TELECOM ParisTech Debating Society

The French Debating Association Tournament this year was an even greater challenge than usual, what with 16 member Grandes Ecoles and universities now competing. However, Télécom ParisTech had a dream team, a killer diller team – a team whose debating skills and inimitable style will long remain an inspiration for debaters to come. Thus, having emerged from the pool debates victorious against HEC (THBT The Road of Excess Leads To The Palace of Wisdom, TP proposing) and Paris XI (THBT It’s All Downhill From Now On, TP opposing), they then went on to beat the ENSAE in their semi final at the OECD (THW Live For The Present, TP opposing). Then came the big one, the final at the Assemblée Nationale, the Hôtel de Lassay, pitting our brave warriors against another formidable team, the lawyers from Paris II Assas no less! Paris II proposed the motion: THBT Passion Is A Threat To Society and passionately threatened the Télécom ParisTech team with doom, gloom, retribution and certain death at the hands of the 4 riders of the Apocolypse. Nothing daunted, our debaters showed that putting passion on trial was not only a threat to our FDA debating society and to its esteemed president, but also a short-sighted, counter-productive – nay, downright dangerous thing to do! The jury’s verdict was that Passion should be allowed to go free and that the Télécom ParisTech team should take away the trophy and a medal each! Said trophy will now be proudly displayed in the glass cabinet outside the Directeur’s office. Who was on the Télécom ParisTech team this year? We had the right to 7 members and we used all of them, though not at the same time, of course. Georgios Apostolos Koulouris, Edouard Sioufi, Adrian Schindler, Thibault Porteboeuf and Rémi Leblond were on the team that won the first and final debates. Georgios, Thibault, Edouard, Rémi and Daniel Nassar (1A) won the second pool debate. Georgios, Thibault, Adrian, Edouard and Arthur Stril won the semi final at the OECD.

Bravo to all of them, for they are jolly good fellows – hear! Hear!