LBJ Debate Society hosts “The Blame Game”

Date of release: 09/20/05

SAN MARCOS—The LBJ Debate Society of Texas State University-San Marcos will host the semester’s first debate of the Great Society Debate Series, entitled “The Blame Game,” Sept. 20.

The debate will be run from 5-6:30 p.m. on campus in room G02 of Centennial Hall.

As the media continues to speculate on who is “to blame” for the lack of response to Hurricane Katrina victims, the LBJ Debate Society will use transcripts of what individuals have said and did in order to present the evidence supporting who is the most deserving of the media scrutiny. The goal of the debate is not to contribute to the media frenzy surrounding the “blame game,” but instead bring out important and thoughtful discussion surrounding this critical situation.

Five students from the debate society will read responses from the federal, state and local governmental officials as to what the officials believed their responsibility was and justify their own response during Hurricane Katrina.

The audience, after hearing the evidence, will make the final decision as to who may be the most at fault in this horrible tragedy.

There will be four rounds of questions and after each round one “contestant” will be eliminated until the last remaining “contestant” is viewed as the weakest link and most responsible for the lack of response. Commentary opportunities will be offered to audience members to add their input as to whom they think should be eliminated during each round.

For more information, contact Wayne Kraemer, Director of Forensics, at (512) 245-2331 or wk02@txstate.edu.