Friday, August 31, 2007

Mike Chuva

Crazy Diseasebyromancingwiththedrums

BJ is this infectious disease affecting all UPDS applicants and members. Its symptoms include being a good adjudicator, giving constructive whip speeches and choosing Nigel or Levi as a debate partner. While many of us applicants very much hate adjudicating and still could not master the formula behind it, having the BJ disease makes you superhuman. With debates that don’t seem to possess any clash, the BJ- infected being would not approach it with a boggled brain; rather, there is a certain level of lucidity. This disease generally infects women, but yes, also those who have come out of their closets. Much scarier than SARS or Anthrax, its effects are irreversible. One becomes insanely rational. No amount of Gray’s Anatomy or House could cure this, but of course, once you’ve entered Deb Soc, it would not make much of a difference.

For some reason, MAC members are so sexy that they are the ones usually on people’s Human Bingos. Who wouldn’t be, since the amount of work they do is designed to make living zombies out of them. But of course, they have mastered that art of grace under pressure. Even with the numerous holidays and classes suspended, they have persevered in proceeding with the projects necessary for the app period. Their methods would probably give Tim Yap a run for his money. MAC members are certified “Eventologists.”

Deb Soc would not be Deb Soc if the app process would not be ruthless. It requires not only the passion for debating, but also the determination and will to succeed. The process equips one with a new lingo that the rest of mankind would not understand: adj, break, motion, cap, etc. So many THBTs on papers, rebut, rebut, analyze and substantiate. Deb Soc turns one into an alien- but a very happy one, just like Kokey. An app makes a few wimpy friends in the process, and ends up gaining much more- the ability to confuse people. Because of the numerous 7- minute speeches, one could be labeled as a machine gun. That’s the beauty of it, guns and roses. Matter exams would test one’s guessing abilities and pure luck, since it’s always the case where you study so hard, but you never seem to get any question right. And staring at the paper for 20 minutes doesn’t help- the exam is only 30 minutes long. The Graded Debates… Ooh, there is a reason why many just abhor IR motions. There just seems to be a naturally low pain threshold to arguing about militarization of whichever rogue nation or the policies of seemingly defunct and largely politicized organizations such as the ASEAN and the UN. Once you don’t have matter on an IR motion, consider yourself done.

For me, this experience is out-of- body mainly because I’ve gone back to something I really liked doing back in high school. This made me realize how debating isn’t limited to the four corners of a classroom- it could even take place in the weirdest of places. Most of the time, you feel like you’re floating in a cloud, from the lack of sleep or the anxiety that your team just got boxed out of a debate. I certainly loved meeting new people, even though I am pretty shy. Maybe I didn’t get the Deb Soc crush, but as mushy as it sounds, it doesn’t really matter since I’ve got much more, namely friends. Deb Soc has made me forsake my remaining driving lessons, forget about spending my birthday with some friends and even looking for love. I sure do hope it’s well worth it, and so far, it has been.

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