|
||||
|
||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||
|
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Alan Merson and Rob Weekes, UK students currently studying law at New York University on Fulbright Scholarships, were awarded the top honor as World University Debating Champions in Toronto in January. The duo teamed up to debate a motion on prisoners' rights, and sufficiently impressed the judges to merit the championship title. Ninety universities from 30 countries participated in the event, and NYU Law (solely represented by the Fulbrighters) took home the award for the first time in history. It was also the first victory for any team from the Northern hemisphere in four years, and only the third win ever for an American University. In addition to the title they earned NYU Law, Merson (originally from Glasgow) and Weekes (who hails from Hertfordshire) earned other plaudits: Weekes was ranked as the third speaker in the world, and Merson took home honors as top stand-up comedian. The U.S.-U.K. Fulbright Commission, which sponsors both Weekes' and Merson's studies in the U.S., was established in 1948 to promote and support educational exchange between the U.S. and the UK in order to enhance mutual understanding and strengthen relations between the two countries. It is one of over 50 bi-national commissions worldwide. Fulbright Awards provide tuition fees and maintenance stipends for outstanding individuals with exceptional leadership skills who want to pursue postgraduate study in the U.S. Merson commented that "The Fulbright program allowed us to work together, as a UK team representing U.S. education...if anything embodied the Fulbright virtues of linking the U.S. And the UK - that [winning the championship while representing a U.S. university] had to be it." Weekes added that "The global Fulbright program promotes discussion and discourse amongst different cultures. In winning the World debating competition, we hoped to do exactly that."
| |||||||||||||
U.K.
Fulbright Award Holders Win World Debating Championship for NYU Law | |||
|
