SPRING 2012

FINAL DEBATE RANKINGS FOR 2011-2012 (5.9.12)

In the final point standings released by the Cross-Examination Debate Association (CEDA) and the National Debate Tournament Committee (NDT), Boston College achieved a top fifteen ranking: 15th place in CEDA and 13th place in NDT. Points are awarded based on the top two teams' performance at eight tournaments for the NDT rankings and six tournaments for the CEDA rankings. Over the 2011-2012 academic year, 117 schools fielded policy debate teams

FINAL NDT STANDINGS

1. Liberty University
2. Northwestern University
3. University of Oklahoma
4. Kansas City Community College
5. University of Kansas
6. James Madison University
7. Georgetown University
8. University of Michigan
9. George Mason University
10. Binghamton University
11. Cornell University
12. Vanderbilt University
13. BOSTON COLLEGE
14. Missouri State University
15. University of Texas, Austin
16. Wayne State University
17. Wake Forest University
18. University of Missouri, Kansas City
19. University of West Georgia
20. University of North Texas
21. Kansas State University
22. University of Rochester
23. University of Texas, San Antonio
24. Michigan State University
25. Harvard University
26. University of Nevada, Las Vegas
27. City University of New York
28. University of Iowa
29. Arizona State University
30. Emory University

FINAL CEDA STANDINGS

1. Liberty University
2. Northwestern University
3. University of Oklahoma
4. United States Military Academy
5. Kansas City Community College
6. University of Florida
7. University of Michigan
8. Vanderbilt University
9. George Mason University
10. Binghamton University
11. Cornell University
12. James Madison University
13. Georgetown University
14. University of Kansas
15. BOSTON COLLEGE
16. Missouri State University
17. University of Texas, Austin
18. University of West Georgia
19. Wayne State University
20. Wake Forest University
21. University of Missouri, Kansas City
22. University of Rochester
23. Kansas State University
24. University of Nevada, Las Vegas
25. Rutgers University, Newark
26. Harvard University
27. City University of New York
28. Arizona State University
29. University of Texas, San Antonio
30. Michigan State University

FULTON DEBATE REACHES QUATERFINALS AT ADA NATIONALS;
BENEDICT WINS JULIA BURKE AWARD (3.15.12)

Boston College reached the quarter-finals in varsity at the 25th American Debate Association National Tournament held at Clarion University in Clarion, Pennsylvania. A partial list of schools competing at the tournament included Florida State University, George Mason University, James Madison University, John Carroll University, Liberty University, the United States Naval Academy, the University of Florida, the University of Kentucky, the University of Mary Washington, Wayne State University, Vanderbilt University, and Wake Forest University.

Brendan Benedict '12 and Alex Carlman '15, debating together for the first time, reached the elimination rounds at ADA Nationals by defeating teams from Wayne State University (twice) and Capital University. In the octa-finals, Benedict and Carlman, debating on the affirmative side, defeated a team from Liberty University on a 2-1 decision. In the quarter-finals Benedict and Carlman were matched against an undefeated team from Liberty University. In a close debate, where the judges took the entire allotted time for making their decision, Liberty narrowly defeated Benedict and Carlman. The Liberty team went on to win the tournament, defeating James Madison University in the semi-finals and the Unviersity of Mary Washington in the finals.

At the awards banquet, Brendan Benedict received 4th place speaker honors in varsity along with the “2012 Julia Burke Award.” This award honors the memory of Julia Burke, an outstanding high school policy debater who died in an auto accident when she was 16. In 1998, her family established the Julia Burke foundation to support causes of interest to Julia in ways that perpetuate her memory and influence. Notable among the charities supported by the foundation are programs to support organ donation, the removal of landmines, and policy debate.

Coaches nominate debaters for the Julia Burke Award and a selection committee narrows the field to three candidates who are placed on a ballot. Every debaer and director of debate at ADA Nationals are allowed to vote for one of the finalists. The criteria for the award is the student who displays excellence in and passion for debate, a commitment to helping others, love and respect for the American Debate Association policy debate community and dedication to maintaining friendships despite the pressures of competition.

As the 2012 recipient, Brendan Benedict received an individual trophy in the shape of a glass purple flame, a $2,000 charitable donation which will be given to the Boston Urban Debate League, and a $2,000 scholarship for his law school studies.

FULTON DEBATE QUALIFIES TWO TEAMS TO ATTEND THE NATIONAL DEBATE TOURNAMENT! (2.27.12)

Two teams from Boston College--Brendan Benedict '12 and Michael Maerowitz '14 along with Sullivan McCormick '15 and Alexander Carlman '15--qualified to attend the 66th National Debate Tournament (NDT). This year's tournament will be hosted by Emory University and will run from March 30 to April 2, 2012.

The NDT is the oldest and most prestigious of the debate championships. Participation to the tournament is limited to the top seventy-eight debate teams in the United States. The tournament was first held in 1947 and was hosted by the United States Military Academy for twenty years. In 1967, the NDT began a rotation system whereby the tournament was hosted by a different region and school every year. The Fulton Debating Society hosted the NDT in 1976.

The Boston College teams qualified for the NDT by finishing among the top seven teams at the District 8 (Northeast) qualifying tournament hosted by Western Connecticut State University. The tournament was is limtied to teams in the region and included teams from Binghamton University, the City University of New York, Cornell University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, The New School, the University of Rocheser, the University of Vermont, and Western Connecticut.

The District 8 Tournament feature six rounds of debate with two judge panels. The seven teams with the most ballots qualify for the NDT. Both Boston College teams won 7 ballots. Benedict and Maerowitz won two ballots from the New School, Vermont, and City University of New York, while splitting with Rochester. Carlman & Sullivan won two ballots from the New School, Rochester, and City University of New York, and split with another team from Rochester. Both teams lost four ballots to the two Harvard teams who were the top two teams with records of 12-0 and 10-2. Cornell and Dartmouth’s top team tied for third place with 9-3 records.

After six rounds of debate, four teams were tied with 7 ballots for the last three slots, which necessitated a series of runoff debates. In the first runoff debate, Carlman & Sullivan met the same Rochester team who they split ballots with in round 6. Carlman & Sullivan were locked negative and defeated Rochester on a 2-1 decision, qualifying for the the NDT. Benedict & Maerowitz met Dartmouth in the first runoff debate. Dartmouth won the debate on a 2-1 decision, qualifying them to the NDT. That left the two losing teams, BC and Rochester, to fight it out for the final slot. Benedict & Maerowitz were locked affirmative against Rochester and prevailed on a 3-0 decision, qualifying them for the NDT.

FULTON DEBATE WINS CORNELL TOURNAMENT (2.13.12)

Boston College won the Junior Varsity division of the Cornell Invitational Debate Tournament held in Ithaca, New York during February 11-12, 2012.

A partial list of schools competing at Cornell included Bard College, the City University of New York, John Carroll University, Monmouth University, New York University, the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, the University of Richmond, the University of Rochester, and the University of Vermont.

Michael Holland '14 and Alexander Tingle '14 represented the Fulton Debating Society. During the preliminary rounds, Holland and Tingle defeated teams from New York University, the University of Richmond, West Point (twice), and City University of New York. Holland and Tingle were the top seeded team entering the elimination rounds, and received a bye during the quarterfinals.

In the semi-finals, Holland and Tingle met the United States Military Academy who won the coin flip and chose negative. Holland and Tingle defeated West Point on a unanimous 3-0 decision. In the finals, Holland and Tingle were locked negative against New York University, who they had faced during the preliminary debates on the affirmative side. In the championship debate, NYU advocated a plan to improve democracy assistance programs to Egypt. The Fultonians attacked the workability of the NYU plan by pointing out the existence of numerous obstacles to implementing democracy assistance programs in Egypt. On another 3-0 decision, the judges awarded the decision and the trophy, a large silver cup, to Boston College.

Fulton Debate also competed successfully in the novice division. The team of Stephen Ferguson '15 and Jonathan Bennett '15 reached the quarterfinals at Cornell. During the preliminary debates, Ferguson and Bennett won all of their debates defeating teams from Vermont, the Naval Academy, and Monmouth (three times). As the top seeded team, Ferguson and Bennett received a bye into the quarterfinals where they faced the Naval Academy. Debating on the affirmative side, Ferguson and Bennett were upset on a hotly contested 2-1 decision.

As for individual speaker awards, Michael Holland won second place speaker honors in Junior Varsity.

FULTON DEBATE WINS MONMOUTH TOURNAMENT;
BENEDICT NAMED TOP SPEAKER (1.20.12)

Boston College won the varsity division of the Jersey Shore Invitational Tournament held at Monmouth University in Long Branch, New Jersey during January 28-29, 2012.

A partial list of schools competing at Monmouth included Cornell University, Dartmouth College, George Washington University, Princeton University, the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, the Unviersity of Miami, and the University of Rochester.

Fulton Debate had two varsity teams competing: Alex Carlman '15 and Sullivan McCormick '15 and Brendan Benedict '12 and Michael Maerowitz '14. During the preliminary rounds, Benedict and Maerowitz compiled a 5-1 record and were the 3rd seed while Carlman and McMormick earned a 4-2 record and were the 8th seed.

Benedict and Maerowitz received a bye into in the first elimination round and Carlman and Sullivan defeated Princeton in a split decision. In the quarter finals, Benedict and Maerowitz defeated Rochester on a unanimous decision and Carlman and Sullivan upset the top seed from Cornell in a 3-0 decision. In the semi-finals, Carlman and Sullivan defeated the City University of New York on a unanimous 3-0 decision, while Benedict & Maerowitz lost on a split decision to George Mason.

In the final round against George Mason, Carlman and Sullivan won the coin flip and chose the affirmative side. They advocated a plan for the United States to work jointly with Turkey to provide party assistance to the Syrian National Council, the opposition group who is trying to oust Bashar al-Assad. On a 2-1 decision, the judges awarded the debate to Boston College, earning the freshmen debaters their first varsity tournament championship.

Boston College teams also reached the elimination rounds in the junior varsity and novice divisions. In the junior varsity division, Ryan Folio '12 and Matthew Bartholomae '12 reached the quarter finals. Michael Allen '15 and Robert Brooks '12 reached the double-octa finals in the novice division.

The awards assembly for the tournament was held in Woodrow Wilson Hall, a mansion formerly used in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson as his summer White House and it also served as the setting for the film version of Annie.

In a strong varsity field, Brendan Benedict received top speaker honors and his partner, Michael Maerowitz received second place honors. Ryan Folio received 9th place speaker honors in junior varsity.

JV WINS NORTH TEXAS TOURNAMENT;
VARSITY REACHES ELIMS AT "TEXAS TWO" SWING (1.11.12)

Fulton Debate began its 2012 season by competing at the "Texas Two" swing which consists of tournaments held at the University of North Texas and the University of Texas (Dallas), over January 3-9, 2012.

A partial list of the more than thirty schools competing during the Texas Two swing included Columbia University, Trinity University (Texas), the University of Georgia, the University of Iowa, the University of Kansas, the University of Minnesota, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Richmond, the University of Rochester, and the University of Texas (Austin).

In the Junior Varsity division at North Texas, Alex Carlman '15 and Michael Holland '14 were 5-1 during the preliminary debates defeating teams from Wyoming, West Virginia, Kansas, Central Oklahoma and Kansas State.

Carlman and Holland were negative in all three elimination round debates defeating teams from the University of Richmond, Wyoming and Johnson County Community College on unanimous decisions en route to winning the tournament.

Competing among a strong field of eighty varsity teams, Brendan Benedict '12 and Sullivan McCormick '15 turned in a strong performance by compiling 5-2 records at both of the Texas tournaments.

In the elimination rounds at North Texas, Benedict and Sullivan lost in the double-octa final on a 2-1 decision to the University of Oklahoma. At the University of Texas at Dallas, Benedict and Sullivan reached the octa finals. In the double octas, Benedict and Sullivan defeated the University of Oklahoma in a 3-0 decision. Benedict and Sullivan lost in the octa finals in a 3-0 decision to the second seed and undefeated team from West Georgia College.

Boston College debaters also received individual speaker recognition. At the University of North Texas, Brendan Benedict was named the 16th best speaker out of a field of 160 debaters. Alex Carman received 4th place speaker honors at North Texas.

FALL 2011

NOVICE TEAM REACHES ELIMINATION ROUND AT RUTGERS (11.23.11)

Boston College reached the elimination rounds in novice at the Rutgers Debate Tournament held during November 18-20, 2011.

A partial list of schools competing at the tournament included Binghamton University, Columbia University, George Washington University, New York University, the United States Military Academy, and West Virginia University.

Competing for Boston College in novice, Stephen Ferguson '15 and Nathan Shnipes '14 were 3-2 during the preliminary debates defeating teams from Binghamton and Monmouth University (twice). Entering the elimination rounds, Ferguson and Shnipes were the 16th seed out of 37 teams.

In the first elimination round, Ferguson & Snipes debating on the affirmative defeated Monmouth on a 2-1 decision. In the octafinals, Ferguson and Shnipes won the coin flip and chose negative against Liberty where they were defeated on a split decision.

FULTON DEBATE REACHES SEMIFINALS AT VERMONT (11.6.11)

The Boston College team of Matthew Bartholomae '12 and Ryan Folio '12 reached the semi-finals in varsity at the Robert Huber Debates held at the University of Vermont over 5-6 November 2011.

During the preliminary rounds, Bartholomae and Folio were 5-1 defeating teams from Cornell (twice), The New School, Army, and Rochester. Bartholomae and Folio were the second seeded team entering the elimination rounds and they received a bye during the octa-finals.

In the quarter-finals, BC was locked negative against Cornell. Bartholomae and Folio defeated Cornell during the preliminary rounds when they were affirmative. On a split decision, BC defeated Cornell and advanced to the semi-finals to face The New School.

In the semi-finals, BC was locked affirmative against The New School. Boston College advocated a plan to increase democracy assistance to Egypt and to make all Islamic parties eligible to participate in the Middle East Partnership Initiative programs that provide aid to non-governmental organizations. New School advocated a radical democracy alternative to BC’s plan. On another split decision, the judges awarded the debate to The New School.

Bartholomae and Folio also received individual speaker awards. Bartholomae won 9th place varsity speaker honors and Folio won 4th place.

FULTON DEBATES WINS WEST POINT; BENEDICT NAMED TOP SPEAKER (10.24.11)

The Boston College team of Brendan Benedict '12 and Michael Maerowitz '14 won the varsity division of the 44th Annual West Point Debate Tournament, one of the oldest and most prestigious tournaments in the Northeast.

During the preliminary rounds, Benedict and Maerowitz went undefeated with a perfect 6-0 record and were the top-seeded team entering the elimination rounds. On the road to the finals, the Fultonians defeated George Mason in the quarter-finals and Liberty in the semi-finals, both on split decisions. In the final round, Benedict and Maerowitz met the Liberty team who defeated them in the quarter-finals two weeks ago at James Madison.

As per tradition, the final round debate at West Point is judged by a special panel of West Point professors. This year’s final round panel included Colonel Michael Meese, the Head of the Social Sciences Department and former assistant to General David Petraeus; Dr. Nelly Lahoud, an Islamic studies professor; and Dr. Ruth Beitler, a comparative politics professor.

The college debate topic this year is whether the United States should increase democracy assistance to Arab Spring countries. In the final round, Liberty advocated an affirmative plan to increase aid to Yemen to promote decentralization. Boston College countered that supporting democratization in Yemen would harm relations with Saudi Arabia and that promoting decentralization would increase instability in Yemen. On a split decision (with Professor Lahoud dissenting), the judges declared BC the winner of the debate, and presented BC with the traveling trophy, a military sabre.

Boston College also achieved success in the Junior Varsity and Novice divisions. In Junior Varsity, three teams advanced into the elimination rounds. Ryan Folio '12 and Matthew Bartholomae '12 were 5-1 and lost in finals to West Virginia; Dana Snay '14 and Michael Holland '14 were 4-2 and lost in octa-finals to Cornell; and Nora Loppopolo '12 and Alex Tingle '14 were 4-2 and lost in octa-finals to Liberty. In the novice division, Rob Brooks '12 and Nate Shnipes '14 lost in the double-octas to Monmouth.

Another highlight of the tournament was Brendan Benedict being named the top speaker in varsity. At the gala awards banquet, he received a standing ovation and was presented with the first place traveling plaque named in honor of Brigadier General Daniel J. Kaufman, a celebrated soldier who serves as the Dean of the Academic Board at West Point.

FULTON DEBATE REACHES QUARTER-FINALS AT JAMES MADISON(10.12.11)

Brendan Benedict '12 and Michael Maerowitz '14, competing in their first tournament of the season, reached the quarter-finals in the varsity division at the James Madison University Tournament held during 7-9 October 2011.

A partial list of schools competing at the tournament included George Mason University, George Washington University, Indiana University, Rutgers University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Mary Washington, the United States Naval Academy, and Vanderbilt University.

During the preliminary rounds, Benedict and Maerowitz were 5-1 defeating teams from Rutgers, Clarion, Liberty (twice), and Pittsburgh. Entering the elimination rounds, BC was the third seeded team and they received a bye during the octa-finals.

In the quarter-finals, the Fultonians faced a team from Liberty University, and was locked negative. BC defeated Liberty on the affirmative side during the preliminary debates. On a split decision, Benedict and Maerowitz lost the closely contested debate.

Brendan Benedict also received individual speaker recognized by being named the 10th best varsity speaker.