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Show Debate FIRST PLACE was awarded to debators Tony Justman and Kirk Larsen at the Round Robin Debate Tournament held this past year on the Weber State campus. (Signpost photo: Dave Brimley) Text: Emilie Bean "Resolved: that competition in a college debate is as intense as in a basketball playoff game." Although the debate tournament is not directly physical, the strain of competition and all-knowing awareness of the circumstances is equal. Additionally, debaters must be mentally alert and intellectually sharp. The Weber State College debate team stands firmly in defense of the idea that participation in debate is intense, fierce and very competitive. As a result of "hard work, long hours and a lot of research," said Tony Justman, WSC's top debater, the team has been in the thick of that competition over the past year. The National Debate Tournament (NDT) side of the team debated, "Resolved: That more rigorous academic standards should be established for all public elementary andor secondary schools in the United States in one or more of the following areas: language arts, mathematics, natural sciences." The team of Tony Justman and Kirk Larsen won first place victories at the National Round Robin Debate Tournament held at Weber State and the Western Speech Communication Assocation Tournament. They also took a fifth in the Novice National Tournament and qualified for the National Debate tournament. The other half of Weber's debaters, Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) team, argued, "Resolved: that membership in the United Nations is no longer beneficial to the United States." The senior CEDA team of Ann Shallcross and Karl Powell took two second place judgments at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, at San Diego State University and at Arizona State University. At Northwest Community College, Shallcross took a second in impromptu and second in extemporaneous speaking. Powell took first in extemporaneous and a fourth speaker award at Arizona State. This year has been a rebuilding year for WSC. Last year's graduating class took all but Justman from the team, leaving this year to work with five freshmen. Still, both NDT and CEDA teams were successful and plan to extend that success into next year. David M. Berube, forensics coach, said that next year he will concentrate his efforts to rebuilding the CEDA team to its 1985 number one ranking. Further into the future he intends to more heavily stress individual events such as impromptu and extemporaneous speaking. What makes the team successful? Like basketball, said Justman, debate requires dedication and a willingness to spend the time necessary to hone winning skills. "There isn't really that much raw talent that a debater has. It's just a lot of hard work," said Justman. "There is something about an intellectually competitive activity that is stimulating," he --explained. "It involves so much of your life that it hooks you. It grabs you and it's hard to get away." Debaters have the longest running season of any competitive event - September to April. "It's easy to lose track of what's happening in the outside world," said Justman. "Sometimes we don't even know what season it is," added Larsen. Because of this extended season, debaters become a close-knit group. "Debate has it own language," said Justman, referring to the technical terms used in tournaments. "When you have your own language, it's harder to relate to other people." Added to that is the time commitment. "It's hard to have a social life . . . the people on your own team become very important," Justman explained. Like Weber's basketball, debate is aggressive in style. "I think the reason Weber does so well is because we're tricky. We just don't let the other team talk about what they want to," said Susan Malone, assistant forensics coach. Coach Berube also works at developing new aurgument forms and styles, much like incorporating a new play into a basketball player's routine. In general, said Berube, the debaters are "all exceedingly bright and fearless. They have no egos." There are no big scholarships and there is very little recognition, even for a national title. Then why debate? "A lack of brains and social life," said Larsen sarcastically. On a more serious note, the May 8, 1985 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education answered that question eloquently by stating, "Perhaps more than any other extracurricular activity, debate bridges the gap between academics and careers." |