Reminder: To receive credit for attending each activity, you must: (1) Check in with a Peer Mentor at the start and conclusion of the co-curricular experience and have them initial twice next to the activity you are attending. (2) You must post a written reflection to the course blog of at least 150 words briefly describing the event or activity as well as things you learned from the experience. This written reflection is due within 24 hours of the event’s conclusion. You will turn in this form on the last day of class.
Please post your reflection as a comment below.
On September 15th, we had the HeLa debate regarding the issues within the story of Henrietta Lacks and her battle with healthcare. Two sides discussed, or argued, different points on how to handle people’s healthcare and people with bodily commodities that would be useful for the research of science. The negative team eventually won the debate and Rollins Cup, mostly because they captured the audience’s attention best. It was my first time going to an official debate at Rollins, and I learned the process of how they happen and how much the audience gets to to participate. If the audience disagrees with whatever the speaker says, they may holler, “Shame”. Many people were either too disinterested or unenthused to yell. I believe I yelled shame once, just for the fun of it. After the debate, there was a buffet of delicious hor d'oeuvres. I loved the scallops wrapped with bacon and the coconut chicken. They had amazing desserts too.
ReplyDeleteI really liked going to the debate about Hela because it was really interesting to hear different aspects and side to the controversial subject. Both sides had very good points to there arguments which made it hard to just chose one. I was surprised, though; to see that the topic ended up being geared more toward health care systems instead of ethical issues presented in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I thought that the questions from the audience were the most productive time as far as arguing over a certain viewpoint went. They also did a really nice job answering the questions as well. The part were they had the audience yell if they liked the persons stance on a subject was really cool because it engaged the audience instead of just letting us sit their. I actually felt like I was part of the debate. I’m not going to lie the food was my favorite part!
ReplyDeleteThe HeLa debate was an interesting way to understand the book in a different light with multiple clashing view points. I’ve never been to a debate at Rollins and I have never actually been to a debate at my high school or otherwise, so I wasn’t sure how the debate would be. Learning that the audience could participate in the debate was the most exciting thing because I thought we would just be listening to the teams viewpoints and wouldn’t be able to give feedback. I loved that the debate teams were not made up of upperclassmen only, there was a freshman on the team! The debaters did pull out significant themes in the book but they were mostly related to health care, so everyone began arguing about healthcare systems, especially once the audience were allowed to ask questions! There was food served at the end and it was delicious!
ReplyDeleteThe HeLa debate was really interesting to hear the different sides on the many issues surrounding the ethics of the famous novel. I thought the debaters did a good job of proving their points, and it was funny how they used slang as well as intelligent terms. I also liked how they included the audience in the choices, by yelling yay or shame if you didn't agree.
ReplyDeleteThe HeLa debate was a great community experience. The reason it was so successful as a community event was because the faculty as well as a majority of the freshman class attended the event. Although it was only the faculty that was responsible for the actual debate they made sure to interact with the student audience. Having everyone come together and all participate in one main event was a great experience to be a part of. They definitely did a good job of making everyone that was present feel like they were part of the community. They made sure to recognize the students that had the best essays in order to credit them for their hard work. It allowed people to converse in a setting outside of the dorms and the classroom. Overall it was a great way to interact and meet a lot of new people.
ReplyDeleteThe debate was really intriguing. It was interesting to hear both sides arguing about the issues of health care and components, which lead to the events that occurred. The negative debate eventually one, mostly because the guy delivering his argument was more persuasive then the others. I thought it was really interesting because I have been through a real life experience similar to this. My grandmother had an x-ray taken before major surgery and the doctor did not notice the tumor on her lungs. If he had, my grandmother would have only entered stage one lung cancer. However due to this mistake, she developed stage three-lung cancer very rapidly. It just goes to show how doctors are only human and will make mistakes too. Society is different today though in how they handle the results of this mistake. Henrietta and her family have nothing to show for this mistake. In contrast my grandmother took this doctor to court where they eventually settled.
ReplyDeleteThe HeLa debate brought up the many issues surrounding the questionable morals surrounding the doctors that treated Henrietta Lacks. It was interesting to see both sides of the argument because often it is difficult to see the opposing view point to your own. They brought up points such as how to handle each persons rights and although there are many laws now that prevent things from happening as they did to Henrietta, this is still an issue. In many cases things that would help to benefit science in the future would hurt the patient. This is why it is important that they give their consent to anything that could potentially hurt them immediately or in the future. The Rollins Cup winner was the negative side because they had the strongest argument and had the audiences vote. However both sides brought up strong points for their argument.
ReplyDeleteAt the HeLa debate I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it the whole time without falling asleep. When I got there and found out it was in the gym and we would be sitting on the bleachers, my concern changed from sleeping to killing myself. Debates aren’t my thing and I tend to get upset if someone says anything stupid. This debate was not bad at all though. I sided with the team that was not upset with the doctors. They seemed more mild mannered and tried to get the crowd to understand why government regulations everywhere are way worse then giving people the power to negotiate themselves. The other team seemed to think most people are too stupid to handle their own affairs and had a more whining tone to their voices and by the end turned to criticizing the other team instead of debating the issue.
ReplyDeleteThe HeLa debate was a great wrap up to the book. First of all, The Imortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was the first book that has kept my attention in a very long time. It was a very, very interesting book and I couldnt put it down. However, there were many questionable debates throughout it which made our debate so much more exciting. Listening to them go back and forth kept me very interested especially since both teams had very valid points. it was interesting to watch it play out as one side seemed to be counter-arguing instead of debating. In the end I was glad to hear a debate about the book because I questioned the same things.
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