Alumni vs. Current Students: Contest marks 15 years of debate at WCM-Q
The alumni team (right) faced off against current students in a lively contest held to mark 15 years of academic debate at WCM-Q.
The cut and thrust of academic debate took on a new twist at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar recently when graduates of the college returned to take on a team of current students.
The special Past vs Present Students debate was held to mark the WCM-Q Debate Club’s 15th anniversary, or quindecennial, and featured a team of four alumni debating against four current students on the motion, ‘This House Regrets the Rise of TikTok Videos that Promote Self-Diagnosis of Mental Health Conditions.’
The alumni team comprised Dr. Risheek Kaul and Dr. Navid Iqbal of the Class of 2016, Dr. Eman Mosleh of the Class of 2018, and Dr. Shahryar Rana of the Class of 2021. Dr. Kaul, previously vice-president of the WCM-Q Debate Club is now chief cardiac electrophysiology fellow at New York University Langone Health, while Dr. Iqbal is now chief resident in emergency medicine at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC). Dr. Rana, a past president of the Debate Club, is now a child neurology resident at Thomas Jefferson Medical College, and Dr. Mosleh, also a past president of the club, is now a hematology and oncology fellow at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.
Facing off against the alumni were first-year medical student and current Debate Club president Harsh Gohil, second-year medical student Aparajita Sarkar, and first-year pre-medical students Batoul Arabi and Abdullah Chattha.
The alumni team proposed the motion and agreed with its tenets, presenting a strong case supporting the proposition that influencers who promote self-diagnosis of mental health conditions are irresponsible and present a significant risk of harm to vulnerable people. In opposition, the student team made a game attempt to convince the audience and judging panel that Tik Tok mental health content promotes discussion and helps alleviate existing stigmas around the subject.
The judging panel, which comprised Dr. Adam Larson, assistant professor of English as a second language at WCM-Q; Dr. Haya Al-Thani, WCM-Q alumna and now assistant chief psychiatric resident at HMC; and Banun Sabri, debate instructor, adjudicator at Qatar Debate and a previous World’s Debate finalist, were not convinced by the arguments put forward by the current students, rejecting the idea that these supposed benefits outweighed the harm of non-professional influence in an important clinical area. As such, the alumni team carried the day and emerged victorious in the milestone contest, which was supported by the Office of Alumni Affairs, part of WCM-Q’s Division of Medical Education.
Gohil said: “Witnessing our alumni return to the very room where they once immersed themselves in student life is not only nostalgic for them but also deeply inspiring for us. Their journey from being in our shoes to becoming accomplished physicians in their respective fields serves as a powerful reminder of the valuable lessons we can glean from their experiences.”
Dr. Rodney Sharkey, professor of English at WCM-Q and the debate coach for the 15 years since the club was established, said: “I’m delighted that the debate club has been operative for 15 years as I feel that now, more than ever before, we need respectful and brave spaces for informed and in-depth discussion on polarizing topics, especially for young people who need to be able to understand the full context and implications of alternative points of view.”
