Debate tournament draws 150 students to U. campus

Arguing phrases from eccentrics and famous free spirits, nearly 150 students from over a dozen schools gathered for an annual debate tournament at the University. Debating bizarre topics based on everything from the poetry of e.e. cummings to the text of The Ugly Duckling, over 60 two-person teams flexed their wit and mental dexterity in the two-day tournament. The tournament centers around an extemporaneous form of debate, called Parliamentary debate, in which teams are given a prepared resolution and 10 minutes to construct arguments, for and against the resolution. After that time, the first team, called "the government," argues in favor of the resolution. The debaters must clearly connect their argument with the theme of the quotation in eight minutes. The oppostion then immediately counteracts for eight minutes, with no other time to prepare its response. Through the two-day tournament, teams were narrowed down to two finalists. From the five preliminary rounds to the finals, students debated arguments ranging from the necessity of a jury to whether or not the government should provide mental health care for ducks. The debaters of the latter argument won a copy of Dr. Seuss' The Sneetches in appreciation for their creativity. More than 60 teams from 16 schools attended the tournament while members of the University's student run Debate Council judged the matches on style and content. "They can't just say everything well," said College junior Amy Fisher, one of the two tournament directors. "They have to have a good argument." Fisher added that she was happy with the large turnout especially considering that Wesleyan University also held a tournament over the weekend. Princeton University seniors Adam Erlich and Robert Marks won the tournament on Saturday. And just as the seriousness of the debates differed, students' motives for debating also varied. "I like to argue," said Lisa Voelkel, a junior at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County. "I do this for fun."

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