Debating Society: Vice-President

Mission statement:

I care passionately about UCL Debating Society and couldn’t be prouder of the community that we have all helped to build. As your Vice-President, I pledge to work tirelessly to ensure the continued growth and improvement which has characterised our society for generations.

Qualifications:

The Vice-Presidency is not for the faint hearted. The position demands an absolute and unwavering dedication. In addition to its specific responsibilities, the role carries with it a seemingly indefinable yet vital responsibility: The Vice-President should not simply be present, but rather, should be a presence within our society. Having attended every social, committee meeting, public debate, UCL competition and training session over the past 2 years, with, might I add, a characteristically zealous attitude, I can say with confidence that I, Conor P Dolan, have certainly been both present and a presence within our society.

For the past 2 years I have served on the committee as an IV Convenor, organising UCL’s competitive debating competitions. I have helped to run tournaments such as UCL schools, UCL Pro-am, and am currently working with my amazing fellow convenors to organise UCL IV and other exciting competitions taking place. Whilst we have certainly faced challenges, I am extremely pleased with the competitions which we have worked together to host. The experience of convening and indeed being on the committee generally has given me a terrific understanding of the skills necessary to host large-scale events,

I want to be Vice President of Debate Society to support the President in running everything and I believe I am more than capable of doing this. I may not be Vice President Kamala Harris, but I am Bella Ealey and arguably more accomplished because she never won the year 7 robot dance battle.

I know how to coordinate and run things and have done so in the past; organising charity fundraisers, an online poetry event amongst other leadership roles . I have loved being a part of the society since I’ve joined and want to continue creating a great place for everyone to experience the enjoyment of debate.  

A primary responsibility for VP is alumni relations which I believe I could further continue as a good communicator. Similarly, the foundation dinner is also a key aspect as a major event in the debate society calendar and I would love the opportunity to organise this for everyone.

I already have some insight into how the society should be run and I believe I could bring something new to the table, helping to integrate all other new members into becoming more involved. Debate society is important to a lot of people and if I were given the responsibility of VP I would be honoured in helping to run such an interesting, dynamic and fun society.

I'm standing as VP because ultimately I love debating and want the spread and foster this love in other people too. Since I started debating in high school my confidence and aptitude for public speaking has increased significantly. These skills have helped me hugely in both my academic and personal life. Thursday afternoons debating with the UCL debate society have quickly grown to be some of my favourite nights of the week - and I hope that, with me as VP, this will continue to be the case for me and many others. 

Thanks for your consideration - regardless of how it goes I'm looking forward to another great year with UCL debate society! 

Thanks, 

Theo Mully 

Hey all! I’m Ange.

This year, I acted as Officer of Mace for the society. Along with that, I attended multiple debate tournaments as a speaker and judge, breaking several times in the Novice and Pro-Am categories. In terms of leadership skills, I coached and judged for my high school debate team and helped organise multiple Model UN conferences, taking on the roles of Chief of Staff, USG of Committee and USG of Outreach/Marketing.

I believe the key factors of being VP are organisational skills and alumni relations. Building upon the organisation skills I have gained from high school MUN and debate, I am also timely, efficient, and the sense of having something overdue gives me an overwhelming sense of dread. This means that I will be on-the-ball and ready to tackle any potential problems and issues that might arise from organising the Foundation Dinner or the Monday Night Debates. I also believe that having good relations with UCL Debate alumni is key to keeping the society running smoothly, as their guidance will be critical, especially in the first term and the transitional period in the summer. I have connections from attending multiple tournaments around the country, in and outside of UCL, who I can draw wisdom from. These people are key for finding IAs, asking for advice, and occasionally having them to show up for a fun spar.

Having now operated within the debate committee in multiple aspects, I feel the vice president role is the next step in which I could continue to make our society the best it can be. Organising the debate formal, supporting the committee in any capacity needed, and ensuring our society maintains its reputation as the best debating community to exist, as vice president I will make sure our members are proud to be part of a community that has helped me grow so much the past two years.