Debaters overwhelm the competition
19 November 2007 Debaters overwhelm the competition
The HWS Debate Team overwhelmed the competition at the University of Rochesters British Parliamentary Debate Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 17 and Sunday the 18th.
Four HWS teams of two students each competed; after the six preliminary rounds, HWS students held three of the top eight teams in the semi-finals.
The team of Kate Bardsley 08 and Adam Goldstein 08 received the first seed as a result of their top ranking. By the end of the final round, they had won the second-place team award for the tournament. A team from RIT took first place.
Two other HWS teams qualified for semi-finals: were Thomas Frohlich 09 and David Hernandez 09 and John Monaghan 11 and Hannah Zale 09. Just missing the cut for semi-finals were Dan Maguire 11 and Tim Robbins 11.
In addition to team awards, the top individual debaters are also recognized with awards, and HWS again received more awards than any other school. Frohlich placed first; Hernandez, fourth; and Bardsley, seventh. Frohlich also who received a standing ovation at the awards ceremony.
During the Spring 2007 semester, HWS team members distinguished themselves at Skidmore Colleges tournament. HWS students took on top teams from Yale, Cornell, Union, Wesleyan, Boston University, Dartmouth and others, and Bardsley won second place varsity speaker at the event. In addition, the HWS novice debate teams placed in three of the top five novice spots.
Assistant professor of philosophy Eric Barnes has led the debate team to a series of high-profile wins against some of the nations top institutions since its inception in 2004, including dramatic successes at Mount Holyoke College and the 26th World Universities Debating Championships in Dublin, Ireland.