Debate team wins respect at Harvard

Susan Nix
Traveler Staff

The Arkansas Union Society made an impressive showing at the Harvard Debate.

The A team, which consisted of Steve Fox and Gary Moody, placed 11th among 56 teams in its division and beat such prominent schools as Middlebury, Williams and The Royal Military College of Canada.

Competition was close, with no teams undefeated and the rankings decided by a few points. In fact, so close were the scores that the UA team was within three points of first place.

The Arkansas B team, which was filled by Bill Horton and Kelly Limp, also performed well, placing 15th out of 56 teams.

They defeated reputable schools such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University and Trinity.

Stephen Smith, professor of communications and sponsor of the society, said he was pleased with the society's showing at the debate.

"It was beyond all my expectations," he said. "We were competing with the top teams, and no one here was embarrassed."

Bill Horton, president of the society, said the other teams were impressed as well. He said that Arkansas' reputation preceded them, but they disproved the stereotypes.

"The other teams told us afterward that they thought debating us was going to be a cakewalk because not only were we from Arkansas, we were the only public school there," he said.

"They told us they were surprised at how well we did, and they weren't going to be so confident about beating us next year. We definitely got their respect."

Horton said the debate has not only given his team confidence, but also allowed students across the nation to learn about the group.

"We've gotten a lot of letters and e-mails from students here, and also from high school students from all over who are interested in coming to the UA to debate," Horton said. "I even got an e-mail from Wyoming from a student."

However, many of the interested students who want to come to the UA to debate are looking for debate scholarships, Horton said.

The UA does not offer such scholarships.

Steve Fox said the lack of support at the UA has made debating other schools very difficult.

"We were going to go to a debate at LSU, but we just don't have the money," he said.

"Associated Student Government gave us some money to go to Harvard, but we had to pay for a lot of it ourselves. Now, there's no more money in the ASG budget to give us, and we don't have that kind of money. We're college students."

Horton added that compared to other Southeastern Conference schools, the UA is woefully lacking in its monetary support of debate.

"Other schools get about $100,000 a year for travel and research expenses," he said. "Our students are just as good, and we get nothing. They care more about athletic competition here that academic challenges."

Fox agreed and said the respect they earned at the debate and among high school students should be reflected by the UA administration.

"We got the respect of every school at that debate, but our own university won't take us seriously," he said.

(Courteousy of The Arkansas Traveler)

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