We're not even going to try to argue with the speed-talking, fast-thinking debaters of the .
51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ junior Sara Beth Brooks and freshman Matt Gomez won the Las Vegas Classic Invitational Collegiate Debate Tournament Oct. 20 on campus, beating a team from the University of Texas 2-1 in the event's final round.
The 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ duo outlasted 98 teams from 31 colleges and universities across the West and Midwest, including Arizona State University, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, and Pepperdine. Three other 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ teams also advanced through the preliminary rounds and into the elimination round.
In the final round, Brooks, a communication studies major, and Gomez, who's studying political science, both argued the pro side of why online gambling should be legalized.
Here's a primer on competitive policy debate at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ:
- Competitive debate consists of two-person teams that argue both for and against a policy related to a topic in what is known as a "switch-side" format. The process is research intensive and the arguments are delivered quickly and fervently.
- They talk really fast. Like, really fast. They make their case at 350 to 400 words a minute. That's not a typo. Most of us carry on conversations at roughly 150 words per minute.
- Debate team members speak so fast to pack in as many strong arguments as they can and to stump their competitors.
- Learning the art of rapid-fire competitive policy debate has a lot of benefits. Students hone their skills in public speaking, research and cross-examination.
- During the academic year, members of 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's debate team assist in debate workshops for local high school students, train debate coaches, and act as assistant debate team coaches.
The team, though successful at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ for years, was dismantled due to budget cuts in 1998. A $1 million endowed gift from donors Sanford and Sandra Berman brought the team back to life in 2007, and a return to greatness came fast. Five years after its rebirth, the rose to a top-10 ranking in the country, topping the likes of Harvard, Dartmouth, and Stanford. There are 15 students currently on the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ team.
Call debate team coach and communications studies professor to find out more about the team. We're pretty sure he'll win you over and convince you to check out his team in action. Next up for the team is the nation's largest regular-season debate tournament at Wake Forest University, in Winston Salem, N.C. Nov. 15 to 17.
