St. John's News

St. John’s University’s newly reintroduced Debate Society ended an impressive semester with a trip to Ljubljana, Slovenia to compete in an international tournament. Sophomores Alia Bellwood and Andrew Cully became the first St. John’s debaters in the University’s history to advance to elimination rounds and to the final debate at an international tourney.

Photo Gallery

Coached by Professor Stephen Llano, who was recently recruited from the University of Pittsburgh where he taught courses on Public Speaking and Argument, Bellwood and Cully defended the motion, “This House believes that financial support from the state should be sufficient to live on without requiring work.”

They were the only Americans in the tournament to reach the elimination rounds, out-debating students from Cornell University and the University of Vermont. Senior John Lin and Sophomore Don Bracciodieta also traveled to the Eastern European country to represent St. John’s.

“I’ve always been into competitive argumentation,” Bracciodieta explains when asked why he joined the Society, “and it’s been a wonderful experience to say the least. I’ve been able to meet interesting people across the country and across the world. It’s changed my perspective on other people and other places.”

Debate Recently Reintroduced at St. John’s
According to Associate Professor James Greg, Ph.D., of the Speech, Communication Science and Theatre department in St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, there had been a forensic debate group at the University “going way back, at least to the 1950’s.” It was disbanded when the program’s director retired, he explains, until recent student interest in the activity was brought to Provost Julia A. Upton, RSM, Ph.D., who approved a budget and gave the OK to hire a director. 

“We’re extremely happy with Professor Llano,” Dr. Greg enthuses. “He’s very well respected in the field.” 

Throughout the Society’s debut semester, which began at the end of August, St. John’s teams have competed with good results against more established teams in the Northeast. In their first tournament in September at the University of Vermont, the St. John’s Debate Society was among the top eight teams at the tournament. Alia Bellwood and fellow Sophomore Shreshth Jain teamed up to “best a field of 17 teams at the tournament to earn the opportunity to debate in the semifinals,” says Llano. They opposed the position, “This House would lower the drinking age in the United States to 18,” against teams from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and University of Rochester.

Plus, Llano reports, “Bellwood was also recognized as the ninth-best individual speaker of the tournament, selected from all 38 individual competitors.”

In October, the Debate Society went up against metro-area schools in the season opening tournament of the Public Forum Debate League (PFDL). The league, according to Llano, “emphasizes debating for public audiences on controversial issues and teaching students how to measure words and information quickly and critically for diverse audiences.”

Senior John D. Lin and Sophomore Adham Masoud won two of their three debates on the topic of U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq, placing third behind two SUNY Rockland teams. John Mikulin, Jordan March and Bracciodieta debated a variety of issues surrounding the war in Iraq. Bracciodieta also won third place in Impromptu debate, “a debate format,” Llano explains, “that focuses on hypothetical scenarios, giving students only a few minutes to prepare arguments after receiving the facts of the case.”

The team also competed at Yale University’s annual international invitational tournament on British Parliamentary style in October.

A Well Seasoned Coach
Llano has a long history of debate coaching, beginning on the high school level but more extensively at several northeastern universities, including University of Pittsburgh and University of Rochester. He was a member of the faculty at the World Debate Institute at Vermont, where among other responsibilities he taught American policy debate theory and praxis to a class of students from across the U.S. and around the world. Currently, he teaches Public Speaking (“and a debate class, when needed”) to undergraduates in St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The new faculty member is excited about the opportunity to recreate the Debate Society, and grateful for the support he has received from the University and from the Provost.

“The Society,” he says, is “primed for international success in debate. The diversity of the students and the University’s commitment to national, ethnic and economic diversity brings a tremendous variety of life experiences into the mix. Debate is all about perspectives, which speak to the values we as a society are trying to hold.” 

His students agree. Lin—who when asked why he joined the Society states emphatically, “I love Coach Llano!”—says he appreciates the professor’s “knack for applying debate to everyday practicalities.” He reports that since joining the Society he has learned to look at things from different perspectives, to see many sides to an argument and to be less fervent in his opinions as a result.  

Fall Schedule Completed, Spring Awaits
With the fall schedule complete, the debaters await spring competitions, including the national championships in March and April and the North American British Parliamentary Championships—the season finale—in Portland, Oregon in April.

In the interim, they’re honing their skills. On December 3, the Society hosted the United Kingdom touring debate team in the Moot Courtroom at St. John’s School of Law. The two-man British team, sponsored on its 10-week tour by the English Speaking Union (ESU) and the National Communication Association (NCA), defended the position, “The U.S. would be better off if it looked more like the U.K.” While St. John’s debaters were impressive in their opposition to that position, the audience of about 50 people ultimately chose the U.K. team as the debate winners.

It was the first debate in an International Debate Series that the Society is offering this year. In February, the national debate team from Slovenia will visit the Queens campus.

With a roster of about two dozen members, the Debate Society will launch a membership drive in January. Previous debate experience—although much appreciated--is not required. For more information, contact Professor Llano at llanos@stjohns.edu.