Debate Team wins Northeast Regional Debate Championship for 9th time in last 13 years

To start off the Spring semester, we were honored to hold our annual public debate as part of the MLK Jr. Events. Our topic always involves an issue of civil rights and liberties. This year we debated whether the US should reform its policy on police misconduct in the US.

An audience of 25 students and faculty enjoyed the debate as the students presented evidence for and against the resolution. Students who debated were Drew Collins, Kaitlin Morel, Margaret McSherry and Cassandra Moran.

The team attended the Ithaca College Debate Tournament on Feb 3. Drew Collins came in 5th place in the research-intensive Lincoln-Douglas policy debate division and Joshua Caruso came in 2nd place Speaker in the Public Debate division. Other teams competing were John Carrol University (Cleveland, OH), Penn State University, Lafayette College (PA), Capital University (Columbus, OH) and Ithaca College.

This past weekend, the Northeast Regional Championships was held on Feb 10 at Suffolk University. Freshman Jacob Halterman won the tournament in Public Debate on a 2-1 decision in the final round against Hofstra University. Josh Caruso reached the Final Four (semifinal round). The team also won numerous Speaker Awards, with Alexandros Pandazis (2nd), Katelyn Shaughnessy (3rd) and Lily-Gre Hitchen (4th place). This makes the 9th time in the last 13 years that St. Anselm College has won the Regional Championship in Debate.

Last year, the team began an Individual Events team. Erica Davis came in 2nd place and Cassandra Moran placed 3rd in Informative Speaking, and Alexandros Pandazis placed 3rd in Impromptu Speaking. The team also received a big assist from Margaret McSherry and Megan Pina who both contributed to the team’s Sweepstakes totals.  A thank you to Greg Valcourt and Cassandra Moran who took on the role of student judges in the public debate division.

Overall, St. Anselm College placed 2nd in overall Team Sweepstakes (combined debate and speech). Other teams attending the Regional Championship were Suffolk University, Emerson College, Hofstra University, Queens College, and Bridgewater State University.

The team has two more tournaments this semester – at Hillsdale College in Michigan and John Carroll University in Ohio. Also, in April the team will be hosting its third public debate of the year. Our topic will be on US Policy regarding International Relations.

If you are interested in joining the team, please come to a meeting or contact the coach, David Trumble at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. Our team of 15 students meets two nights a week in Room 3105 Goulet Science Building.