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EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY DEBATE

	ESU Debate Team: (front) Donnie Hanson, Hayley Holloway-Utter, LaToya Green, Matt Cook, Chris Loghry (back) Taylor Malcolm, Ryan Wash, James Taylor (Assistant Coach), Samuel Maurer (Director), Kurt Fifelski, Michael Stack.

The Emporia State University Debate Team is a nationally competitive policy debate program with affiliations to both the National Debate Tournament (NDT) organization and the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA). The team travels across the nation as well as coordinating on campus events such as our International Traveling Team Competitions, and public debates.

Emporia State Debate has a proud tradition of academic excellence.  College debate tests students intellectually in ways that no other activity can rival.  Thus, at ESU, our team philosophy is that success in debate should translate directly into academic and professional success as well.

And it shows.  ESU has graduated debaters who go on to become professors, attorneys, teachers, and many other types of professionals.  Just since the year 2000, ESU Debate has produced two professors, four attorneys, two teachers, and four students currently finishing postgraduate masters and doctoral degrees (which accounts for every graduate of the program).  The ESU Debate team maintained a 3.15 GPA during the ’06-’07 season.  Tiara Naputi was also named as one of 25 Academic All-Americans nation-wide. 

ESU Debate offers travel to fit the needs of its students.  For more advanced debaters, ESU travels to the toughest tournaments in the country (Wake Forest, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Northwestern, University of Texas, Harvard, etc.).  There is no “Division II” in college debate and ESU Debaters love it because it means the team regularly competes against Harvard, Emory, Northwestern, USC, Berkeley and the rest of the best in the country. 

	ESU Debate team works through research and argument strategy before a meeting.

For less experienced debaters, ESU offers a tremendous opportunity to compete in the toughest district in college debate, District Three (covers roughly the same region as the Big 12).  Our district regularly sends more team to the National Debate Tournament (national championship) than any other district in the country.  Thus, traveling regionally gives debaters a terrific opportunity to develop research, argument, and speaking skills so they can reach the next level. 

ESU has a long tradition of success.  ESU debaters regularly reach elimination debates at varsity tournaments and had a team compete in elimination debates at the NDT.  Emporia State debate won the 2003 Junior Varsity National Championship, as well as the 2003 National Junior Varsity Round Robin. Emporia State qualified two teams to the prestigious National Debate Tournament held at Emory University in Atlanta, GA and had a team in the elimination rounds at that tournament. Emporia State University was the 1993 CEDA National Championship Squad.

Thank you for visiting our website and your general interest in the program.  Please feel free to tour the website via the links on the left side of this page.