Eventually, of the 8 teams that advanced to outrounds, two were from Yale, two from Columbia, and one each was from Rutgers, William and Mary, Swarthmore, and the University of Virginia. In finals, the team from Columbia defeated the team from Rutgers on a 3-2 decision, choosing the topic “The US government should only subsidize college degrees in fields that have a high chance of employment or that pertain to national security issues.”

The tournament’s unique format meant that the Debate Society provided the topics (or “links”) for each round, covering a wide array of topics. Examples included:

• This house would occupy the White House instead of Wall Street.
• This house would dissolve NATO.
• You are a high school chemistry teacher who has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Break bad and sell crystal meth.
• It would be preferable if the Bible did not include the story of Job.
• This house believes that the President should not have the power to assassinate US citizens, even in a time of war.

The tournament was a huge success for the Debate Society, and the team raised more funding this semester than it was allocated by the American University Club Council. Much of this was thanks to the help of the University Honors Program and the Provost’s Office, both of which purchased food for the competitors to assist the Debate Society’s fundraising efforts.

It was also assisted by alumni from AU and other close friends; Leah Storer, a former Debate Society President and class of 2011 alumna helped in tab, as did Sam Hynes, a 2010 graduate of William and Mary, Sean Robinson, a 2010 graduate of George Washington University, Ali Bolye, a 2011 graduate of Johns Hopkins, and Alex Taubes, Debate Society coach and 2011 graduate of Boston University all helped the team run the tournament.

Overall, the tournament was the largest of the weekend, one of the largest in ProAm history, and the largest in American University’s history. As such, it will help the Debate Society continue to compete for the rest of the year, as it tries to defend its national ranking of seventh.

Recruitment

The Debate Society had another strong year of recruitment, and welcomes one of its largest classes of novice and freshmen debaters. Though the number of active debaters is often in flux for the first semester, there are more than 15 new members of the team. The novices have already done well; as teams, they’ve finished in the top five six times already this semester! In addition, they’ve shown up in the top ten speakers an excellent ten times. As the Novice of the Year (NOTY) competition starts in earnest, look for AU novices to start tearing up the league.

OTY Watch

After a bit of a slow start, AU is moving forward on all of the important “OTY” (of the year) races. These standings measure individual, team (2-person), and school rankings on a national and year-long basis. The Debate Society has been very successful, putting together two finals appearances and advancing to elimination rounds at five tournaments so far.

Last weekend, the team took its biggest step forward, winning the tournament hosted by the University of Pennsylvania. American’s “A” team of President James Schmitt and Director of Outreach and Development Stephen Hayes won all five of their preliminary rounds, defeating teams from Stony Brook, Rutgers, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, and Columbia and entered elimination rounds as one of the top two seeds. In quarterfinals, AU A defeated a team from Fordham University on a 2-1 decision. In semifinals, they defeated Princeton’s A team, also on a 2-1 decision. Finally, in finals, they defeated the same team from Columbia on a 6-1 decision, choosing the topic “The Supreme Court should not strike down campaign finance laws on the basis of First Amendment protections.”

The tournament, with 59 teams, was the largest ever won by a team of two debaters from AU, and the second-largest ever won by an AU student (Leah Storer won a 62-team West Point tournament in 2010). After the win, AU A is ranked 4th nationally, and is well-positioned to advance due to complexities of the ranking system.

Meanwhile, Stephen Hayes looks to take 9th Speaker of the Year (SOTY) after finishing as the second speaker at the tournament. If he can hold the position, it would be the highest individual finish for a debater from AU.

American University ProAm Invitational

Last and certainly not least, the Debate Society is looking forward to hosting its own tournament on November 4th and 5th. The tournament draws nearly 150 debaters from around the country, and usually draws about 25 alumni to help judge. This year, American looks to have one of its largest tournaments ever, after running an excellent tournament last year. If you’re interested in helping to house debaters, please contact us at debate@audebate.org.

Summer Updates!

Stay in touch over the summer and get ready for next year by signing up for our ListServ! When you sign up for the ListServ, you’ll get updates on upcoming Kickoff Meetings, learn more about parliamentary debate, and become eligible to compete in summer contests. This is the most important step you can take if you’re thinking about signing up in the fall. To sign up, click here!

Watch Some Videos!

Get a feel for what parliamentary debate is like by watching some videos. The videos posted are just two examples of the amazing range of topics that you see at tournaments  - check out Parlidebate, an affiliated website, to see more rounds!

Get More Info

Can’t figure out what’s going on in the rounds? Wondering why one team gets to keep interrupting the other team’s speeches? Find out more about the rules and style of American Parliamentary debate by reading the “Debating Well” guide to parli.

Still Have Questions?

That’s OK! If you want to learn more or have any other questions, feel free to email us at debate@audebate.org . We’ll see you in the fall!

• President: James Schmitt, Senior, SIS
• Director of Administration: Alex McHugh, Sophomore, SIS
• Director of Outreach and Development: Stephen Hayes, Senior, SIS
• Director of Finance: Kurt Girard, Sophomore, CAS

The team also received good news when its top choice for coach agreed to join the team this coming year. Alex Taubes, who graduated from Boston University last year after winning the National Championships, the Team of the Year Award, and the Speaker of the Year Award, the three highest honors of the debate league, will serve as coach for the Debate Society in the 2011-2012 season. Taubes debated for four years with the BU team, accumulating numerous awards listed on his debater page. Over the course of his career, he won a total of 8 top-ten “OTY” (“of the year”) awards, including the aforementioned TOTY and SOTY, as well as 4th TOTY, 10th TOTY, 3rd SOTY, 4th TOTY, 8th TOTY, and 5th NOTY, in rough chronological order.

With a new Executive Board, and a new coach, the Debate Society is set to capitalize on what was already the best year in its history, and to reach new heights next year.

Team of the Year

• Stephanie Caravias and James Schmitt: 6th Team of the Year

Speaker of the Year

• James Schmitt: 10th Speaker of the Year
• Leah Storer: 19th Speaker of the Year

Novice of the Year

• Kurt Girard: 12th Novice of the Year

College of the Year

• American University: 7th College of the Year

In addition, the Debate Society won three tournaments, taking home first place at the William and Mary Invitational, at the University of Maryland, College Park tournament, and at the University of Virginia memorial tournament. The team also took home top speaker honors at tournaments hosted by William and Mary and Franklin and Marshall. Finally, the team’s novices were just as successful, winning the novice divisions at tournaments hosted by Johns Hopkins University, Franklin and Marshall University,  and Princeton University, and placing second at Franklin and Marshall (in addition to first), Swarthmore, University of Maryland, College Park, University of Pennsylvania, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, George Washington University, Rutgers University, and the University of Maryland, College Park (second tournament). AUDS also took top novice speaker honors at Johns Hopkins University, Franklin and Marshall, and Bryn Mawr.

The fact that we can have such a long run-on sentence about our achievements makes us proud. This weekend, the Debate Society travels to the United States Military Academy at West Point to compete in the National Championships.

Team of the Year

The Team of the Year (TOTY) competition recognizes the success of two-person debate teams, and is considered the most prestigious on the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA). Winning the TOTY competition is the ultimate goal for most debaters.

• Steph Caravias and James Schmitt: 5th

Speaker of the Year

The Speaker of the Year (SOTY) competition recognizes individual success on the debate circuit, both in rhetorical ability and logical analysis.

• James Schmitt: 9th
• Leah Storer: 24th
• Steph Caravias: 26th

Novice of the Year

The Novice of the Year (NOTY) competition recognizes the success of first-year debaters. Novices begin earning points at the fourth tournament of the year, so early results do not affect standings.

• Kurt Girard: 22nd
• Shriya Samarth: 40th
• Randi Saunders: 48th
• Ki’tay Davidson: 51st

College of the Year

The College of the Year (COTY) competition recognizes the performance of competing schools as a whole, by compiling success in the team, varsity brackets.

• American University: 5th

The team’s complete successes can be found at the official APDA website.

Videos are a great way to see what debate is all about and to see where you have room for growth.

We encourage you to check out our new site and check back often for tournament results, recent news, team updates, and events going on around campus.

Thank you for your continued support!

Debate Meeting in MGC

Leadership

The Debate Society is entirely student-run, and is led by an elected Executive Board whose members serve one-year terms. The Executive Board is assisted by several other officers, selected in November of each year, who coordinate many of the aspects of the annual “ProAm” tournament, building key experience with both logistics and leadership. These various opportunities to take leadership positions provide valuable material on resumes and also develop the ability to take an active role on campus. Debaters have also led other student organizations, including the American University Club Council, the administering body of all student clubs.

Competition

The Debate Society gives you the opportunity to travel across the country and compete each weekend. Members are able to test their grasp of current affairs, history, and a variety of other topics while also using logic to prove themselves against students from other universities. You’ll have the chance to compete against students from all of the Ivy League schools, as well as other prestigious institutions like Johns Hopkins, New York University, and Dartmouth. This experience will both improve your grasp on important issues and, if you succeed, boost your resume for internships and jobs in the future.

Community

The Debate Society is a tight-knit group, and becoming a member will make you some of the best friends that you’ll have in college. As an welcoming, friendly group, members go out of their way to include new students not just onto the team, but also into the fold. Members usually go out of their way to help each other outside of debate, whether it’s sharing knowledge about which classes to take, which professors to avoid, or which meals to avoid at TDR (meatloaf). Joining the Debate Society makes sure that you’ll have fun people to hang out with.

Travel

As mentioned earlier, the Debate Society lets you travel across the country and, sometimes, internationally. Our debate league (APDA) features member schools from California (Stanford) to Virginia (William and Mary) all the way north to Maine (Bates), and most host tournaments each year. You’ll have the opportunity to see Boston in the fall (Harvard, October 7th), New York in the winter (Fordham, November 18th), and Chicago in the spring (University of Chicago, March 30th). You can do all of this traveling at no personal cost; the only expense you’ll ever pay to the Debate Society is your $10 dues at the start of the year.