April 18, 2012
St. John’s Debate Society is third in the
Nation.
Salem, OR – The St. John’s University Debate Society
reached the final debate this past weekend at the United States
Universities National Championship tournament held on the campus of
Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.
The team of Nipun Mahajan and Kamya Chandra bested
156 other teams from all over the United States and Europe to
participate in the final round to determine who would be the 2012
National Champion in Worlds format debating. St. John’s defended
the motion, “this house believes the coming US cuts to defense
spending will make the world a better place.” In the final round
were teams from University College Dublin, Hobart & William
Smith Colleges, and Yale University.
University College Dublin won the final debate, but
since they are not from an American institution, they could not
qualify to become the US champion. That title went to Hobart &
William Smith Colleges, with Yale and St. John’s University as
runners up.
Attending the tournament were debaters from all
across the U.S. including the University of Alaska, Humbolt State,
The University of Vermont, LaVerne University, the US Air Force
Academy, The University of Michigan, Cornell University, Loyola
Marymount University, Grove City College, and many
others.
Representing St. John’s University were also
students Tim Barr, Logan Gomez, Elkhansaa Farhane, and Nelson
Kezoh. The team was also accompanied by Directors of Debate Dr.
Steve Llano and Dr. Jaime Wright, who judged and critiqued debates
throughout the entirety of the competition.
The St. John’s Debate Society currently sits as
3rd in the United States, 2nd in the
Northeastern Universities rankings, and 98th in the
world. This is the end of the 2012 competitive season, and the
society is back in action again in September.
If any student wants to participate or get more
information about the Debate Society, they are welcome to contact
Dr. Llano atllanos@stjohns.eduor stop by 203 St. John Hall for more
information.