Editor’s note: CMU-Q fielded four teams in the competition: Moussa Zekak and Bisma Munawar, Fariza Shiyap and Abbas Ali, Radu Revutchi and Julian Sam, and Shahmeer Ahmad and Emad Iqbal. CMU-Q placed second overall.

QatarDebate Center, a member of Qatar Foundation, organised the 1st Qatar Universities Debate League for season 2017/2018 at Students Center, Education City, on October 21, with a total number of 20 participating teams, representing 8 institutions.

The participating teams had debated about the blockade on Qatar and the consequences on both the sides. The debaters stressed that the State of Qatar is in a better position to face the economic and social challenges and has started a new phase, focusing on national cadres and appreciate the youth who build the homeland.

They also discussed the Gulf crisis objectively, stressing that Qatar’s long-term political and economic interest is to secede from the Gulf Cooperation Council if it remains steadfast in its negative role and refuses to sit at the dialogue table. They stated that Qatar sovereignty is a red line.

The debaters said: We don’t accept anybody interfering in our sovereignty, adding that the blockading countries demand Qatar to shut down Al Jazeera channel which is considered as an unacceptable attack on the freedom of speech. And with regard to the university rankings for this weekend, Weill Cornell Medicine came in the first place, followed by Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, then Georgetown SFS-Q.