ADN editorial cites Seawolf Debate Team as an example lawmakers should aspire to

Here are the first two paragraphs of an editorial in the May 4 edition of the Anchorage Daily News.

"Think for a moment how much more entertaining our representative democracy might be if, say, the members of the Alaska Legislature or the Anchorage Assembly had to master their facts and hone their arguments with the skill of the UAA debate team. "Gavel to Gavel" would be must-see TV. And our municipal channel could probably sell ads for "Tuesday Night at the Assembly."

All right, that's a stretch. But our lawmakers could stand to take a page from the University of Alaska Anchorage debate team. These ladies and gentlemen cross rhetorical swords with Ivy Leaguers, Oxford and the University of Sydney in the British Parliamentary style of debate -- the equivalent of the Show, in debating circles. They're currently ranked 12th in the world."

Read the full editorial here.