Kirkland’s Northwest University debate finalists at two tournaments
Published 11:17 am Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Northwest University’s debate team sent members to two different tournaments and both reached the finals Feb. 20-22.
The first group traveled to the Western States Communication Conference tournament hosted by Gonzaga University, and competed against 12 teams from six universities including Carroll College, Gonzaga University, Great Falls University, Idaho State University and Northern Arizona University. After debating five preliminary rounds, NU senior Isaac Sloat and freshman Tyler Whitney qualified for the final round. During the final round, they faced Carroll, Gonzaga and Idaho State on the resolution: “This house believes that television actors of a minority group have a moral obligation to reject roles that are negative or stereotypical.” At the end of the final round, Sloat and Whitney finished second place. In addition to the team competition, Sloat also finished as the fourth-place speaker.
The second group traveled to the Portland State University tournament to compete against 44 teams from 12 universities including Humboldt State, George Fox, Willamette, Seattle University, University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, McGill, Pacific Lutheran University, Corban and Reed College. After debating six preliminary rounds, NU juniors Marlene Pierce and Johnathan Swayne qualified for the quarterfinal round. They advanced through quarterfinals and semifinals to reach the final round. During the final round, NU competed against Willamette University, University of British Columbia, and McGill/Uvic on the topic: “This house would prohibit parents/guardians from assigning gender identity to minority children.” The McGill/Uvic team took the top honors and the other teams, including NU, finished as finalists. In addition, Pierce ranked as the 11th best speaker out of 88 debaters.
NU alumni Calvin Horne coached his PLU teams to a semifinalist’s finish at PSU and Abbie Kruse coached her Gonzaga team to a first-place finish at WSC.
This week the Kirkland university will host two public debates with the Chinese National Team. The first debate takes place at NU’s Millard Hall at tonight at 7 p.m. The second debate takes place at Microsoft’s PAC meeting at noon on tomorrow. Both debates focus on NSA surveillance.
