Debate team attends nationals, Thomson earns honors

Jesse Murray
Senior Reporter

Bryan College’s Debate Team left late last week for the Debate Nationals Tournament at Carson Newman (Jefferson City, Tenn.) which lasted all weekend. They were joined by debate clubs from approximately 25 other schools including: Wheaton, Biola, Azusa Pacific, North Dakota University and University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

According to debate club adviser Michael Palmer, there were two categories of competition, individual events and parliamentary debate. Individual events include poetry recitation, informative speaking and after-dinner speeches.

“There were many top-flight teams there,” said Palmer. “Also, there were so many rounds. We won a good number, and lost a good number. We did well in terms of competition.”

Though Bryan didn’t make it to the finals round, sophomore Erica Thomson broke into the Individual Events final round and brought home honors. According to Palmer, the entire team performed impressively and has bonded well over the debate season.

“One of the biggest things was the relational aspect of the tournament,” said Palmer. “We were able to spend a lot of time together in the evenings, whether playing games or just in conversation. It was just a good time.”

This was the final tournament of the year for Bryan’s debate club.