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University of Central Oklahoma
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TUESDAY October 28, 1997
The Student Voice Since 1903
Accomplished UCO debate team faces competitive year By Colby Grieser
Staff Writer veryday, late in the afternoon, loud, monotonous chattering and mumbling echo into the hall from Room 216 in the Communications Building. It's UCO's debate team practicing for their next competition. Apparently the practice is paying off. The team has already won 15 individual and team awards from three competitions this year. The debate team consists of six to eight students that travel to the tournaments. This year the team is mainly freshmen and sophomores. There is one junior. Although it's a young team, they are doing well, said the debate coach Doug Duke. "It's sort of a growing year for them," he said. By the end of the year, the team will travel to 12-15 tournaments including the National Debate Tournament in Rochester, N.Y. These trips aren't all fun, though. They take their computers along with them and every night after the competition, they revise their arguments and research topics for the next day, said Duke. "We try to have fun, but they
become really focused on debate," he said. Most of the debaters are used to competition because they have debated in high school and competed on that level before they got to college. "It's almost like sports, we go out and recruit just like they do," said Duke. Much like sports, the debaters may also receive scholarships for their abilities. The main reason for recruiting these students is to keep the UCO debate tradition alive. UCO won the National Debate Tournament in 1990, and has been ranked in the top ten every year except one since then. These accomplishments don't come easy. The team practices at least two hours a day and researches at least four hours a day, said Duke. Their practice includes speed drills for an hour, where they talk as fast as they can with pencils in their mouth to improve their rate of speed and articulation. They may also have practice rounds or take a speech they may have made a mistake on in a tournament and redo it. After practice, they still have several hours of work ahead of them. "These kids are usually up here on a computer Until 10 or 11 p.m. every evening researching
Taking Shape... UCO professor Frank Simons dries his pottery for the Ceramics I class inside the Art Building. Simon demonstrated pottery throwing techniques to his class last week. (Staff photo by Bryan Terry)
or preparing arguments," said Duke. Debate isn't divided into divisions, so they may compete against every school with a debate team in the United States, including Ivy League or Big Ten schools. "It helps people to see the uniqueness of the program, and the accomplishments," said Duke. "As a parent of a debater, I've seen a higher degree of self esteem and confidence," said
Duke. "To go in and get battered and beaten, then be able to take it and give it right back, it just builds self confidence." The students also become adept at doing research and can take almost any subject and investigate it. And it also builds organizational skills, he added. "These skills can be applied to almost any major or profession," said Duke. Most of the debate students will go on to law school, do
research as political analysts or even become teachers, he said. Not only does the debate team go to competitions, they have an invitational tournament at UCO. Last year it was the largest invitational in the United States, and schools came from all over, including Washington State, Vermont and New York, said Duke. This year the tournament will be at 3 p.m. on Nov. 7 and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 8 and 9 in the Liberal Arts Building. OD
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