentary (BP) format which consisted of four teams: Opening Government (OG), Opening Opposition (OO), Closing Government (CG), and Closing Opposition (CO).

The preparations for BPPD had begun with the acquisition of the Core Adjudication Panel (CAP), which was a board of experienced debaters who were qualified to decide motions and adjudication rules. This had been followed by outreach—done mostly by first-year members of the society, and further by Phase-1 registrations. Aditi remarked that the outreach had been a smooth process due to the close-knit nature of the Indian Debating Circuit.

Aditi mentioned that the core workforce for BPPD were the first-year students, whose work had been divided into two phases—registration & outreach, and hosting the tournament. The latter involved overseeing multiple debate rooms and looking out for any issues faced by the debaters or adjudicators. The processes had been overseen by the Head of Internal Affairs, Aakash Baid, and the Head of External Affairs, Yash Raja.

Speaking about her experience as the President of DebSoc, Aditi said that she had a great time overall. She appreciated the bonding in the DebSoc community and had hoped that their love for debating would stay the same for years to come. She also gave a shout-out to Co-President Rishant Sharma, and Secretary Atharva Toshniwal, and lauded them for being supportive and hardworking. In conclusion, Aditi said that she was looking forward to enjoying the events of APOGEE, and encouraged all BITSians to do the same.