Whitman Debate Duo Places Second at CEDA Nationals
WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Charles Olney and Thad Blank came ever so close on Monday to adding a Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) national championship to the Whitman College trophy case.
Olney and Blank placed second, losing 5-4 in the finals to New York University's Richard Garner and Nathan Gorelick. The four-day tournament, which attracted 173 teams from around the nation, was hosted by Arizona State University.
"The finals were very close," Whitman debate coach Jim Hanson said. "The debate boiled down to whether New York's affirmative case was a fair one to debate. Thad and Charles argued that New York's case was unfair because it did not clearly state what they advocated, thus preventing us from arguing against it with sufficient depth.
The debate topic was whether the U.S. government should support and ratify recent efforts by the United Nations to establish an International Criminal Court. The NYU debate team argued for U.S. approval of the court within the context of general opposition to oppression. "Judges voting for New York found that argument compelling," Hanson said. "Judges voting for Whitman found that good preparation was most important, and that New York had not responded to our 'fairness-comes-first' argument. New York never gave any concrete reasons to support the international court in the format and structure presently set forth."
Advancing through a huge tournament field to the finals is an "amazing feat all by itself," Hanson said. Blank and Olney won seven of eight decisions in the preliminary rounds, then won five straight elimination rounds to make the finals. Their victories during the tournament included triumphs over a number of highly ranked teams, including Michigan State University, Fort Hays State University, and Dartmouth College.
Nonetheless, losing the CEDA championship by a single point was disappointing for Whitman's two seniors, Hanson said.
At last year's CEDA national championships, Olney and Blank finished third, dropping a 2-1 semifinal decision to Fort Hays, the eventual champion. Two years ago as sophomores, Olney and Blank placed fifth in the tournament. "Placing fifth, then third, and then second in three years is a rarely matched feat of accomplishment for the same two debate partners," Hanson said.
In the spring of 2000, Olney teamed with Jessica Clarke, then a senior, to place fifth at the CEDA championship. The previous year, Clark had teamed with Adam Symonds to win the CEDA national title.
"Whitman has had teams place first, second and third in the past five years," Hanson said. "I don't know that any other school can match that."
Olney and Blank conclude their collegiate debate careers at the National Debate Tournament (NDT), scheduled for April 4-7 at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. They placed fifth at last year's NDT, losing 3-2 in the quarterfinals to a team from Michigan State.
Olney and Blank are both majoring in politics at Whitman. Olney is from Oak Harbor, Wash., while Blank is from Boise, Idaho.
Two other Whitman debate teams competed in this year's CEDA national championships. Senior Dave Guidry and sophomore Beth Schueler advanced to the elimination rounds, eventually placing 33rd after losing to one of Michigan State's top teams. Eric Suni and Nav Rekhi, two first-year students, just missed making the elimination rounds, losing a close decision in their eighth round.
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