Spring Break
Debate team loses home tournament
Jancy Nightingale
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: News
Grove City College swept the debate competition at the Third Annual Richard Weaver tournament hosted on campus this weekend. Grove City won both the open and novice tournament.
Hillsdale's team stopped short of progressing to the final round. The sophomore team of Josiah Hersey and Trevor Anderson received a perfect 6-0, making it to quarterfinals. Juniors Will Cooney and Liv Wolcott walked over them to semi-finals, but did not progress further.
Seniors Bryan Leonard and Alexandria Carraher also made quarterfinals.
Carraher also received second speaker overall, Leonard was named fourth, and Hersey took seventh.
Assistant Professor of Speech Jeremy Christensen acknowledged Grove City after the tournament.
"They're extraordinarily good. They're hard to beat," he said.
Carraher said Grove City and Hillsdale had different debate styles.
Hersey explained this in detail, saying that Grove City used "whole resolution debate," which focuses on the general, whereas Hillsdale addresses specifics, specifically definitions.
"The definitions really define how you start the debate," he said.
For example, the freshman team of Nassir Aboreden and Nathan Leveille had the proposition stance versus Grove City on the second topic: "This house believes the decline of the American downtown has had a negative effect on American culture."
Grove City defined the downtown as a business district surrounded by residential areas, with absolutely no integration of the two. This definition proved difficult for Aboreden and Leveille to provide contention for since widely recognized urban cities, such as New York City, did not fit the given definition.
Even with the weekend's loss, Hersey said, "It's unusual for a team to take their own tournament."
In regards to hosting, Christensen said the tournament ran successfully, and the faculty and campus provided great support.
The debate teams' next match-up could potentially be at Bowling Green State University in Ohio to qualify for nationals, which Hersey said would be a "bloodbath."
If they choose not to attend the Bowling Green tournament, they will next compete in a month at Loyola University in Chicago.
Hillsdale's team stopped short of progressing to the final round. The sophomore team of Josiah Hersey and Trevor Anderson received a perfect 6-0, making it to quarterfinals. Juniors Will Cooney and Liv Wolcott walked over them to semi-finals, but did not progress further.
Seniors Bryan Leonard and Alexandria Carraher also made quarterfinals.
Carraher also received second speaker overall, Leonard was named fourth, and Hersey took seventh.
Assistant Professor of Speech Jeremy Christensen acknowledged Grove City after the tournament.
"They're extraordinarily good. They're hard to beat," he said.
Carraher said Grove City and Hillsdale had different debate styles.
Hersey explained this in detail, saying that Grove City used "whole resolution debate," which focuses on the general, whereas Hillsdale addresses specifics, specifically definitions.
"The definitions really define how you start the debate," he said.
For example, the freshman team of Nassir Aboreden and Nathan Leveille had the proposition stance versus Grove City on the second topic: "This house believes the decline of the American downtown has had a negative effect on American culture."
Grove City defined the downtown as a business district surrounded by residential areas, with absolutely no integration of the two. This definition proved difficult for Aboreden and Leveille to provide contention for since widely recognized urban cities, such as New York City, did not fit the given definition.
Even with the weekend's loss, Hersey said, "It's unusual for a team to take their own tournament."
In regards to hosting, Christensen said the tournament ran successfully, and the faculty and campus provided great support.
The debate teams' next match-up could potentially be at Bowling Green State University in Ohio to qualify for nationals, which Hersey said would be a "bloodbath."
If they choose not to attend the Bowling Green tournament, they will next compete in a month at Loyola University in Chicago.
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