Cornell Results

On November 2nd-3rd, four Dartmouth debaters made the long trip to Ithaca, NY to compete in the Cornell Parliamentary debate tournament. Both Dartmouth pairs got off to a great start, each going 3-0 in their rounds on Friday. Unfortunately, neither team could carry that success into day two and both finished with a 3-2 record. However, it should be noted that neither pair lost a round to a team that finished worse than 6^th overall. Additionally, Dartmouth debaters brought several awards back with them to Hanover. Connor Beatty and Ben Lo took home 8^th place team, with Connor and Ben finishing as the 7^th and 9^th speaker, respectively. Edward “E” McNeill also won the 3^rd place novice speaker award.

Oh, Canada!

On Saturday, October 27th, while the other half of the Parliamentary Debate team was competing at Yale, four Dartmouth debaters ventured north of the boarder to compete in the Bishop's University Invitational tournament in Sherbrooke, Quebec. This tournament provided the Dartmouth squad with a unique opportunity to compete in an international tournament, without having to travel too far from Hanover. Unlike most tournaments, the Bishops Invitational was more of an individual tournament, with debaters switching partners each round and judges counting speaker points for each debater rather than wins and losses. Then, after three rounds the top 8 speakers were paired up and debated against each other until there was only one team left standing.

The Dartmouth debaters were able to adjust to the different style of debate, and had a very successful tournament. Ben Lo '10, Connor Beatty '10, and Sourabh Mishra '10 all finished in the top 8 speakers, placing 2nd, 4th and 7th, respectively with Austen Zheng '10 narrowly missing the cut. Connor and his partner Mike from Bishop's University finished the tournament in 1st place, with Sourabh's team placing 2nd and Ben's team placing 3rd.

Here are some pictures from the tournament:

Ben and Sourabh discuss their round


Connor prepares to deliver a speech


Ben receives his award for 3rd place team


Sourabh and his partner collect their prize for 2nd place team


Connor and his partner take home 1st place


Austin and Ben prepare for the long ride home

Yale IV

On October 26-27, four members of the Dartmouth Parli team traveled to New Haven, CT for the Yale IV debate tournament. The Yale tournament is unique, in that it is the only British Parliamentary (BP) style tournament on the APDA schedule. As a result, the Yale tournament attracts many of the top teams from both the US and Canada.

Andrew Wansley '10 and Jonathan Choi '11 had a strong tournament, finishing 19th out of the 112 team field. Jonathan also finished 10th among novice speakers.

Results from the Brown University Tournament and the Vassar College Tournament

On October 12-13, the Dartmouth Parliamentary Debate team attended two tournaments. The team split up, sending three teams to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and three teams to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY.

The field at Brown was deep and talented, with many of the top debaters in the north-east in attendance. Despite the stiff competition, the Dartmouth squad had a strong showing, led by Andrew Wansley '10 and Ben Lo '10 who complied a 4-1 record. Andrew and Ben broke to quarterfinals, where they earned another impressive victory on their way to a 4th place finish at the tournament. The Brown tournament also provided an opportunity for novices Danny Kim '11, Zack Stolzenberg '11, Jorden Osterman '11, and Austin Zheng '10 to gain some valuable debating experience.

The other half of the team also had a successful weekend. At Vassar, Sourabh Mishra '10 and Connor Beatty '10 got off to a strong start before finishing with a 3-2 record, which was good for 5th place overall at the tournament. Novices Tarang Agarwal '11 and Jason Lester '11 placed 3rd among novice teams, with Tarang taking home 2nd place novice speaker. Reyad Allie '11 and Michael Marcusa '11 also had a solid tournament, considering their three losses came against the top three teams at the tournament.

The team did not attend any tournaments last weekend, as it was homecoming here at Dartmouth. However, we are in the midst of an in-house tournament, which has been a fun way to improve and prepare for upcoming competitions.

Harvard University Parliamentary Debate Tournament Results

On the days of October 5 and 6, the Dartmouth Parliamentary Debate Team participated in the Harvard Parliamentary Debate Tournament in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

This was the first Parliamentary Debate Tournament for many novices on our team and gave them a chance to understand the complexities of Parliamentary Debate. This was also the first Tournament of the year for the Varsity members of our team.

Overall, our team was very successful at Harvard. Andrew Wansley '10 and Edward McNeill '11 had an impressive record of 4 wins and 1 loss and Sourabh Mishra '10 and Austin Zheng '10 rallied to a 3 win and 2 loss record. No Dartmouth team finished worse than a 2 win and 3 loss record-- an impressive feat recognizing that many of the teams were at their first tournament.

This week, we will be traveling to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island for their annual Debate Tournament. The results will be posted next week in this same forum.

Testimonials from Members:

Edward McNeill '11 and Andrew Wansley '10

As one who had only experienced Lincoln-Douglas debate in the past, I was eager to see what Parli had to offer. I'm happy to report that the Harvard tounament opened my eyes to the astounding diversity that the single activity "debate" can contain. While each round yielded insightful and interesting argumentation, the real value was in debating wholly different ideas in each round. I was forced to discuss points that I had never even considered in the past, and I'm certain that I'm better off for it.
- E McNeill '11




Sourabh Mishra '10 and Austin Zheng '10

"My first ever Parlimentary Debate competition, which was held at Harvard, was a truly gratifying experience. Since joining the team, I've learned to organize my thoughts, come up with cogent arguments on the spot, and appreciate the beauty of eloquent diction and rhetorical flourish. Our team is truly talented and dedicated, and I'm definitely honored to be a part of something as wonderful as Parlimentary Debate"
- Austin Zheng '10



Benjamin Lo '10 and Connor Beatty '10

Michael Marcusa '11 and Reyad Allie '11

The Harvard Parliamentary Debate tournament was unequivocally one of the highlights of my time at Dartmouth thus far. Not only did my rhetorical and analytical ability improve drastically, but I made some great friends along the way.
- Michael "Tips" Marcusa '11

Parliamentary Debate has become a major part of my life since I have matriculated into the Dartmouth Community. Debate has created, for me, a world where I can exercise and cultivate my mind and a place where scholarly success is sought. The Harvard debate tournament connected me to a community of critical thinkers and incredible individuals. I had an awesome time at the Harvard debate tournament and eagerly await the next tournament!
- Reyad Allie '11

Mostafa Heddaya '11 and Yan Fan '11

Jonathan Choi '11 and Catherine Xu '11

Harvard was really a great experience for a first-timer like myself. The level of the debate and the consistent quality of the judging blew me away. And even though it was just a day or two of debate, I really feel that my arguments are more articulate now, my statements more polished and better formed.
-Jonathan Choi '11

Other Pictures from the Tournament

Andrew and Edward prepare for their first round.

Ben uses a drink to cool down before debate.

Sourabh and Connor discuss their cases in General Assembly.

Connor debates with Ben about which case to run.

Ben has his game face on for debate.

Catherine and Jonathan are excited after their first round.

The Parli Team finally heading home after their last round.

Demo Debate for '11s

For all Dartmouth '11s and potential novices:

We are having a demo debate on September 25th (Tuesday) at 3pm in Rocky 1.

The topic for this debate will be "The United States should repeal the 5th Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

This debate is for our potential debate team members to learn the Parliamentary Debate style and also for just some great entertainment the night before classes begin. We will also be announcing the time and location of our meeting on Wednesday at this demo debate. This meeting on Wednesday will be to introduce novices to the Debate Team and get them ready for their first tournament in their APDA Debate careers. The weekend of the 28th and 29th will be an all novice tournament at Boston University. We hope that by coming to our demo debate on Tuesday and then joining us for our meeting on Wednesday, we will be able to accommodate all our novices for the Tournament at Boston University.

We hope to see you there!

Welcome to the Dartmouth Parliamentary Debate Blog.

We've developed this Blog as both a way for our Team to communicate with the current team members and to show potential team members what our Debate Team is all about.

All through the year, you will see lists of meetings, postings of tournaments we will be attended, and the results of these tournaments in text and pictures.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact the Parliamentary Debate Account at parli@dartmouth.edu.