UNS — Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta students won another national-level achievement. This time the achievement was accomplished by Rizal Galih Pradana (Psychology 2018), Pradana Ricardo (Indonesia Language and Literature 2019), Akhmad Mukhibun (Indonesian Language and Literature Education 2019) Team that won 3rd place in Indonesian University Student Debate 2021 held by Language Development and Coaching Institute, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek).
Rizal, Ricard, and Ibun went through a tight selection process to win the competition. The selection process started with a literature essay that was used to select 32 teams, followed by an online elimination process to select Best 16 who need to fly to Jakarta and participate in the Grand Final stage in Hotel Mercure Ancol in October 2021. Although they must be satisfied with the 3rd position, the Team admitted that they were glad about their accomplishment.
“I did not expect to win the 3rd place because my program is not language and literature but Psychology. I am very grateful and thankful to my parents, juries, and team members who always support and give suggestions on language and literature materials that I could apply in the next debate competition,” Rizal stated.
Ibun, another team member, also stated that he is glad to be able to achieve something amid the pandemic. For him, this competition is a short break from distance learning boredom. “I am very happy to win 3rd place in this debate competition. Moreover, the pandemic situation has made almost all activities to be online. Thus, the Final of University Students Debate Competition 2021 that was held offline could be an antidote and remedy for the longing of offline debate competition,” he added.
Preparation
The Team has serious preparation and scheduled routine online discussion to dissect motions provided by the committee. The Team members also discussed the motions that might be offered during the impromptu session. Their preparation continued until right after they arrived at Jakarta, all to achieve the best result in the competition, participated by more than 160 teams for all universities in Indonesia.
Ricard, a team member, stated that besides competing, they also received new comprehension on debating competitions. He also stated that debate is not merely delivering arguments and critical thinking but also how to deliver the arguments politely using good language structure. Humas UNS
Reporter: Ida Fitriyah
Editor: Dwi Hastuti