MSU DEBATE TEAM TAKES SECOND PLACE AT SEASON OPENER

10/1/2003

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State University debate team finished second place overall and won a top individual speaker award at the first tournament of the intercollegiate debate season Sept. 20-22 at the Georgia State University National Debate Tournament in Atlanta.

Dave Strauss of East Lansing, an international relations senior, and Greta Stahl of Shelby Township, a history and international relations senior, reached the final round. They lost in a close debate to a team from Harvard University they had defeated in preliminary debates. In addition to taking home the second-place award, Stahl won the Top Individual Speaker Award, and Strauss was fourth. A total of 218 debaters from 41 schools were in the competition.

Other MSU individual teams also excelled during the debate. Aaron Hardy, an interdisciplinary arts and humanities junior from Logan, Utah, and Shaun VanHorn of Shelby Township, a biology major, advanced into the octo-final debates, which is composed of the top 16 teams. They lost a 2-1 split decision to a team from Emory University. Hardy and Vanhorn were among the top 25 best individual speakers at the tournament.

Ryan Burke of Rochester Hills, a James Madison sophomore, and Andrea Reed, a no-preference freshman from Highland Park, Texas, were 6-2 and earned the 15th overall seed. They defeated a team from Emory University in the double octo-final elimination debate; Stahl and Strauss were selected to advance to the octo-finals.

Nathan Gibson of Sterling Heights, a political science sophomore, and Casey Harrigan of Holland, a James Madison sophomore, were the 30th seed going into the elimination rounds and were defeated by Emory University in the double octo-finals.

Despite many consecutive seasons worth of impressive results, this is the first time since 1998 that the MSU Debate Team has reached the final round of the first tournament of the year, said Michael Eber, interim director of the debate team.

"Our tremendous success at Georgia State is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire team over the last several months of preparation," Eber said. "Not only will the final-round appearance create momentum for us, but the success of all four of our best teams at the Georgia State Tournament has established Michigan State as the debate team to beat."

The topic of this year's debates is prominent issues in the United States and Europe. The debates could be about any of the following seven specific topics: the reconstruction of Iraq, genetically modified foods, intellectual property rights, tactical nuclear weapons, Greece and Turkey, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and agricultural subsidies.

The MSU debaters are preparing for the next tournament, the University of Kentucky Round Robin, on Friday, Oct. 3 in Lexington, Ky. The tournament includes only the top nine two-person teams in the nation. Stahl and Strauss will represent MSU.

The MSU debate team coaches are William Repko, head coach; Michael Eber, interim director of debate; Charles Olney, assistant coach; and Alison Eber, assistant coach.