 | |
| Vol. 24, No. 17 | March 10, 1999 |
| |
| Vol. 24, No. 17 | March 10, 1999 |
BY HANNAH FAIRFIELD
When Columbia College seniors Jess Wendover and Matt Schwartz walk into the first round of a debate tournament, as they did last weekend at the University of Virginia, their opponents are visibly nervous, knowing that the Columbia team, with its reputation of being rhetorically relentless, will outmatch them.
As for Schwartz and Wendover, who won the UVA tournament, the first rounds of any tournament are just the warm-up.
"We go into preliminary rounds hoping for good debates so we can earn points, but we don't get much competition in those rounds," Schwartz said.
The two, who have been debating together this whole year, did find some competition recently at the World Debating Championships held in the Philippines. They were only one of three American teams to reach the elimination rounds, and they emerged, after debating 10 rounds in one week, victorious as the No. 1 American team at the world championships.
One of the challenges of the world championships is that topics are much narrower than at American tournaments. With only 10 minutes to prepare for every debate, competitors must have sharp insight on many topics, not just general knowledge. This year, topics covered issues such as: "a federated Europe is doomed," "there should be American military bases in Asia" and "Netanyahu is the biggest enemy to the peace process."
Competing against teams from more than 300 countries, the Columbia debaters reached the finals, where they were beaten only by teams from England and Australia.
Wendover and Schwartz, president and vice-president, respectively, of Columbia's debate team, may stand out among their competitors, but at Columbia, they only continue an already established history of winning. This is the second time in three years that Columbia has won the No. 1 American spot at the World Championships, and from 1992-95, Columbia was ranked as the top national team, and has had a team in the top 10 every year since then. This year, a Johns Hopkins team just edged Wendover and Schwartz for the first ranking, but the two teams are expected to go head to head at the National Championships, which will be hosted by Fordham University on April 16-18.
The team's asset, they say, is the fact that they are very evenly matched.
"Other good teams often have one strong person and one weaker one, and that means they can't be consistent," said Wendover. "With us, Matt is better at extemporaneous speech, so he usually opens if we are arguing the opposition, trying to tear an argument apart." In their typical tag-team style, Schwartz jumps on that point, adding that Wendover opens when they have to do difficult prepared speeches.
Both agree that Schwartz's combative side has earned them many wins, although it can occasionally alienate judges. "I would definitely call myself belligerent-mostly because I interrupt with a lot of questions, and that rattles people. I strive to get the holes in the other team's logic that we need to win."
Schwartz, who has a double major in philosophy and physics, is nationally ranked as the fourth Speaker of the Year and is on pace to break the national record for most final rounds reached in a career. The record, which Yale holds, currently stands at 18. Schwartz's career record is 17, and he has six more tournaments in the season. "I'll be pretty surprised if I don't get to the finals in several of them," he said.
Wendover is nationally ranked eighth, and is the only woman ranked in the top 20. She's completed a major in architecture and a minor in anthropology in just three years, and is preparing to complete two master's degrees, in architecture and city planning, in three years.
Wendover has a three-foot gavel that she won as the First Speaker at an NYU tournament this year, and both admit that their rooms are overflowing with awards. The team attends debate tournaments almost every weekend, and weekend after weekend they bring winning trophies, plaques, award cups and gavels back to their residence hall rooms.
Still, both students are reveling in their success while they can, since American students rarely continue debating after their undergraduate years. They will pass the glory on to Columbia's younger debaters, many of whom have had an excellent novice year. The whole team, of about 30 students, is entirely student-run and receives some funding from the Activities Board at Columbia.
Wendover says that after graduation, she will miss the competition and thrill of debating, but concedes she may get involved in judging at tournaments. "I use my debating skills all the time: in classes, in relationships with parents and friends. I know how to communicate my thoughts well, and I also know how to put closure on something, the way you have to do in a fifty-six minute debate. I think it's an incredibly useful thing to have as a part of my life."