This year, the Debating and Recitations Society at LUMS (DRUMS) began a new tradition called the 'LUMS Quarterly Debates'. Modeled on the Oxford Union Debates, the LUMS Quarterly Debates hope to propagate a much needed culture of civic discourse on some of the most pressing issues of our time. The idea, very simply, is to promote tolerance of conflicting views in our society and encourage debate and discussion instead of antagonism rooted in ideology and dogma.

The second LUMS Quarterly Debate, held on December 7, 2015 aimed to begin a conversation on infrastructure development in Lahore, with the motion being "This House believes that the Lahore Development Program should be shut down."  Renowned architect Kamil Khan Mumtaz, Hala Bashir (architecture faculty, NCA) and Waqqas Mir (lawyer) spoke from the proposition bench, while Khawaja Hassan (elected Mayor Lahore), Uzair Shah (GM, Metro Bus Authority) and Israr Saeed (Chief Engineer, LDA) spoke from the opposition bench. With both sides presenting strong arguments, the 200+ audience had a hard time deciding the winner; the proposition won 128-83!

LUMS is proud to have been a pioneer for providing a space for an informed debate on all kinds of issues. The third LUMS Quarterly Debate will be held in the Spring Semester, and we hope to establish this as a tradition that the LUMS community prides itself on.