The King's Debate Society Dominates Season Opener

Debaters advance to final round, take five speaker awards

NEW YORK, September 25th, 2012–Last weekend, The King’s Debate Society dominated the competition at the British Parliamentary Debate Season Opener tournament in Binghamton, NY. Through a series of six preliminary rounds, followed by three final rounds, teams from The King’s College outcompeted nearly all of the 88 speakers from attending schools like Grove City College, University of Vermont, and Cornell University.

John Sailer and Chris Svendsen, Hannah Herman, and Aaron Mikat, respectively placed 8th and 10th overall. Josh Craddock, Noah Heinz, Elias Garvey, and Greg DuBois, advanced to the final round, placing in the top four teams overall. Additionally, King’s took five of the top ten speaker awards at the tournament, including Top Speaker, which was awarded to King’s Debate Society President Greg DuBois.

Such a level of competitive success represents a significant accomplishment for The King’s Debate Society. But winning isn’t everything. “When we win, we look at it as a benchmark of success—not success itself," President DuBois said. "It shows us that practices are paying off, our vision is inspiring, and that most importantly, King’s debaters are equipped to advocate truth in the marketplace of ideas.”

Other debaters included Sarah Hicks, Laurel Recsetar, Artesia Tso, Serenity Richardson, Abigail Poit, Michael Sutton, Tim Perdew, and Tori Vedrenne.

Debate topics at the Binghamton tournament varied, but several rounds rounds broached sensitive issues such as women’s rights and abortion, the justice of minimum wage laws, and the value of monogamous relationships in society. “There are times when you get to debate for what you believe in, and they are amazing moments,” said DuBois. “But even greater are the times when in debating for what you believe, you bring arguments to the table that are rarely considered in the debating community. A lot of these students have never heard a cogent defense of the rights of the unborn. It is a rare opportunity to present these arguments to the men and women who will lead our nation at all levels."

Coach Burk Ohbayashi said he is encouraged with the tournament results. “At Binghamton, The King’s Debate Society proved again that it is one of the top competitive schools in the Northeast. Our Society dominated the competition with four teams breaking and five debaters receiving top ten speaker awards. King’s has reached the next level of competitive debate and will only continue to get better.”

In three weeks, The King’s Debate Society will travel to Yale University for their next tournament, to square off against teams from Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, and many more. They are training hard to repeat their success.

The King’s College educates students in the ideas upon which nations rise and fall. With a focused curriculum in the liberal arts tradition, students are prepared to help shape, and eventually to lead, the institutions of government, civil society, media, law, business, education, the arts, and the church. King’s is a Christian college located in New York City.

For more information about The King's College please contact: Matthias Clock
Communications Coordinator
212.659.3602