The Monmouth University Debate Team won awards at debate tournaments held at Liberty University last weekend (Nov 4-6) and again this weekend at Monmouth’s 6th annual Jersey Shore Invitational (Nov 12-13). At Liberty University, MU debaters Kaitlin Allsopp and Emely Diaz made it to the octa-final playoff round by compiling a four and two record in the preliminary rounds— before losing in a close decision to a team from James Madison.
Emely Diaz also received a speaking award at the tournament. This weekend (Nov 12-13) three of the eleven MU teams of two competing at the sixth annual Jersey Shore Invitational at Monmouth made it into the playoff rounds including: James Hawk and Sabrina Saenger, Angela Ryan and Bob Davies, and Ryan Kelly and Phoebe Nelson. The Hawk and Saenger team and the Ryan and Davies team also scored victories in their first playoff round.
At Monmouth’s Jersey Shore Invitational tournament approximately 200 people from 13 universities took part, including debaters from Cornell University, George Mason University, New York University, New School, and West Virginia University to name some. George Mason won the tournament championship in the novice division, Liberty University took first place in the intermediate division, and Rutgers University won the championship round in the experienced division. Debate rounds took place in classrooms across the MU campus and Sunday’s award ceremony was in Wilson Auditorium.
Over the last two weekends, MU had ten teams compete at the Liberty University Tournament in Lynchburg, Virginia and eleven teams compete at the MU tournaments here on campus, many of whom were competing in their first debate tournament. The ten teams competing in Virginia included: Emely Diaz and Kaitlin Allsopp, James Hawk and Sabrina Saenger, Gregory Harpe and Prachi Patel, Francesca Vaccaro and Julie Murtha, Emma O’Rourke and Justin Dritschel, Ryan Kelly and Michael Manning, Heidi Solley and Tylar Wenigiel, Elizabeth Carmines and Erin Brown, Chase Petras and Chris Diolosa, and Alexis Vasquez and Sukayna Rahawi.
The eleven teams competing at Monmouth tournament included, James Hawk and Sabrina Saenger, Angela Ryan and Bob Davies, Ryan Kelly and Phoebe Nelson, Gregory Harpe and Emily Mastrocola, Emely Diaz and Kaitlin Allsopp, Alec Gullian and Martin Vadakara, Maya Paco and Juscelucio Da Silva, Kaan Boztepe and Erin Brown, Chase Petras and Chris Diolosa, and the MU/New School hybrid team of Prachi Patel and Victoria Schulman.
Each year, a topic is picked by the CEDA/NDT organization to be debated throughout the country. The topic for this year is Resolved: The United States Federal Government should establish a domestic climate policy, including at least substantially increasing restrictions on private sector emissions of greenhouse gases in the United States. Each two-person team competes in six rounds of debate, three on the affirmative and three on the negative, with each debate round lasting approximately two hours (on Saturday and Sunday). The Monmouth team researched and wrote three affirmative cases advocating that the US government: 1) transition to thorium-based nuclear power (and ban uranium); 2) restrict factory farming; and 3) adopt a cap and trade policy. Teams that make it into the playoff rounds continue debating in one round eliminations until a champion emerges.
Monmouth alums and former debaters Dan Roman, Michelle Grushko, Kelly Craig, Saliha Younas, Dylan Maynard, Danielle Doud, Ryan Kelly ,and Jessica Roberts came back to campus to help coach MU teams and served as judges at the MU tournament.
