JACKSON, Tenn. — April 24, 2019 — 51社区鈥檚 debate team won first place at the International Public Debate Association鈥檚 National Championships tournament April 7-13 in Reno, Nevada. The team also won second place in the Founders Award competition, which combines scores from all divisions and tournaments throughout the year.
Web Drake, chair of Union鈥檚 department of communication arts and director of debate, said debate allows all students to hone the skills they need to succeed in their classes and workplaces. Union鈥檚 debate team includes students from more than 15 programs across the university.
鈥淒ebate teaches you to think critically and teaches you to think quickly, especially the kind of debate that we do where there is limited prep time,鈥� Drake said. 鈥淭hat of course translates to any discipline.鈥�
Joshua Swafford, junior political science and Spanish major, is team captain for the debate team. He said his three years on the debate team have sharpened his presentation skills and broadened his horizons.
鈥淚t鈥檚 helped me to think about a wide variety of issues, not just things that I鈥檓 familiar with,鈥� Swafford said. 鈥淥ne debate you might be debating about President Trump and the next you鈥檙e debating about solar energy. I鈥檓 much more aware of more issues than I was before.鈥�
Union competes against a variety of public and private schools in IPDA, with 154 schools participating in the national championships this year. This was the Union鈥檚 sixth national championships tournament win. Swafford said he is most impressed with his team鈥檚 ability to sustain excellence year to year.
鈥淭hat does say something about the team mindset, how the team is structured and how we perform,鈥� Swafford said. 鈥淚t speaks to the leadership and the way Dr. Drake has led the team in making sure that we鈥檙e always prepared.鈥�
Drake, who will be leaving Union after this semester, said this tournament was a good one to go out on.
鈥淭his was an excellent team,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was a young team with a lot of new people, and I was very, very proud of them. They came a long way this year.鈥�
In addition to the tournament win, Union鈥檚 team also won several other individual and team awards.