UNS — Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta students achieved another national level accomplishment in the national debate competition held by Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau. UNS Delegates, Alifia Nur Maftukhah Yuliana from Indonesian Language and Literature Education Program Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP), Salma Hanifah Prameswari from Historical Science Program Faculty of Cultural Studies (FIB), and Muhammad Rifqi Yahya from Arabic Language and Literature Program FIB won the 3rd Runner Up in the offline National Bidikmisi Debate Competition held on 8-10 March 2021.
To win the competition, the team went through three preliminary stages, semifinal and final stage. In the first preliminary, they got a motion that believes virtual police will positively impact the democracy dynamics in Indonesia. “In the second preliminary, we got the motion that disappointed with presidential threshold regulation in Indonesia. And lastly, in the third preliminary, we got a motion that supports the implementation of sanctions for people who refused the Covid-19 vaccine,” Alifia, the team leader, explained on Sunday (25/4/2021). After passed all the three preliminary rounds, the team entered the semifinal and final rounds and received impromptu motions from juries.
In the interview, Alifia stated that they are grateful for the achievement considering their short preparation amid the pandemic. She also said that they would learn from the experience even though they did not secure the 1st prize. Her team member, Muhammad Rifqi Yahya, also expressed his delight because the team is new, and yet they can achieve something. “Our result will become a vital note for future adjustments,” Rifqi said.
The competition was their first offline competition since the Covid-19 pandemic started. It is not a simple task to prepare everything before flying to Riau, considering they live in different cities. Through their achievement, the hope that UNS will have a facility for its debaters to hone and train their skills. “Hopefully, UNS will have a debaters community that will facilitate debaters to build a solid team, find a mentor, intensive training, and regeneration,” Rifqi concluded. Humas UNS
Reporter: Bayu Aji Prasetya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti