Parliamentary style tournament draws 300 from U.S., world

By MARY ANN ALBRIGHT
Gazette-Times reporter

Nearly 300 top debaters from around the nation — and a handful from China, Slovakia and Ireland — are coming to Oregon State University this weekend to compete in the National Parliamentary Debate Association’s 12th annual tournament.

This is OSU’s first time hosting the competition, and opinion varies on the value of a home-court advantage.

“To us, I think it will just be another tournament. It depends on what teams you hit, what resolutions you get and what side of the resolution you’re on, not necessarily what school it’s at,” said Amanda Wright.

This is the third national tournament for Wright, a speech communication major.

In debates, based on the British Parliament, government and opposition teams square off. Each team has two debaters. Partners are presented with a topic, then have 15 minutes to prepare before giving speeches and rebuttals.

The government team argues in support of a proposed resolution, generally involving public policy or opinion. The opposition team challenges the resolution.

Most debate topics involve current events, according to Trischa Goodnow, director of forensics and associate professor of speech communication at OSU.

Therefore, staying up-to-date on current events is crucial to performing well in debate competitions.

It’s also important to be versed in philosophy, history and debate theory, Wright added.

“The really good debaters are the ones who are checking the news every day and reading about debate theory. They really have a passion for that knowledge,” she said.

Since OSU’s Forensic Team usually competes against students from other universities from the Northwest, Wright is excited to encounter regional differences in debating style, as she battles teams from all around the country.

“It should be really fun. It’s kind of the culmination of everything we’ve been working on this year,” Wright said.

OSU has five two-person teams competing in the tournament, which consists of 15 rounds and a championship bout.

At 4 p.m. today in the CH2M Hill Alumni Center, a world-renowned team of Irish debaters will compete against three of the top-ranked Americans in an exhibition.

Tournament debates will take place Saturday, Sunday and Monday in various rooms around campus.

The championship round will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the LaSells Stewart Center.

For OSU freshman Ali Malik, this will be his first national debate tournament.

Malik, an electrical engineering major, came to OSU from Pakistan on a debate scholarship. His goal is to get past the eight preliminary rounds of competition.

For senior and environmental science major Liz Meyer, it’s about having fun.

“My real goal is just to have a good time. This is my last debate tournament ever. I debated in high school, so this is my eighth year. I just want to have fun,” she said.

At a glance

What: National Parliamentary Debate Tournament

Who: Ten Oregon State University students, along with 279 teams from various universities across the United States

When: Today through Monday

Where: Various locations at OSU

The public is invited to attend all debates. For a complete schedule of events, see http://cas.bethel.edu/dept/comm/npda/nationals.htm

Mary Ann Albright covers higher education. She can be reached at maryann.albright@lee.net or 758-9518.