Newark, NJ – (Jan 25, 2022) Over the course of three days the Rutgers University – Newark Debate Team hosted two debate tournaments concurrently on the weekend of January 21-23. Both competitions saw undergraduate students competing on the topic “Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially increase prohibitions on anticompetitive business practices by the private sector by at least expanding the scope of its core antitrust laws”.
The Brick City Round Robin featured twelve of the top two person teams in the country. Students from California State University – Fullerton, Dartmouth College, Emory University, Johnson County Community College, Michigan State University, the University of California Berkeley, the University of Kansas, the University of Kentucky, the University of Michigan, and the University of Minnesota participated in a five debate round robin tournament split into two wheels followed by a semifinal single elimination bracket featuring the top two teams from each wheel. In the Final Round Nathan Glancy & David Koster from Michigan State University defeated Mickey McMahon & Michael Scott from Kansas on a 3-2 decision to win the tournament. In addition to being a Finalist, Mickey McMahon from Kansas was recognized as the Top Speaker of the tournament.
The “Rutgers University Newark Invitational” saw thirty-eight teams from nine different colleges and universities the opportunity to compete in two divisions, Novice and Open. Each team was paired in preliminary debates followed by the top fifty percent of teams advancing to a single elimination bracket based on the results of the preliminary rounds.
The Novice division showcased competitors with little to no experience in debate and cleared to a partial Quarterfinal round featuring teams from James Madison University, Liberty University, St Mary’s College, and the United States Military Academy. The Final Round saw a 2-1 victory for Caroline Berry & Kaleb Horne from Liberty over Kathy Barajas & Demetri Papageorge from St Mary’s. Adonis Ortiz from James Madison was recognized as the Top Speaker of the division.
The Open division is the highest level of competition in CEDA debate and cleared to a Semifinal round featuring teams from Baylor University, the University of Kansas, and the University of Minnesota. The Final Round saw a 2-1 victory for William Soper debating maverick from Kansas over Lawson Hudson & Chase Laibe from Baylor. In addition to winning the tournament William Soper from Kansas was recognized as the Top Speaker of the division.
The tournaments marked the sixth and seventh tournaments of the Spring competitive season and provided a total of six thousand minutes of speaking time for undergraduate students. Students engaged in a minimum of two debates in favor of the resolution and two opposed, requiring them to test their hours of research and preparation on both sides of the topic. The format enables students to build skills in critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.
About CEDA
Cross Examination Debate Association was founded in 1971. CEDA is currently responsible for formulating the annual intercollegiate policy debate topic used in tournament competition throughout the nation. Throughout the season, CEDA calculates National Sweepstakes Standings, the national and regional rankings of member institutions based on compiled tournament results.