Three Will Represent SLU in World Debate: Students Headed to Competition in Scotland
By James R. Donnelly, Times Staff Writer
The New York Times
November 1989
CANTON -- Three St. Lawrence University students will celebrate the new year in Scotland -- carrying the university's banner in a worldwide debating competition.
St. Lawrence will be represented at the world parliamentary debate championships by senior F. Mitchell Thrower 3rd, junior Kimberly A. Shoen and freshman Donald D. Trigg. Mr. Thrower and Mr. Trigg will also represent the university at the U.S. national debate championships in February , marking the first time in two decades the university has completed in national competition.] "The competition on the world level is incredibly difficult," said Mr. Thrower, Fairfield, Conn., who competed for SLU last year when the world competition was held in Princeton, N.J. "There are people who do nothing but debate."
"We did fairly well," said Mr. Thrower, who does double duty as president of SLU's senior class and, for the past three years, president of its Forensics Society.
Competing with partner John A. Forrest, Albany, who was graduated in May, "We won all of our first rounds," said Mr. Thrower. "We beat some very big law schools from England."
The first-round successes meant the SLU team was pitted against even tougher teams in later rounds, Mr. Thrower said. When the world competition was over, the team was ranked in the top third of the 190 that competed, he said.
Although it lists just 23 "continuing members," according to co-adviser Dr. Darlene M. Hantzis, the Forensics Society is active.
"We have travelled a lot this semester," Dr. Hantzis said, citing trips to Concordia College, Harvard University, the University of Pittsburgh, Northeastern University and Columbia University.
"We have been to more tournaments the first semester of this year than all of last year," Mr. Thrower said.
But travel isn't all the society has been doing.
In early November, the society hosted the annual Joan Donovan High School Speech Tournament, attracting more then 150 students from throughout the north country.
And society members have been staging on-campus seminars throughout the semester on communications, skills, logical argumentation, presentation and analysis of evidence.
"The priorities have definitely changed for forensics," said Mr. Thrower. "The best experience I have had here has been not just to learn the tools of debate but to turn around and teach others."
A debate staged Thursday night was used to select the university's three representatives at the world competition.
While Mr. Thrower won, determining the second- and third-place finishers was no easy task, said Kirk W. Fuoss, instructor in speech and the society's other adviser.
In fact, he said, Miss Shoen and Mr. Trigg emerged from the competition tied in every way. "We attempted to break it by seeing if either have more first-, second-, of third-place rankings, but they were identical in every category. The only way we could make a decision was based on experience."
As a result, Miss Shoen, a junior, will be Mr. Thrower's partner in Scotland, while Mr. Trigg, a freshman, will attend as an alternate judge.
A Kansas City, Kan., native, Mr. Trigg competed in national tournaments while in high school. But, he said, that was in extemporaneous speaking, not the parliamentary style debating he will be going at the U.S. Nationals in February.
"It will be a big change," he said.
While he won't be debating in Scotland, Mr. Trigg said, it wasn't even certain until recently that he could go at all. "They had to check the constitution because freshman have never gone. We just found out last week that I could go," he said.
The New York Times
November 1989
CANTON -- Three St. Lawrence University students will celebrate the new year in Scotland -- carrying the university's banner in a worldwide debating competition.
St. Lawrence will be represented at the world parliamentary debate championships by senior F. Mitchell Thrower 3rd, junior Kimberly A. Shoen and freshman Donald D. Trigg. Mr. Thrower and Mr. Trigg will also represent the university at the U.S. national debate championships in February , marking the first time in two decades the university has completed in national competition.] "The competition on the world level is incredibly difficult," said Mr. Thrower, Fairfield, Conn., who competed for SLU last year when the world competition was held in Princeton, N.J. "There are people who do nothing but debate."
"We did fairly well," said Mr. Thrower, who does double duty as president of SLU's senior class and, for the past three years, president of its Forensics Society.
Competing with partner John A. Forrest, Albany, who was graduated in May, "We won all of our first rounds," said Mr. Thrower. "We beat some very big law schools from England."
The first-round successes meant the SLU team was pitted against even tougher teams in later rounds, Mr. Thrower said. When the world competition was over, the team was ranked in the top third of the 190 that competed, he said.
Although it lists just 23 "continuing members," according to co-adviser Dr. Darlene M. Hantzis, the Forensics Society is active.
"We have travelled a lot this semester," Dr. Hantzis said, citing trips to Concordia College, Harvard University, the University of Pittsburgh, Northeastern University and Columbia University.
"We have been to more tournaments the first semester of this year than all of last year," Mr. Thrower said.
But travel isn't all the society has been doing.
In early November, the society hosted the annual Joan Donovan High School Speech Tournament, attracting more then 150 students from throughout the north country.
And society members have been staging on-campus seminars throughout the semester on communications, skills, logical argumentation, presentation and analysis of evidence.
"The priorities have definitely changed for forensics," said Mr. Thrower. "The best experience I have had here has been not just to learn the tools of debate but to turn around and teach others."
A debate staged Thursday night was used to select the university's three representatives at the world competition.
While Mr. Thrower won, determining the second- and third-place finishers was no easy task, said Kirk W. Fuoss, instructor in speech and the society's other adviser.
In fact, he said, Miss Shoen and Mr. Trigg emerged from the competition tied in every way. "We attempted to break it by seeing if either have more first-, second-, of third-place rankings, but they were identical in every category. The only way we could make a decision was based on experience."
As a result, Miss Shoen, a junior, will be Mr. Thrower's partner in Scotland, while Mr. Trigg, a freshman, will attend as an alternate judge.
A Kansas City, Kan., native, Mr. Trigg competed in national tournaments while in high school. But, he said, that was in extemporaneous speaking, not the parliamentary style debating he will be going at the U.S. Nationals in February.
"It will be a big change," he said.
While he won't be debating in Scotland, Mr. Trigg said, it wasn't even certain until recently that he could go at all. "They had to check the constitution because freshman have never gone. We just found out last week that I could go," he said.