POI Online

Letter from the President

2009-03-03T03:05:33Z

Back in November the Brooks Quimby Debate Council sent several teams to England to compete at the Cambridge University Intervarsity Tournament. Much like the Worlds Debating Championships, the Cambridge IV competition was in the British parliamentary debate style as opposed to the American parliamentary style in which Bates usually competes in. However, unlike traditional British tournaments, the Cambridge IV was an open motion tournament which meant that the topics were picked by the debaters instead of having them provided each round by the tournament. The British parliamentary style involves four teams competing in each round as opposed to two; two on the government side and two on the opposition, all vying for the first through fourth places in each round.
The teams competing were Matthew Marienthal '10 and Jared Levy '09, Ariela Silberstein '10 and Geoff Shaughnessy '09, and Rachel Kurzius '10 and David Kelly '09. Also traveling to Cambridge were adjudicators Alicia Orkisz '10 and Walter Garcia '11, as well as Coach Jan Hovden.
The team consisting of Silberstein and Shaughnessy advanced to quarterfinals at the tournament, placing second amongst all the American schools attending. Additionally, debaters Marienthal and Shaughnessy tied for 40th speaker at the competition out of the approximately 170 debaters attending, while Silberstein won 54th speaker. MIT, which was another American school in attendance, advanced to the final round of the competition and took first place at the tournament.
While competing at the Cambridge IV, the Brooks Quimby Debate Council debated not only against other British universities, but against schools from all over Europe. The success of our teams abroad is really important, because it demonstrates that Brooks Quimby is not only able to compete at home in a style we are familiar with, but also internationally in a style which is foreign to us. Traveling abroad not only marks an opportunity for the team to increase the prestige of Bates on international circuits, but it also provides us a valuable opportunity for our debaters gain experience for the Worlds Debating Championship which occur later that year. Bates plans to continue to promote international competition on the team in the future, and towards that goal we intend to continue to expand our repertoire of British debate styled tournaments to achieve that end.
In all likelihood, Cambridge will be the final time I travel abroad with the Brooks Quimby Debate Council. I have had fantastic opportunities to travel the world competing for Bates over the years; opportunities I doubt I would have had at any other academic institutions. Looking back over the past four years, the places I have been with debate and the doors that have been opened for me as a result of being on this team will be some of my fondest memories of my time at Bates.
Sincerely,
Geoff Shaughnessy

Note from the Novices

2009-01-26T22:49:30Z

The Brooks Quimby Debate Council swelled in size this year due to a large class of novice debaters. These debaters have already found success in the APDA circuit, including two Bates novice teams breaking at the Harvard Tournament. Many first time debaters such as myself have learned quickly under the tutelage of our peers on the Bates team. Speaking from my experience, the most difficult thing to learn about parliamentary debate was how to organize our arguments and our opponents' arguments in a limited amount of time. That came only through practice and tips from other debaters. Another challenge was learning debate jargon, which is essential to understanding an APDA debate.

The months we have been debating have undoubtedly given us the public speaking experience and confidence that nothing but practice can give. I can speak for all Bates novice debaters when I say that we look forward to continued success in the next
semester, and in continuing the rich tradition of Bates Debate.

A Look Back at Cork Worlds 2009

2009-01-26T20:44:17Z

The luck of the Irish is tricky and unpredictable. Unfortunately, this year, the Brooks Quimby Debate Council was only able to register one team to compete at the 29th World Universities Debating Championships in Cork, Ireland. Matthew Marienthal, a talented junior on the team, and myself were privileged to represent Bates in the tournament. While I judged Worlds last year in Thailand, this year was the first time I got to compete at Worlds. However, rather fortuitously, we were able to send three judges to the tournament. Rachel Kurzius and Ariela Silberstein, also gifted junior year debaters, along with coach Jan Hovden, comprised our exceptional group of judges.

On December 27th, 2008, we met up at JFK international airport and embarked on our Irish odyssey. The tournament, which was held at the University College Cork, began a couple days after our arrival in Cork. This scheduling gave us the perfect amount of time to settle in, ease our jet lag, and explore to city. Cork, the second largest city in Ireland, is charming and historically rich. From quaint pubs to gorgeous cathedrals, the city offers the quintessential Irish experience. And, as luck would have it, we had fantastic weather throughout our trip.

The tournament itself went extremely well for the entire Bates delegation. Rachel and Ariela's excellent judging skills afforded them both the honor of chairing a number of debate rounds. Furthermore, Rachel and Ariela made the finals in the Master's competition, a competition for judges in Ireland's style of debate. As for Matt and myself, we had a strong showing in the tournament. We finished with 14 points and ranked 20th out of a field of over 300 teams. While we had hoped to do better, our performance was enough to keep Bates ranked 26th in the World Rankings for Debating institutions. As a graduating senior, this trip was truly a pot of gold at the end of my debate rainbow.

Brooks Quimby Launches a New Website

2009-01-26T18:36:14Z

The Brooks Quimby Debate Council has brought its website into the 21st century at batesdebate.org. The new website adds a number of new features to improve communication between the Brooks Quimby Debate Council, the Bates Community and Brooks Quimby Alumni, including commenting and up-to-the minute team news.
Among the new features are a News area where the team posts the latest results and photos from tournaments, community events and other happenings. The team intends to put content online as soon as possible to make more information about the team available more quickly.

"The layout looks fantastic and it seems very intuitive and easy to use," said Jared Levy '09, a current member of the team.

The new Public Debates portion of the site not only helps the team better publicize its public debates in the Bates Community, but also allows users to comment and join the debate. Current Bates students, Brooks Quimby debaters and Brooks Quimby alumni will all be able to comment at launch.

This newsletter, the Point of Information, will also go online. At launch, the site features the three latest issues of the Point of Information, with the goal of putting more back issues online in the future.

Brooks Quimby Debate's new website also allows current team members to create and personalize their own user profiles. Debate members' profiles also feature convenient links to content each member has published to the site, and articles mentioning that member of the team.

In the future, the web team hopes to add additional interactive features, in particular features to permit Brooks Quimby alumni to submit their debate stories and keep in touch with the team.

The new website launched as a beta in December, and goes online officially this week. Brooks Quimby Debate's new 21st century website embraces new technology to bring the team closer to the Bates Community and Brooks Quimby alumni.

The History of Bates Debate

2008-11-11T13:08:00Z

Debating at Bates is recognized for its history of both excellence and inclusion, which reflect some of the College's principal values. Recognizing the long-standing of Bates debate is not only important for understanding our team's place in the college's history, but also for establishing our direction and defining our goals as we welcome a new coach onto the team.

1896 marked Bates' first year of intercollegiate debate, when students joined the New England Debating League and won the championship round against Boston University at Faneuil Hall in Boston. This success can be much accredited to the work of Professor "Johnny" Stanton, known as the founder of Bates debate. Stanton aimed to prepare students "for the varied duties of life, by cultivating the correct manner of speaking and expression of opinion."

Debating at Bates took off in 1906 when President Chase hired Albion Spofford as the first official coach of the team and formed the College's "Department of Argumentation." Spofford led Bates through a series of victories, including a debate against Queen's University in 1908 at the Lewiston Town Hall, which signaled the first international collegiate debate.

A. Craig Baird was the next coach to bring acclaim to the Bates team. Through his rigorous coaching, debaters won the vast majority of their matches and quickly gained national attention. Baird and three students sailed to England in 1921 to participate in the first trans-Atlantic collegiate debate against Oxford University. The following year Oxford returned the favor, making Bates the first stop in its American Tour. During this time the program completed its historic campaign to allow African Americans entrance to Delta Sigma Rho, the national forensics society. Bates' own Benjamin Mays became the first African American to enter a national debate society.

Following Baird in 1927 was Frank Brooks Quimby. Under his leadership came many notable accomplishments including the college's first co-ed team, as well as its historic six-month-long debating World Tour. Quimby's high standards of performance proved successful as Bates debaters continued to exhibit excellence both domestically and abroad. After his retirement, the team was renamed in honor of his forty years of service to Bates debate.

The team changed drastically once again in 1967 when the next coach, Thomas Moser, redirected the program. He abandoned the team's current circuit in favor of the British Parliamentary style, turning its focus to presentation and public speaking rather than research and evidence. Standing by such principles, Robert Branham took over in 1974. The Branham era saw Bates' debaters ranked impressively both nationwide and globally. He oversaw Bates' entrance into the World Universities Debating Championship, as well as its expanded participation in the APDA circuit.

Debating at Bates has taken large turns and made great strides in its achievement. It has consistently played an active role in shaping the world of collegiate debate, and with that influence has brought the college a distinguished reputation for excellence in competitive debate. It is, of course, through exceptional leadership from its coaches that Bates has accomplished so much. As we continue to write new chapters in the history of Bates debate and College history, we look forward to working with our new coach as well as deepening our understanding, as a team, of what it means to be the Brooks Quimby Debate Council.

The Newest Members of the Brooks Quimby Debate Council

2008-11-11T13:08:00Z

This year's novice class is an incredibly talented and diverse group of individuals, and we are all thrilled to be a part of the team. Some members of Brooks Quimby's newest cast of characters include...

Wong Yoon Loong (who goes by Andrew) hails from Malaysia and debated throughout high school. In his spare time, he enjoys knitting and gardening--both of which he claims enrich his public speaking skills.

Nathan Kane was born in bred in Rockland County, New York (not know for its rocks). He attended his local public school, and comes to the debate team in his sophomore year at Bates with no prior experience.

Colin Etnire hails from San Francisco, California. He led his Menlo School mock trial team to the state championships, but strangely knew very little about parliamentary debate. A prospective Economics and Politics major, Etnire's main interests include needle point and taxidermy.

Monica Rodriguez was raised in Stamford, CT and attended Greenwich Academy, an all-girls private school. She is considering a double major in Politics and Chinese. Her interests include Chinese, Spanish and a love for photography.

Alicia Roy was raised in Franklin, Massachusetts. She is considering a major in Politics with minors in French and Japanese. She is interested in piano and foreign languages.

Andrew Decker hails from Lynnfield, Massachusetts. A member of the Bates Student Government, he is a prospective Politics major. He did not debate in high school but is looking forward to learning the ropes from the varsity members of the team and succeeding on behalf of the BQDC.

Ian Mahmud was raised in Duxbury, Massachusetts. He is considering a major in Economics and loves cookie dough ice cream as well as skiing and sailing.

Michael Pasek was raised in Lower Merion Township (also the hometown of Kobe Bryant [no relation]) located just outside of Philadelphia. He attended Friends' Central School, where he participated in debate and Model UN.

Ally Mandra was raised in North Salem, New York. She is interested in English and Philosophy. She also enjoys skiing and writing.

Alison Turner is from a small island off the coast of Maine. She considers majoring in Politics and History. She enjoys ballroom dancing and traveling.

Andrew Kageleiry is a first year at Bates and a novice this year; he had no debate experience prior to joining BQDC. Andy is interested in medical ethics, and can solve a Rubik's cube in under a minute.

Transitioning from High School to College Debate

2008-11-11T13:08:00Z

It is a much-anticipated Sunday morning. Cars full of high school students steadily flow into the parking lot, carrying droves of kids literally suited up for action. So begins the first tournament of the year. After weeks or even months of planning, the wanna-be lawyers and politicians seem ready to argue their hearts out.

The resolution for this morning's debate is: "The United States should use whatever interrogation techniques it deems necessary to defend
against another terrorist attack." Ready to argue both the affirmative and negative, I enter the room confidently. My outline is set, and I have enough information and facts on the topic; I feel as if I could out-quote and out-argue Condoleezza Rice.

In high school, I participated in a modified version of Lincoln Douglass (LD) Debate. It is research oriented, and judges the ability of a team to support opinions with hard facts. Much like in an academic essay, unsupported claims fall flat. That said, I was delightfully surprised when I arrived at Bates College to discover that specific topical knowledge was not necessary in parliamentary debate. Compared to high school debate, quick thinking, eloquence and rapid rebutting play a much larger role on the college level. In high school, both sides knew what the resolve was; in college, the opposition has no idea until the round begins. These changes are not easy ones to adapt to.

Adapting, however, has been made much easier thanks to the support of the Brooks Quimby Debate Council. Not only were workshops held and mentors assigned, but each and every member of the debate team has gone out of their way to make sure that first year students feel at home. They have all taken time to teach us the ropes of competitive college date and really integrate us into both the broader Bates community and the world of the American Parliamentary Debate Association. I look forward to continuing to learn and grow as a debater with the team.

A Note from Brooks Quimby's New Coach

2008-11-11T13:08:00Z

Greetings, past and present members of the Brooks Quimby Debate Council. My name is Jan Hovden, and I am the new Director of Debate at Bates. I am excited about the prospect of working with the team to both continue and improve upon Bates' long history of success.

I come to Bates from the University of Kansas, and I have been coaching debate since 1994. While my background is in policy debate, I have been eagerly learning the details of parliamentary style debate. I have a passion for argumentation and love working with students to develop their intellectual and competitive potential. I anticipate much success for the team as the year progresses.

However, competitive success isn't the only reason students join the debate team. They also recognize that debate provides a unique educational experience
that prepares them for future careers and civic engagement. As debate alumni, I'm sure that you recognize the ways in which your experiences with debate have helped you attain the goals that you have reached in your lifetime. I hope to start a new alumni initiative that capitalizes on this recognition. I want to create partnerships with alumni to facilitate networking to the mutual benefit of the debaters and Brooks Quimby alumni. Specifically, I would like to create a system wherein alumni who have a need for employees or interns can let us know so that current or recently graduated debaters can become aware of those opportunities. If you think you would like to participate in this program or would like more details, please email me at jhovden@bates.edu. Please provide information about any potential listings you might have and who the appropriate contact person is. As this program is further developed, you will receive more information about it.

Alumni support is critical for any program at a college, and the Brooks Quimby Debate Council is no exception. Thank you all for the moral and financial support that you have provided the team over the years, as it is central to the success of the program. I look forward to working with all of you to both continue and better develop this relationship.

Letter from the President

2008-11-11T13:08:00Z

The Brooks Quimby Debate Council has gone through a few changes this year. First, our interim head coach Andrea Curtis has moved on and is now working at a non-profit organization in Rockland, ME. In her place and new to Bates College is Professor Jan Hovden from the University of Kansas. While Andrea will be sorely missed, Jan is a wonderful addition to our team.

Another new development this year has been the impressive size of our novice class, which has over 20 members. After several successful recruitment events this fall, we ended our novice workshop with seventeen novices interested in attending the tournament at Smith College that following weekend. Bates sent a record 13 teams to the first tournament of the season, comprising over 15% of the tournament registration. At Harvard's recent tournament, Bates brought 16 teams, making Bates the largest contingent there. At the competition, two of our novice teams advanced to out-rounds, with Ally Mandra '12 and Monica Rodriguez '12 advancing to novice semi-finals and Yoon Loong Wong '12 and Mircea Lupu '11 advanced to novice finals. Yoon Loong Wong also received the award for 5th place novice speaker at Smith while Ali Vingiano '11 won 6th place novice speaker at Harvard.

What excites me most about this class is how dedicated and ambitious they have been from day one. Debate has been a large part of my life these last four years, and it's reassuring to know that the younger students will be here to carry the torch long after the seniors have graduated. Even with the changes that have come this year, we strive to remain true to the spirit of the Brooks Quimby Debate Council. More so than ever, we understand the importance of passing down our many traditions and rich history, just as they were passed on to us.

Looking Towards the Year Ahead

2008-11-11T13:08:00Z

This upcoming fall is a busy time for the Debate Team! Coming up on October 24-25, we have the Yale IV, a British parliamentary style tournament that will serve as preparation for the Cambridge University IV in England in mid-November. Bates plans to send three extremely competitive varsity teams to Cambridge, so stay tuned for updates on the team's performance abroad. We're also looking forward to celebrating Halloween at the Brown debate tournament on October 31 to November 1 as well as the Tufts Pro-Am the following weekend.

The Pro-Am tournament is a key event for all members of the team, as it provides an opportunity for varsity debaters to pair up with our amazing novices. Additionally, we will be sending several team members to the World Universities Debating Championship in Cork, Ireland at the end of December. Continuing our long tradition of intercontinental debate is incredibly important to the team, and debaters have already shown excitement and aptitude for British style parliamentary debate in our tri-weekly practice rounds. We're off to a great start this season and hope to continue to excel at these upcoming tournaments.

The Year (so far!) in Public Debates

2008-11-11T13:08:00Z

The esteemed Brooks Quimby Debate Council has already held two successful public debates this year. The resolution for the first debate was "This House believes that the national drinking age should be lowered to eighteen." This was related to a petition which several presidents of our peer institutions have signed, calling for reconsideration of the drinking age due to the ineffectiveness of the status quo. After much discussion, Bates' administration opted not to participate in the initiative, but the issue remains both germane and highly contentious on campus. This heated public debate helped us share our talent with the Bates community and recruit a large and capable novice class.

Our second debate of the year was over Parents' Weekend, where we debated whether legacy should be considered in the admissions process at Bates. This resolution was intended to provide a spirited discussion on an issue that is particularly relevant for parents of young college students. Additionally, we sought to remind parents and students alike of the social inequality which still plagues the admissions process. The audience was incredibly engaged, and we entertained several floor speeches from Bates parents. In the end, a floor vote showed that the audience favored maintaining a preference for legacies by
a slim margin.

There will be several more public debates this year. Some events we look forward to are a joint debate with BEAM (Bates Energy Action Movement), our Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event with Morehouse College, and the annual Bates vs. Yale debate. Public debates are a great way to share our accomplishments with the Bates community, and to help people to realize the importance of discourse and critical thought in our daily lives. What excites me most about this class is how dedicated and ambitious they have been from day one. Debate has been a large part of my life these last four years, and it's reassuring to know that the younger students will be here to carry the torch long after the seniors have graduated. Even with the changes that have come this year, we strive to remain true to the spirit of the Brooks Quimby Debate Council. More so than ever, we understand the importance of passing down our many traditions and rich history, just as they were passed on to us.

Bates Debate a Success in 2007-2008 Season

2008-11-11T13:08:00Z

The Brooks Quimby Debate Council saw some of its best achievements in recent memory during the 2007-2008 season. The year started off with a bang as senior Brendan Jarboe and sophomore Matthew Marienthal finished 4th out of over 100 teams at the Harvard Debate Championships in the fall. The Jarboe/Marienthal team dominated throughout the year with breaks at every tournament they attended (Harvard, Stanford, NYU, Clark, Nationals at MIT). Jarboe and Marienthal won Stanford, which signaled the first varsity debate victory for Bates in the three years. The Jarboe/Marienthal team of Bates JM went 5-0 during in-rounds and Jarboe took the top speaker award for the tournament.

Jarboe also performed impressively with fellow senior Dan Berman at last year's Boston University Debate tournament, finishing in second place overall. Also, the freshman team of Peter Gault '11 and Nate Sweet '11 won the novice bracket of the Dartmouth debate tournament, which bodes well for the future of our team. However, they did not win the Bates novice tournament: two students--Ali Vingiano '11, and Joseph Kibe '11-- joined the team on the Monday of the tournament, and beat the Sweet/Gault on a unanimous judging decision during the final round that Saturday. Joe Kibe was also the top speaker of the Bates in-house tournament.

Last year's novice class proved to be incredibly well rounded: at Clark's debate tournament, Joseph Kibe and Spencer Holland '11 broke to out-rounds and finished second place in the novice division. Then-freshmen Isobel Moiles and Molly Nelson ranked 3rd best novice team at that tournament. Dan Berman '08 was among the finalists in speech at the World Debating Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. But perhaps the greatest success of the year was a newfound team unity and shared excitement of both individual and joint achievements. Undoubtedly, the past year was a great success and we have every reason to anticipate another stellar year from the Brooks Quimby Debate Council.

Top Five from Worlds in Bangkok

2008-03-24T12:00:00Z

After twenty five hours of travel, it is difficult to look back and remember all the good times that we had in Thailand. But as debaters with a keen mind for argumentation, Thailand certainly made a good case for being one of the best tournaments and fondest memories from our Brooks Quimby Debate career thus far. Below is a list of our top five moments and experiences at this year's Worlds Debating Championship at Assumption University in Bangkok, Thailand:

1. Kite Flying: On our first full day in Bangkok, several of us in the group went to go see the city's palace. Having walked around and enjoyed the sights a bit, we decided to go a park where kites were being flown. We bought one in the shape of a giant fighter plane, and each got a turn careening the kite through crowds of people enjoying a pleasant day in the park. However, the activity took a downward spiral when President Brendan Jarboe '08 crashed the plane into an effigy of the King of Thailand in an act of war.

2. Judging experience: Traveling to Thailand as adjudicators, the two of us had both the pleasure of judging some of the finest debaters in the world and the displeasure of judging some of the worst debaters in the world. While some rounds were incredibly engaging and educational, others proved how a motion like "This house would assassinate Vladimir Putin" can be wildly misunderstood by an entire room of confused debaters.

3. Canal tour: On our one free day in Bangkok, we decided to pay the 400 Baht (about $12) per person to go on a beautiful canal tour. We left the docks around 6 pm and made several stops at temples. We enjoyed some of the most impressive views on the trip during this two hour tour. The sun was setting and the illuminated palace looked spectacular.

4. Tuk Tuk: All of us Brooks Quimby Debaters, for better or worse, had the experience of taking numerous rides on auto rickshaws (aka Tuk Tuk). At first this was unnerving for some members of the team, but by the end we all came to enjoy the excitement of this very different, cheap, and life-threatening form of transportation.

5. Reuniting with friends: Having been abroad in India and Denmark for the fall semester, we were both ecstatic to reunite with our friends from Brooks Quimby in Thailand. One of the best memories of the trip was coming into the baggage claim area of Bangkok airport and seeing Geoff, Dan, Julie, Coach Curtis, and Brendan for the first time in 9 months. Thailand proved not only to be a successful tournament for the Bates team, but a great memory with friends that will last a lifetime.

Bates Competes at Cambridge University's IV Tournament

2008-03-24T12:00:00Z

In November of this school year, Bates continued its long-standing tradition of sending several teams to compete at Cambridge University's Inter-Varsity Debate Tournament. The trip consisted entirely of Brook's Quimby's stellar class of 2011, sending teams Alicia Orkisz and Rachel Kurzius, and Ariela Silberstein and Maddy Kilbride. Nicky DeFrancis also travelled as an adjudicator. Having recently been introduced to the intricacies of British Parliamentary Debate, the teams' performance was impressive: Kurzius and Orkisz were 48th best team in the tournament with 199 speaker points and
Silberstein and Kilbride placed 61st with 212.5 speaker points.

Another Year, Another Success: BQDC Hosts Its Annual APDA Tournament

2008-03-24T12:00:00Z

On the evening of Saturday the 19th of January, the Brooks Quimby Debate Council closed the books on its second and final tournament of the season. As we look back on our High School and APDA tournaments with a mixture of pride and nostalgia, we cannot but celebrate our great success. This year, we hosted a rather unconventional APDA tournament. Instead of using our traditional February date, we opted for a weekend in January that was unopposed by any other tournament on the circuit. We hosted fifty competitors, many of who were top speakers on APDA. The smaller number and extremely high quality of the speakers made for a very interesting dynamic of intense competition in an intimate setting. As is tradition with Bates debate tournaments, we ran on schedule, thanks to our amazing tab director Zach Oren '09, and threw a legendary party in Chase Hall on Friday night. Hosted in the Little Room, we treated the debaters to the musical stylings of DJ Arsalan Suhail '09, who opened for Bates' own Greg Waters Band.

After two more competitive rounds on Saturday followed by impressive break rounds, we finally paired down to our final round, with teams from Yale and MIT. Representing the government, Yale presented a case that put a new spin on the old topic of active euthanasia. After much deliberation, the judges voted for MIT in a 6-3 decision. Following our awards ceremony, everyone was able to leave at 7:00 p.m. Our tournament was on time, entertaining, and fair and the number of compliments were received from other teams has been staggering. When all the awards were handed out and the last rooms were cleaned, we could not help but feel pride for another Brooks Quimby success. We could not have done any of it without the help of our team and alumni and thank them all for their outstanding efforts and continued support. We wish much luck to our successors and anticipate another year of tournament triumph.