Best in the West
Utah State University’s year-old debate team is taking the West by storm, receiving first place overall at their most recent tournament at Lewis and Clark University in Portland, Ore.
The tournament hosted 30 universities, including University of California at Berkeley, Rice University in Houston and the U.S. Air Force Academy. The eight-member team competed against teams with as many as four times that many members, said Dr. Tom Worthen, volunteer coach for the debate team.
“Other schools can afford coaches and one event per student,” Worthen said.
“We’re the only school without a paid staff.”
Tournaments consist of several events, including literary interpretation, persuade and inform speeches, limited preparation events, such as extemporaneous or impromptu speaking, as well as team debate. Other teams have enough members to allow them to specialize in one event, but the USU team members must compete in multiple events.
Preparation for tournaments requires meeting five to six hours a week as well as practicing speeches individually. Worthen, called “Dr. Tom” by his students, said they write pro and con papers on topics that may come up in tournaments and keep up with current events. Debate teams consist of two debaters who are assigned a topic and a position for or against it and allowed 15 minutes to formulate their argument
The team will participate in a total of five tournaments this semester, much less than the 15-20 tournaments Worthen said was typical of college debate teams.
Other schools fly their debate teams to tournaments, but the Aggie debaters drove the whole way. Worthen said he made the team “run rounds” during the 12-hour ride.
“It gives them an edge,” he said.
Eric Whitehead, who placed fourth-best individual novice debater at the tournament, said it “makes a better time than staring into space.”
Worthen called the team a “focused group” and attributed their success to the necessity to be selective.
“That’s why they do well. We have good kids,” he said. He said he plans to have a more formal tryout in the spring.
Worthen said debate helps students in many aspects of their lives. He said debaters “excel in life” because they learn to think on their feet, and are “more polished.” Di Lewis, a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism, said debate has given her confidence in school.
“I know I don’t have to prepare as much for group presentations and I have good research skills,” she said.
Worthen, who said he has 20 years of experience with debate teams, including 15 years as a coach at Eastern Illinois University, Pacific University and Ricks College. From 1983 to 2004, USU had no debate team, so when Worthen arrived, he started one up.
“A debate team is good for students and the university,” he said. “Experience in debate propels students in life.”
Shannon Johnson, Lewis’ debate partner, said debate “helps with eloquence and teaches you to think logically.” Johnson said she and Lewis broke to the quarter finals at Lewis and Clark and she hopes to do well at their next debate. The team will compete at Lewis and Clark College in Lewiston, Idaho, the weekend of Oct. 28. Later this semester, the team will travel to the University of Utah and Western Washington University in Billingham, Wash.
Each team member received at least two awards at Lewis and Clark. Jane McBride was recognized as best overall novice debater and Whitehead placed first in informative speaking and third in extemporaneous speaking. As a debate team, McBride and Whitehead placed second in debate. Chelsi Sutton placed first in persuasive speaking and third in impromptu speaking and Di Lewis placed first in junior informative speaking, second in persuasion and third in prose interpretation. Richard Walker placed second in informative speaking. Other awards included fifth and seventh place in extemporaneous speaking for Tom Grover and Shannon Johnson, respectively, and third place in persuasive speaking for Eric Peatross.
-ella@cc.usu.edu
Tom Grover practices with the debate team earlier this month in the Merrill-Cazier Library.