As the New Year entered so did the next debate tournament on St Catherine’s calendar, the Moraitis Cup Tournamentthat took place on Saturday January 19th. It consisted of 4rounds which were spread out over the duration of two days. The tournament started immediately and without delay the first motion was revealed.
- THW ban mandatory military
Proposition said that it is extremely necessary as it provides security for the country in cases of emergency. It allows the country to protect themselves from enemies attacking; they also brought up that it acts as a deterrent because very few countries will want to fight a strong united military which will result in less conflict on an international scale.
Opposition said that having a mandatory military sends a message of violence and aggression towards society and the country’s youth; they also said how it should be optional and not mandatory as rights of the civilians are being infringed. They also mentioned how this could result in unjust prejudice towards other countries.

The second motion was;
- THBT the media does more harm than good
Proposition explained thatthe media can be used as a tool to publicize and bring attention to things that are not necessarily something that should be brought to the public’s attention. In addition they mentioned how the media has control over the public’s opinion and important decisions;these could be manipulated by the government.
Opposition supported the view that the media could be used to educate the masses about important decisions and that it gives attention to crucial issues.

The third motion was;
-THBI the United States of Europe
Proposition  adopted the viewpoint that there will be one currency so the value of it will increase, meaning that importing and exporting will be cheaper. In addition they will have a bigger influence as the countries will be united; this also helps the economically challenged countries such as Greece and Portugal who are dependent on foreign aid.
Opposition said that although it will be beneficial for the weaker economies, countries with strong economies such as Germany will have to help them and take on their debt for their own. They also brought up that there will be a clash of cultures as not everyone is the same religion and shares the same beliefs.

The fourth motion was;
- THW increase security at schools
Proposition said that this will give both the parents and students a sense of security at school; this will help them and allow the students to focus on education which should be their main priority. They also said that it is ironic how on an airplane there are extremely high security measures for only 40 people but for a school of 400 there is hardly any.
Opposition said that we are exposing the children to the idea and concept of violence and aggression when they should not be and this in fact will be distracting them from their education as it will cause them tension and stress as it creates a menacing atmosphere.

After four rounds of intense debating the results for who broke into the semifinals were announced, amongst the people who broke were two teams from St Catherine’s. Sava Kalafatides with Nour Kharma, and Achilleas Saradaris with Francesco Lovascio. The motion was;
-THBT sarcasm is more sacred than religion
Proposition said that over the years religion has deteriorated and is used as an excuse to commit violent crimes, highlighting the fact that it has lost its good morals and values such as love thy neighbor that it once had. They then said how sarcasm is used as a tool to point out stupidity and gives the ability for one to mock another in a subtle way. In today’s society sarcasm is seen as socially acceptable and not seen as aggressive which shows how it is gaining more morally correct principles than religion and that is why it is more sacred.
Opposition said that religion still has millions supporting it and doing good, kind acts because of it. They said how the people who commit the violent crimes because of religion are few and far between, they emphasized how religion is used as a tool to unite people but sarcasm is used to offend people. Even though sarcasm may be regarded as socially acceptable it promotes rude and offensive behavior which is not what religion does.

After the semifinals, the teams that made it into the finals were announced, despite both teams deserving a place in the finals only one made it through, Achilleas Saradaris and Francesco Lovascio. The motion for the final was;
-THBT democratic countries have become liberal dictatorships
Proposition said that since the media governs a lot of the public opinion on who to vote for and other important issues it is basically the government controlling what is portrayed as good and bad through the media. They also said how the government makes decisions that the people may not agree with for example Greece and all the austerity measures that have been taken by the government have been against the will of the people.
Opposition said that in our democracies people are provided with education and healthcare, while these basic needs are not given in a dictatorship. They also brought up how people in our society still have their right to choose which political party to vote for and they have the ability to speak against decisions made by the government that they may not necessarily agree with.

After two days full of debates, the results came on who won the competition. Big congratulations to AchilleasSaradaris and Francesco Lovascio for winning and bringing yet another trophy to the St Catherine’s debate team collection.

-Erato Kallitsas