JCCC debate team top in U.S.

The Johnson County Community College debate team recently made its way to the top of national debate rankings charts. JCCC debate holds the No. 1 spot among all community colleges in the country according to the Cross Examination Debate Association.

The 15-student team also ranked 16th among all schools in the country. This placed them higher than the debate teams at Harvard, Texas and USC, said Terri Easley, associate professor of speech and debate. It is the first time the JCCC team has earned a top 20 ranking in a decade, she said.

The students spent five to 30 hours a week preparing for tournaments, she said.

“Normally you have one or two people that work really hard, but we have a collective that works really hard,” Easley said. “They all support each other, are supportive and enthusiastic. Everybody chips in to help so the team can make it.”

All of the rankings are based on tournament competition. At each competition, teams gain points for preliminary round wins and elimination round wins.

“Unlike other rankings that are somewhat subjective, debate rankings are all based on actual records and wins,” Easley said.

“I love the competition,” said first-year JCCC student Dalton Lawson. “Everyone likes to win, but even if you don’t win, I still enjoy it.”

This semester students have debated resolutions regarding the United States federal government’s nuclear weapons arsenal. If one student entered elimination rounds, the other members of the team who did not would assist as much as they could to help their team earn points, said Caitlin Breslin, a second-year JCCC student from Lenexa. Lawson won two tournaments this semester and Breslin won one.

“Nobody can do all of the research alone, and I think our squad has done a really good job of supporting each other,” Breslin said. “That camaraderie has helped everybody win.”

Debate coaches have also been good about making sure team members practice their speaking skills, Breslin said.

Breslin has worked with her coach on breathing and speaking drills throughout the season. Such drills include talking with a pen in your mouth or reading a piece of evidence backward, she said.

“They help you get clearer and help you sound better,” Breslin said.

The national ranking has been exciting and motivating for the team, she said.

“It is cool to be up there with other schools like that,” she said.

The fall tournament season is over for now, but debate season will pick up again in January.

“You get a group every so often that has this dynamic and I think this is one that comes around not very often,” Easley said. “This is a special group of people, all different backgrounds, experience levels, work ethics and commitments to debate but they all come together as a team and work well together.”

The JCCC debate team will demonstrate their skill in a public debate over the question “Is nuclear war a realistic possibility?” at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 2 in the Carlsen Center room 211 at the JCCC campus, College Boulevard and Quivira Road. The format of the debate presentation will be similar to tournaments; there will be the same number of speeches, but they will be shortened.

Trackback(0)

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Write comment