R – L: Kate Griffin, Marie Whitney
During Spring Break, the Ferris State Debate Team traveled to St. Louis, MO for Debate Nationals and the 100th Anniversary Celebration for Pi Kappa Delta, the Debate and Forensics Honor Society. The Debate Team competed in two forms of debate, Parliamentary and Public Forum. For Parliamentary Debate, the topic is released 20 minutes before each round and teams of two people are given a side in which to debate, either affirmative or negative. For Public Forum, the topic is given ahead of time, evidence is used in round, and teams are also composed of two debaters each.
This year’s Public Forum topic was “Drones”. Honors students Marie Whitney (sophomore, Communications) and Kate Griffin (sophomore, Pre-Pharmacy) had a 4-2 record in Parliamentary Debate, qualifying them to compete in out rounds where they took 4th overall in the tournament. For Public Forum, Whitney and Griffin had a 3-1 record, earning them an Excellence Award. Honors students Dylan Carpenter (freshman, Psychology) and Katie DeCare (freshman, Pre-Veterinary Medicine) had a 2-2 record in Public Forum.
L – R Dylan Carpenter, Katie DeCare
The Ferris State Debate Team as a whole also earned a Sweepstakes Award for Excellence in the entire tournament. T.J. Lakin is the debate coach and director of forensics at Ferris State University.
Article Submitted by Kate Griffin, Vice –President, Ferris State Debate Team
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