Regis Debate breaks out into quarterfinals of Debate Championship

(Photo: Getty Images)

By: Thomas Jones, Staff Reporter

               This past weekend the Regis University British Parliamentary Debate Team competed in the Rocky Mountain Debate Championship at the University of Denver. Eighty teams attended from eighteen different schools from all over the country, spanning from the University of Alaska Anchorage to UC Berkeley to Clemson University in South Carolina. The tournament took place on both Saturday and Sunday, October 21st – October 22nd, with preliminary rounds starting at about 9:00 AM on Saturday and running until a little after 8:00 PM that night, and final rounds, referred to as “Break rounds” in the debate community, starting on Sunday a little after 9:00 AM and concluding around 5:00 PM that night.

               In their first tournament of the year, the Regis Debate Team did quite well; Regis had seven teams in attendance, three of which made it to quarterfinals and one making it to semifinals. When a team makes it past the preliminary rounds of a tournament into the final rounds, such as quarterfinals, semifinals and so on, it’s known as “Breaking,” and the rounds past the preliminary rounds are known as “out rounds;” so the three Regis teams that made it into quarterfinals are teams said to have “broke into out rounds” in the tournament. The first of these three Regis teams which broke to out rounds consisted of Siena Ruggeri, a Senior, and Catie Cheshire, a Sophomore; the second team which broke consisted of Allison Foust, a Senior, and Nicholas Aranda, a Freshman; the third and final Regis team to break consisted of David Cecil-Few, a Senior, and Thomas Jones, a Freshman. Topics in this style of debate change from round to round; the topic in the quarterfinals round of this tournament was, “This house would give judicial leniency to marginalized groups committing crimes against privileged groups.” Of the three Regis teams that broke to quarterfinals, the first team of Catie and Sienna made it as far as semifinals, where the Judges, unfortunately, decided they were not one of the top two teams in the round to progress into the final round of the tournament, however they still did extremely well, making it to the position of being one of the top eight teams in a tournament with eighty. The topic in the semifinals round of the tournament was, “This house prefers a world without sexual attraction.”

               Regis also did quite well regarding individual awards for the tournament. Senior at Regis, David Cecil-Few, attained the rank of the sixth overall speaker. This is quite impressive when looking at the largess of this tournament, containing over 150 other debaters (speakers). This tournament also ranked novice speakers. The designation of Novice in debate means that you are new to this type of debate and this is your first year doing this style of debate. Regis claimed two of the five spots for top Novice Speakers at this tournament, with Regis Freshman Nicholas Aranda being fourth best Novice Speaker, and Regis Freshman Thomas Jones being second best Novice speaker.

               Besides all the awards given out by the tournament, all the Regis debaters did exceptionally well. The other four, not previously mentioned Regis teams in attendance at this tournament consisted of Sally Andarge and Andy Nguyen making up one team, Donald Felbaum and Evanjalina Matoy making up another team, Noah Symmes and Rajat Gupta making up Regis’s third team, and lastly, Brian Brown and Morgan Stevens making up Regis’s fourth and final team. The debate team also showed incredible communal support for each other, continuing to stay at the tournament and support fellow team-mates who made it past preliminary rounds by going to watch their teammates debate rounds, making sure there are friendly faces in the crowd.

Fair Trade & Food Justice Panel

(Photo: IMDB)

                 On Monday, Feb. 27, Regis students Bailey Gent, Allison Foust, Elsa Meyners, and David Mooney coordinated and hosted an event to bring light to an issue we hear on a daily basis, fair trade.

                 Gent, Foust, Meyners, and Mooney showed the documentary: Mama Rwanda, about Rwandan women rebuilding the country after genocide through entrepreneurship. Additionally, four panelists attend the event to help discuss fair trade and their work with fair trade.

                 The panelists included  Michelle Korth, who works with Restore Innocence, an organization that helps victims of human trafficking. Another was Shanna Heddle, who lived abroad in Myanmar and currently owns a secondhand store that donates 20 percent of their profits to help victims of human trafficking. Additionally Katie Hile was in attendance. She founded Totonga Bomoi, an organization that helps women in the Congo create products for income. Sarah Ray, who works with Yobel International, an organization that promotes the purchasing of free trade and recycled products completed the panel. These panelists are all women, who work to promote fair trade and empower other women through their work.

                 The panelists shared their experiences of becoming active in the world of free trade with the students in attendance. Each woman was able to share a different story or experience that spurred them to action, emphasizing the idea that relationships lead to social change and make their work worthwhile.

                 “What keeps me going is watching these girls go from this place of utter brokenness…to doing so well,” said Korth.

                 Panelists also offered suggestions to students who are interested in getting into the world of free trade, and promoting free trade as part of their lifestyle. One recommendation was finding one thing that is important to you and making sure that product is obtained through free trade means only. Additionally, they recommended downloading the Better World Shopping Guide which provides an index of how companies perform regarding fair trade, they also stressed the need not to put too much pressure on yourself.

                 “When you start out it can feel like everything you do is causing evil in the world, so focus on the things that grip your heart. Try to be balanced as you approach the adjustment in your life," said Weddle.

                 Regis students will get an opportunity to promote recycling and sustainable living in April when the same four students conduct a clothing swap on campus, keep an eye out for that event as the semester progresses.

Catie Cheshire Staff Reporter