2011 CUSID BP Champs

Seawolf Speakers compete in major Canadian tournament

The Seawolf Debate Program fielded a competitive squad of three teams at the Canadian British Parliamentary Debating Championships, hosted this past weekend by Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, ON. The tournament featured competition from the top teams in Canada and the US and was the last major North American tournament before the World Championships.

The Canadian debating circuit traditionally features extremely competitive teams, and this tournament delivered on that expectation. Many of the teams in attendance at this weekend’s tournament are expected to perform well at the upcoming World Championships, to be hosted by De La Salle University in Manila, the Philippines over the Christmas break.

UAA’s students once again proved that they hold their own with the best, when two of the three teams Alaska entered in the competition advanced to the elimination rounds. After debating preliminary topics considering whether members of the military should be allowed to unionize and whether museums and galleries should practice affirmative action when considering whether to display works from female artists, the teams of Brett Frazer (senior, Natural Sciences) & Colin Haughey (senior, Philosophy) and Amie Stanley (senior, Political Science) and Amy Parrent (junior, Business) were seeded 5^th and 6^th, respectively, out of the over 60 teams participating in the championship.

In the quarterfinal round, both Seawolf teams were assigned the Opposition side of the motion “This House would prohibit elective home births.” Though they mustered compelling arguments about women’s rights and medical autonomy, neither team was selected to advance beyond that round. Eventually, a team from the Hart House debating society of the University of Toronto won the tournament.

Two Seawolf speakers were also honored for their speaking over the weekend. Frazer was the 4^th ranked individual speaker out of the over 120 debaters in the competition; Haughey was the 7^th overall speaker.

The team next heads to Australia to compete in two of the most competitive invitational tournaments in the world: the Sydney and Melbourne Intervarsity tournaments. These two events will expose the UAA debaters to competition from the nation that has won the World Championship more times than any other, and will be excellent preparation for the World Championships. For more information, please contact Steve Johnson at 786-4391.

2011 UBC IV

On October 28-29, 16 members of the Seawolf Debate Team traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia, to compete in the University of British Columbia Intervarsity debate competition. This year's event, boasted 36 of the top teams in western Canada and the Pacific Northwest.

Over the course of five preliminary rounds and two elimination rounds, the debaters engaged one another on a diverse set of topics ranging from whether salary caps should be standard practice in professional sports to whether gay politicians have a personal duty to out themselves to whether ecoterrorism is a legitimate form of opposition to economic activities.

At the conclusion of five preliminary rounds, the top eight two-person teams advanced to the semifinal round. Earning 13 of 15 possible points in preliminary rounds, the teams of Brett Frazer (senior, biology) & Amy Parrent (junior, business) and Colin Haughey (senior, philosophy) & Drew Cason (senior, environment & society) found themselves atop the pool of talent as the 1st and 2nd seeds in the tournament.

After a superb showing in the semifinal, Frazer & Parrent narrowly missed the cut as one of the four teams in the final round. The team of Haughey & Cason, however, dominated their opponents in the semifinal and assured themselves a spot in the championship round. After a lengthy deliberation, a team from the University of Calgary was eventually crowned champion of the final round.

Nevertheless, seven Seawolves distinguished themselves in the top 20 of more than 70 speakers in the tournament: Frazer (top speaker), Haughey (4th speaker), Parrent (5th speaker), Cason (7th speaker), and -- in a four-way tie for 16th speaker -- Wiley Cason (junior, undeclared), Jon Stinson (junior, political science), and Zac Johnson (senior, aviation technology).

In two weeks, the Seawolves will compete in the Canadian circuit’s championship tournament. For more information, please contact Steve Johnson (786-4391) or Shawn Briscoe (786-4354). You may also visit the team's website at www.uaa.alaska.edu/seawolfdebate/.

Hart House IV

Over the past weekend, members of the Seawolf Debate Program participated in what is regarded as one of the most competitive debating tournaments in North America. This year’s Hart House Intervarsity, hosted by the University of Toronto, featured competition from 65 teams from around the US and Canada. Some of the top teams and adjudicators from North America attended the tournament.

The debaters tackled topics including whether targeted assassination of US citizens by the United States was a legitimate act in the war on terrorism; whether states should preference the applications of immigrants who are culturally similar; and whether aid should denied to nations that persecute individuals for sexual orientation.

After the preliminary phase of the tournament, 12 teams advanced to elimination rounds. For the first time in the history of their participation in the tournament, the Seawolves advanced two teams to the elimination rounds. Following five preliminary rounds, the team of Colin Haughey (senior, Philosophy) & Drew Cason (senior, Environment & Society) were the eighth seed and the team of Amie Stanley (senior, Political Science) & Sarah Carpenter (senior, Culinary Arts) were the eleventh seed.

While neither team made the final round, the Seawolves did distinguish themselves individually as speakers. Five of UAA's debaters finished in the top quarter of the competition: Brett Frazer (senior, Biology) was the 11th best speaker in the tournament, Haughey (16th), Carpenter (23rd), Cason (24th), and Stanley (26th).

Next up, the Seawolves travel 16 debaters to Vancouver for a tournament at the University of British Columbia. For more information, please contact Steve Johnson (786-4391) or Shawn Briscoe (786-4354). You may also visit the team's website at www.uaa.alaska.edu/seawolfdebate/.

University of Victoria IV

Seawolves Display Depth At Canadian Debate Tournament

On September 30-October 2, the Seawolf Debate team traveled to the University of Victoria debating tournament in Victoria, British Columbia. The squad traveled 12 members, including new team members making their first tournament trip with the Seawolves: Andrew Kerosky (junior, Economics), Matthieu Ostrander (freshman, Political Science & International Relations) and Matt Fox (junior, Economics).

Over the course of seven rounds of competition, 48 debaters from across North America engaged one another on topics as diverse as whether or not the European Union should forgive the debts of Greece, whether we should prohibit minors from testifying in court, and whether we should prioritize culture over international standards of human rights.

At the conclusion of five preliminary rounds, the top eight two-person teams advanced to the semifinal round. Of those, UAA teams comprised half the field with four out of eight semifinal teams. In seedings for the elimination rounds Seawolf teams held the first, second, fourth, and fifth seeds. Those teams were, respectively, Colin Haughey (senior, Philosophy) & Drew Cason (senior, Environment & Society), Amie Stanley (senior, Political Science) & Sarah Carpenter (senior, Culinary Arts), Wiley Cason (junior, Justice) & Brittany Bennett (junior, Natural Sciences and Environment & Society), and Fox & Kelsey Waldorf (junior, Justice).

From the semifinal round, the top four teams advanced to the final round. Again, UAA teams were well represented. Of the four finalist teams, three were from Alaska. In the end, Haughey & D. Cason, Stanley & Carpenter, and Fox & Waldorf had to content themselves with finalist honors as a team from the University of British Columbia was named champion.

In addition to the team awards, the Seawolves also garnered individual recognition by sweeping the top three speaker awards: Haughey (top speaker), Carpenter (2nd speaker), and D. Cason (3rd speaker). Rounding out the top ten speakers were: Stanley (5th speaker), Fox (7th speaker & top Novice speaker), and Waldorf (in a three-way tie for 8th speaker).

Next up, six Seawolves travel to the University of Toronto for the Hart House IV, North America's most competitive intercollegiate debate tournament. For more information, please contact Steve Johnson (786-4391) or Shawn Briscoe (786-4354). You may also visit the team's website at www.uaa.alaska.edu/seawolfdebate/.

Seawolves Continue to Shine in Canadian Competitions

On December 3rd and 4th, eight Seawolf debaters travelled to Edmonton, Canada, for the Hugill Cup. After five preliminary rounds of competition, the team of Drew Cason (senior, environment and society) & Sarah Carpenter (junior, culinary arts) demonstrated their prowess by advancing to semifinals as the top seed in the field of 32 teams. Although they did not advance, the team of Brett Frazer (junior, biology) & Amy Parrent (sophomore, political science) missed the cut by a single point.

Cason & Carpenter continued to shine in the semifinal by advancing to the championship round of competition. In the final, they debated teams from the University of Alberta, the University of Saskatchewan, and McGill University. In the end, they did not win the tournament title and had to content themselves with a "top four" showing. During the tournament, debaters engaged one another on a variety of current controversies such as whether or not we should impose regime change on North Korea, whether we should prosecute those who bully homosexual adolescents, and whether the US government should address Wikileaks.

Next up, the Seawolf Debate program travels four teams to the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC), which is being hosted University of Botswana in Gaborone. This is the largest international debating competition and the culminating event of the Seawolves' season. The tournament will draw over 300 teams from across the globe, and UAA will be defending its 12th place ranking in the world. The teams of Cason & Carpenter and Colin Haughey (senior, philosophy) & Michaela Hernandez (senior, philosophy) are each travelling to the WUDC for the third team. Amie Stanley (junior, political science) & Akis Gialopsos (senior, international relations) are making their second trip to the championships. Finally, Frazer & Parrent are each making their first trip to the world championships.

Seawolves Excel in Canadian Competition

On November 5th and 6th, 16 Seawolf Debaters attended the University of British Columbia Intervarsity debating tournament in Vancouver, British Columbia. This was the largest contingent of Seawolves to travel this season, as the team used this opportunity to travel a number of new to the Alaska squad. Making their debut in intercollegiate debating were the teams of Catherine Helle (junior, English literature with a minor in Alaska Native studies) & Brittany Bennett (junior, natural sciences and Environment & Society) and Megan Rodgers (junior, political science) & Libby Smelker (sophomore, business administration with a minor in philosophy).

Over the course of five preliminary rounds, 40 teams from across North America engaged in debates on a number of controversial topics. The debaters sparred over the proper role of extradition policies, whether or not we should remove barriers that limit access to transition-related surgeries for transgendered individuals, and whether or not we should allow scientific research and experimentation on children. After five preliminary rounds, the top eight teams in the tournament qualified to advance to the semifinal round.

The Seawolf debate team faired extremely well, advancing four teams. The top seeded team was the team of Akis Gialopsos (senior, international relations) & Amie Stanley (junior, political science), Colin Haughey (senior, philosophy) & Michaela Hernandez (senior, philosophy) as the third seed, Drew Cason (senior, environment & society) & Sarah Carpenter (junior, culinary arts) as the fourth seed, and Brett Frazer (junior, biology) & Amy Parrent (sophomore, political science) were qualified for the semifinal round as the eighth seed. Although they did not advance to the semifinal round, the team of Helle & Bennett was recognized as the top novice team in the tournament.

In the semifinal, the squad had an equally strong performance, advancing two teams to the championship round: Gialopsos & Stanley and Frazer & Parrent. Despite a stellar performance by all four debaters, a hybrid team from the University of British Columbia and the University of Calgary was crowned the champion team. In addition to these awards, several Seawolves garnered individual honors, as nine of them finished in the top 20 for speaker award placings. These included: Gialopsos (top speaker), Hernandez (4th speaker), Stanley (5th speaker), Haughey (6th speaker), Frazer (8th speaker), Parrent (15th speaker), Carpenter (18th speaker), and in a two-way tie for 20th speaker were Drew Cason and Wiley Cason (sophomore).

The Seawolves next tournament takes them to the Hugill Cup in Edmonton in early December. For more information, please contact Steve Johnson (786-4391) or Shawn Briscoe (786-4354). You may also visit the team's website at www.uaa.alaska.edu/seawolfdebate/.

Seawolf Speakers round out East Coast trip with another strong performance.

Over 140 teams from the US and Canada attended the Yale Intervarsity Debating Tournament in New Haven last weekend, including squads from Stanford, Harvard, M.I.T. and a host of other Ivy League schools. The Yale Debate Association prides itself on gathering the strongest adjudication team of any tournament outside the World Championships, and this year’s effort didn’t disappoint. Among the experts evaluating the teams’ performance were two World Champions, several finalists from the World Universities Debating Championships, winners of the Oxford and Cambridge IVs and a number of judges who have served on the final round panel of the WUDC. Undaunted, the group of eight students representing the University of Alaska Anchorage turned in another outstanding performance to cap their trip East.

Over the course of five preliminary rounds, the debaters faced their competition over topics like whether socioeconomic disparity in K-12 education would be solved with bussing students to different schools and whether democracies should ban parties with militant wings from participating in elections. Continuing their amazing run that began with a final round showing at the Hart House Intervarsity hosted by the University of Toronto on the weekend of October 15-17, the team of Akis Gialopsos (Senior, International Relations) and Amie Stanley (Senior, Political Science) ended the preliminary phase of the competition ranked 9th out of 148 teams. Their strong showing qualified them for the quarterfinal elimination round.
There they squared off against a group of adversaries that included the team from McGill University (Montreal) who took first place to Gialopsos and Stanley’s second at the Hart House tournament the weekend before. In a particularly satisfying turn, the Alaskans not only advanced from the quarterfinal to the semifinal round, but beat the McGill team in doing so.

In semis the Seawolves opposed the motion “Parliamentary democracies should reserve a quota of seats for underrepresented minority populations.” Though UAA’s team argued that doing so would pervert the principles of democracy and would likely encourage extremism among groups who wouldn’t need to moderate their positions to earn popular support, the adjudicators found more compelling arguments for the motion from teams from Vermont and M.I.T. Though they didn’t earn the opportunity to argue in the finals, Stanley and Gialopsos were among only four teams out of the 148 at the tournament to earn semifinalist recognition. Beyond that, to turn in back-to-back performances of this quality served to reinforce the reputation for excellence for which the Seawolf Debate team is becoming known.

The team’s next competition is closer to home, with a regional tournament hosted by the University of British Columbia. For more information, please contact Director of Debate Steve Johnson at 786-4391.