A debate on the effects of dancehall music on young Jamaicans was won by the team that argued that the popular genre was contributing to decadence and lack of respect for authority among students.

Arguing the moot: ‘Dancehall music is to be blamed for the decadence in our youth culture’, the team from Christ the Redeemer Skills Centre steamrolled their opponents from St Margaret’s Skills Centre with forceful arguments in what turned out to be a one-sided affair at the Christ The Redeemer Human Resource Centre in Seaview Gardens on Thursday.

“Parents can’t talk to their children anymore,” argued Desrene Davis from Christ the Redeemer. “The songs that these children have been exposed to — these so-called dancehall songs — have seen behavioural changes in children being insolent, and showing no respect to their teachers.”

Davis’ arguments elicited loud cheers from the audience of mostly young people.

She acknowledged that dancehall music was a fundamental aspect of Jamaica’s culture, but bemoaned the state to which it has fallen.

“Look at the type of dancing our youths are indulging in — they are basically having sex while dancing to these songs,” she said.

Davis challenged dancehall artistes to realise that they are role models — whether they want to be or not — to the youths and insisted that their recordings have a degrading impact on society.

“Murder people inna broad daylight,” she quoted from a dancehall recording and asked, “isn’t that what’s happening around us now?”

Davis’ teammate Christine Richards said that dancehall music is dominant but cautioned that with great power comes responsibility. To drive home her point, Richards cited a violent line from another dancehall recording — “Wi a guh kill dem all and done”.

A lot of schoolchildren, she said, were neglecting school to engage in “daggering inna minibus”.

The St Margaret’s team tried their best to counter with statistics as they argued that violence and breakdown in behaviour could not be attributed to dancehall music.

“Dancehall music is rich and diverse. It is inaccurate to describe our culture as one harbouring decadence and it is wrong to blame dancehall music for the problems in our behaviour,” Keno Dodds said, adding that church and family life should also share the blame.

But in the end, chief judge Trevor English, said that St Margaret’s got carried away with statistics and delivered a poor presentation.

The inaugural Inter Skills Debate was staged by St Patrick’s Foundation.