National debate championships at PSU this weekend

The PSU Debate Team is hosting the 2008 U.S. National Debate Championships this weekend, drawing in teams from as far away as Hawaii and New York, with 64 teams each looking to take home a trophy.

Leaders of the PSU debate team said they would not be surprised if the average student did not know that there is a PSU team, let alone one that has won high-ranking awards in competitions around the country and even the world. Group members say they are proud to represent PSU at competitions, even if their achievements are sometimes overshadowed by other activities at the university.

With recent high-profile awards, people are starting to take notice, according to Kelly Welch, the team’s co-coordinator. The team’s other co-coordinator, Josh Gross, landed a second- and third-place win in different categories during the 2008 World Universities Debating Championships, which were held in Bangkok this past winter.

“We’ve felt that we’ve done a lot of really monumental things competition-wise,” Welch said.

The debates are open to the public, and local high schools will be visiting campus to check them out. The structure will follow the British Parliamentary debate style, the academic form that debate competitions from all around the world use. The competition consists of multiple rounds, and the 64 teams are eliminated over the course of the weekend until one is left. The final debate with the top four teams will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday in Lincoln Hall, room 75.

Debaters do not know their topics in advance and have only 15 minutes to prepare once topics are announced. Topics can cover anything, from the business model of the band Radiohead to Holocaust denial. Teams then deliver seven-minute speeches to sway a panel of judges toward their stance.

Other debates during the weekend will be housed throughout campus. Attendees can view room listings for the competitions in the second floor lounge of the Smith Memorial Student Union.

The debate team was asked to host the competition at last year’s nationals held at Claremont College in Claremont, Calif. The PSU event is 20-percent larger than last year’s, said Chris Richter, team coach and director of forensics at PSU.

Hosting such a large competition has taken work. Richter said the team has essentially spent three solid months reserving rooms, finding sponsorships and inviting teams to the competition since they returned from Bangkok in January.

It is very exciting, Richter said, that the event is finally here. “This is a huge honor for us.”

Gross agreed, adding that it is not just an honor for the team, but, “We think it’s really good for the school.”

2008 U.S. Universities National Debate ChampionshipsFriday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13Portland State University

For more information on the PSU Debate Team visit www.myspace.com/psu_debate or e-mail [email protected].