UAA debaters earn high marks at 2012 U.S. Open

For the fourth year in a row, debaters from UAA advanced to the elimination rounds of the U.S. Universities Open debating tournament hosted by Claremont McKenna College in Los Angeles, Calif.

UAA travelled ten debaters to the tournament, held Oct. 5-7, which featured more than 50 teams from across the country. Of the nearly 120 individual speakers competing, UAA was proud to walk away with three of the top 10 speakers.

The weekend event challenged debaters to engage on topics ranging from national security and cyber warfare to truth and reconciliation commissions for indigenous populations. After eight preliminary rounds of competition, two teams from UAA earned a spot in the semifinal round. In the semifinal round, the team of Brittany Bennett and Kelsey Waldorf was charged with defending the motion that international ad hoc tribunals ought to be allowed to try serious labor violations alongside their fellow teammates Matthew Fox and Amy Parrent. Although the Seawolves had to settle for earning semifinal honors, their efforts were further rewarded when Amy Parrent was announced as the 3rd top speaker, Brittany Bennet the 6th and Matthew Fox the 10th.

Also representing the Seawolves this weekend were the teams of Andrew Kerosky and Hannah Foreman, Matthew Stinson and Jonathan Stinson, as well as Matthieu Ostrander and Bexley Brown. All of the teams performed well, with the difference of only a single round keeping them from advancing to the elimination rounds of the tournament.

The team next travels to the Yale University Intervarsity tournament on Oct. 19. Back at home, the team is preparing to host the Alaska Ethics Bowl on Oct. 27, an exercise in competitive debate on ethical questions open to all Alaska university students. For more information, please contact Steve Johnson at (907) 786-4391 or Amie Stanley at (907) 786-4354.