Wheaton debater qualifies for nationals in first season
December 8, 2000
Only three tournaments into his first season of competition, novice Wheaton debater Simon Leen [OE]03 has already qualified for national-level competition. Making his accomplishment all the more remarkable, Wheaton[base ']s debate team was established in the fall 2000 semester, has only competed in three tournaments, and has less than six members.
Leen qualified for April[base ']s National Championship Tournament at a Dec. 5 tournament hosted by Wheaton and the University of Rhode Island. Leen advanced to the quarterfinals from a field of 23 debaters, winning three of his four preliminary rounds.
''I[base ']d never considered debate before this year, but it sounded enjoyable, and I thought I could be good at it,'' Leen said. ''I like to prepare for a debate, and I like to write the affirmative cases,'' he said. '' My favorite part is making the case stronger through good research.'' In addition to his own success on the debate floor, Leen wrote a winning case used by teammate Maren Kozbial [base ']03, who was only one win short of qualifying for nationals on Dec. 5.
Wheaton participates in the Lincoln-Douglas style of debate, in which students research and write arguments supporting a common resolution for an entire debate season.''Students learn to evaluate arguments using evidence they have discovered,'' said John Devine, Wheaton[base ']s debate director. ''Researching and writing arguments as a team is valuable training for any college student.'' And training is an appropriate term in debate: weekend-long tournaments of 16-18 schools are structured like a miniature sports season. There are six preliminary rounds to each tournament, followed by the extraordinarily competitive elimination rounds.
''We[base ']re off to a good start,'' said Devine, a lecturer in communications studies at the University of Rhode Island. ''Next, we need to go to more tournaments and get as much practice as we can. We[base ']re also interested in building our ranks,'' Devine said. ''We get a strong contingent of future lawyers on debate teams, but really, anyone who wants to be competitive in an academic arena using analytical thinking skills is ideally suited to being a debater.''
Leen is modest about his accomplishments, attributing his success to the strength of legal evidence available and to his written case argument. ''Finding evidence that will work well against other arguments is the real trick,'' he said. Devine is less reluctant to comment on Leen[base ']s success. ''The team[base ']s progress raises expectations well beyond what they should be for a team established this semester. Despite that, we have no plans to discourage their continued improvement.'' Devine added, ''It bears repeating that Simon[base ']s achievement is noteworthy in any case, and especially as it came at his third tournament ever.''