1 April 2003
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News
from Vermont Debate AKA The Voice of Edwin is the weekly newsletter
of the Edwin Lawrence Debate Union at the University of Vermont, an
endowed co-curricular program which trains students in debating and
sponsors national competition and community events. The newsletter is
published every Tuesday during the school year and infrequently at other
times. Alfred C. Snider is the Director. 802-656-0097 voice, 802-238-8345
mobile, 802-656-4275 fax, asnider@zoo.uvm.edu
email, and http://debate.uvm.edu/ldu.html
web site. |
Seventeen LDU members made it all the way to the warmth and sun of Phoenix, Arizona where the Cross Examination Debate Association national tournament took place at Arizona State University. Coaches Helen Morgan, Justin Parmett, Gordie Miller, and Alfred Snider were joined by alumni Aaron Fishbone to guide the students through what was to be a rough tournament. The LDU had brought six teams to the varsity nationals, and none of them have reached varsity eligibility yet but were ready to try their best. Junior Jillian Marty and sophomore Sheila Limprevil were 4-4. Seniors Brian Cole and Jennifer Knops had a bad second day and finished 3-5. Senior Lana Langsweirdt and junior Teresa Hill fought an uphill battle as their poetry slam style continued and they finished 3-5. Meanwhile the three novice teams in attendance had good showings given their experience. Junior Lindsey Melander and senior Eric Mates finished 3-5, as did junior Carlos Varela and sophomore Colin Kern. Junior Kayce Massey and frosh Timm Reimer finished 2-6. That makes for a fairly disappointing 18-30 record.
As the tournament began UVM was #8 in the national sweepstakes, and a less than expected performance caused them to fall two slots but they hung on for TENTH PLACE IN THE NATION as a squad based on the results of the entire season. Additional bright spots emerged as the tournament ended when three LDU seniors were named to the All American Debate Team -- Brian Cole, Lana Langsweirdt, and Jen Knops.
| NYU's Ricky Garner in final round | Colin, alumni Max Schnurer, coach Gordie
Miller watch final round |
The tournament was also important as a celebration of the entire year. The weather was good, swimming was excellent, Mexican food was enjoyed by all (except Sheila), and the squad even managed a lovely hike and mountain climbing expedition into the lovely desert countryside of Old Dutchman State Park. Spirits were also boosted as regional favorites New York University (Ricky Garner and Nate Gorelick) won the national title in the final round with a 5-4 victory over Whitman College.
UVM also served the community well as it arranged for a streaming video webcast of the last four elimination rounds, beamed out from UVM's busy debate website DEBATE CENTRAL [http://debate.uvm.edu]. The webcast went well, as it was the first to use MPEG-4 technology and the new QuickTime Broadcaster program from Apple.
"We set our sights
and expectations high," explained coach Snider, "but it is hard
not to be proud of our students. Without scholarships and recruiting of high
school stars, and with a budget half the size of most we compete with, we
do an incredible job. Over and over again we prove that UVM students who see
a 'join the debate team' poster can compete successfully against the scholarship
students of other schools. We are not complaining, however. Personally, I
would not have it any other way."
| JACKIE MASSEY MODELS LAST YEAR'S HOODIE |
TOPIC AREAS FOR NEXT YEARThe ballot is out for topic areas for next year. The national vote on an area will take place in mid-April, and a list of, topics will be drawn up within the winning area. Later a vote will take place on which topic will be the one to be debated all year 2003-04.
Topic areas include: Energy policy, health care coverage, immigration, Middle East, and USA-European relations.
FROM THE SQUAD MEETING
FLASHPOINT
TELEVISION SHOW
SQUAD
MEETING |
|
WINS |
LOSSES |
% |
PREVIOUS |
316 |
|
47.1% |
CEDA NATIONALS |
18 |
30 |
|
NEW TOTAL |
334 |
384 |
46.5% |
UVM DEBATE IS #10 IN THE CEDA
NATIONAL SWEEPSTAKES FOR 2002-2003
UVM Debate was #9 in both major national polls for debate in the USA for the
2001-2002 season.
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