After an exhaustive search for exceptional students, four undergraduates and two graduate students have been chosen to participate in the first “Great Debate.”

“Resolved: That the Internet is hazardous to your health” will be the first in a quarterly series of debates joining faculty members with graduate and undergraduate students to argue the pros and cons of contemporary issues.

In preparation for the Oct. 10 debate, students will collaborate with communication studies Prof. Scott Deatherage, political science Prof. Jerry Goldman and history Prof. Lane Fenrich on improving research and debate skills.

Goldman, Weinberg sophomore Jackie Swiatek, Weinberg senior Victoria Glikin and graduate student Patrick McMullen will argue the negative standpoint. Fenrich, Weinberg freshman LaTonya Starks, Weinberg junior Katherine MacFarlane and graduate student Dan Fitzmier will argue the pro side.

Deatherage began the selection process by asking Northwestern faculty members to submit names of students they thought would be good debaters.

About 50 students from the 100 recommended by faculty members submitted an unofficial transcript, a résumé and a statement of interest.

Although many qualified students applied, Deatherage said, choosing the six debaters was not difficult.

“Frankly, I thought that a couple of them just jumped out at me,” he said.

The student debaters said they’re looking forward to working more closely with faculty and graduate students.

“The uniqueness of the ‘Great Debates’ is that it allows professors, undergraduates and graduate students to come together to discuss contemporary political and social issues,” Glikin said.

“(The students) might be a little trepidacious at first, but I think they will do fine,” Deatherage said. “I think it’s an exceptional group.”

Deatherage said he hopes there will be strong undergraduate interest in the first debate and that he eventually would like to organize firesides and student group meetings to take place after each debate.

“We very much view this as the first in a long series of debates,” Deatherage said.

The debaters said they expect the first topic to interest faculty and students alike.

“It is something that both students and faculty should be interested in because it’s something that they use so frequently,” Starks said.

Because a primary goal behind the “Great Debates” is to facilitate greater interaction between students and faculty, Deatherage said, the participants and the topic will change each quarter.

And the debaters said they view this as a chance for different segments of the NU community to hear the opinions of other groups.

“In a way it’s like watching an informational show about the topic,” Glikin said. “But it’s also a way to hear viewpoints of other members of the Northwestern community.”