Pubdate: Thu, 25 Oct 2012
Source: Times Record (Fort Smith, AR)
Copyright: 2012 Stephens Media Group
Contact: http://www.swtimes.com/site/forms/?mode=letters
Website: http://www.swtimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/529Author: Chad Hunter

MARIJUANA DEBATE MOVES UAFS COLLEGE CROWD

Marijuana Debate Moves UAFS College Crowd

A medical-marijuana debate between college students Wednesday moved a 
handful of spectators - literally.

The Oxford-style debate at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith 
allowed for the audience to physically shift sides while speakers 
made their points.

"I saw people moving at the end," said Spanish major Kalynn Barlow, 
18, of Siloam Springs, who was selected to help sway the audience 
against voting in favor of legalizing medical marijuana in Arkansas. 
"During the first speeches, people were pretty stagnant and pretty 
set in where they wanted to be."

On Nov. 6, Arkansas voters will be asked if they support legalizing 
marijuana for use by people with certain medical conditions. Students 
from the college's new Honors International Studies Program prepared 
for Wednesday's timely debate, but did not know which side they would 
be defending, according to Dennis Siler, associate professor of 
English and director of the honors program. Debaters were also 
unaware they would field questions from the audience, Barlow said.

"I don't think either side was prepared to answer questions," she 
said. "We just kind of had to roll with it, which was OK. That's kind 
of how Oxford debates are supposed to go, spontaneous like that."

Early education major Lachelle Rolandelli, 21, of Fort Smith was one 
of the few audience members who shifted from one side of the room to 
the other - twice.

"I was just curious about the negative side effects," she said of her 
move from "for" to "against" the proposal. "They were saying how more 
people can get addicted to medical marijuana than to heroin or other drugs."

She ended up back where she began - in favor of medical marijuana.

"I just believe what they said is true," Rolandelli said. "They 
backed up information about how it can do more good than harm for you."

In the end, the crowd remained split.

"The official UA Fort Smith honors program result is that we have 35 
in favor and only 32 against," said Henry Rinne, dean of the College 
of Humanities & Social Sciences.

Barlow said she was undecided before researching for the debate.

"I went into this without a personal view over it at all," she said. 
"I was more for states having the right, but doing the research, I 
came out on more of the opposing viewpoint. It was definitely a 
personal learning experience."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom