They're Putting the D in Debating

DANIEL WEBSTER,, illustrious Dartmouth graduate and a man reputed to be able to outdebate the Devil himself, would be proud of his College today.

Dartmouth debaters have been breaking records left and right. So far this year they have made the best record yet in the long history of debating at the College.

Of 181 decision debates this year, Dartmouth debaters have won 127, a record that is the envy of their opponents. They won the Tufts Invitational Tournament for the fourth time in six years. They were undefeated at the University of Vermont Invitational Tournament, competing with teams representing 45 other institutions up and down the Atlantic seaboard.

Dartmouth even won its own Invitational Tournament, in which teams representing sixteen colleges from Florida to Canada, leaders in Eastern debating, matched their skill. Thomas L. Waddell '55, president of the Forensic Union, was a star in his own backyard when he took the individual debate crown.

The debaters also took a first in the Tau Kappa Alpha Eastern Regional Forensic Conference at New York University; in fact, it was pretty much of a clean sweep with prizes for first in debate, first in discussion and for two of the top individual speakers. They won fourth among 25 schools in another N.Y.U. tournament and third among eleven institutions in the University of Florida Debate Tournament.

No less phenomenal is the record of the novice debate team, which won the Temple University Invitation Debate Tournament, the only undefeated team in a contest involving representatives of more than fifty different colleges. They also took second places in the Emerson College and St. Anselm's Invitation Debate Tournaments.

"We have never before done so well at this point in the schedule," says Coach Herbert L. James of the Speech Department. A native Kansan who has brought to New Hampshire something of the laconic plainsman, James hastens to add:

"All the big tournaments are yet to come, and we shall have to see what happens." A glance at the record book, however, shows that last year Dartmouth won all of these: the Boston University National Invitation; the Hofstra College National; the New England Conference Sweepstakes; the Eastern Forensic Tournament; the Amherst College Debate Tournament; and the New England-New York Regional Tournament.

Members of the Dartmouth Forensic Union have completely revitalized the sport of formally matching wits against an opponent. It is a sport, which for all its scholarly character, can be intensely competitive and appeals strongly to today's youth.

Chalk up the following figures for Dartmouth debating and you have a picture of an extracurricular activity that ranks with any in popularity:

1. There were more than 100 candidates for debating this year. That's more than turned out for varsity football. And the active debating squad still numbers about 75.

2. While following a policy of having as many different students as possible take part in competitive debates, Dartmouth teams have established a win-loss record of 700. Debating averages are generally comparable to major league baseball averages, and last year the pennant-winning Giants had a season record of .630.

3. At mid-season Dartmouth debaters already have engaged in more than 190 debates and sixteen intercollegiate debate tournaments. They have the longest and most active schedule of any group that represents the College.

Just why Dartmouth should be such a powerhouse in debating is something that James can't quite explain.

"It's true that when all is said and done the students in the Forensic Union find victory sweet," he says, "and there is no doubt that this is an incentive to win. But they recognize that winning or losing in debating is a relative thing, and it is of less intrinsic importance than in most intercollegiate sports."

The most important reason for the outstanding success of the Forensic Union, James believes, is the type of student who joins it. Over the years, he says, the Union has built up a tradition of excellence in debate, and this more than anything else brings into it those students who are seriously interested.

Debating is an intercollegiate sport in which competitors are entirely on their own once the contest has begun. Competitors may not receive advice or counsel from coaches or anyone else during the actual encounter.

"I think this independence and feeling of responsibility are features of debating that appeal strongly to today's college undergraduates," says James.

Debating in American colleges, incidentally, is gradually coming back up the road from the obscurity into which it had sunk some thirty years ago. Around the turn of the century it was common for the entire student body to gather when their team debated a team from another institution. In those days, says James, students used to practice all year just for one or two big, exhibition debates. It was only natural that in time potential debaters just stopped coming out for debate.

All this has changed, however, with the controversial tournament system now used throughout the intercollegiate debating world. Instead of debating only two or three times a year, Dartmouth's teams now take part in more than 350 debates. The season starts early in the fall and carries right through until late in the spring.

No longer is debating confined to one team inviting another to compete in an exhibition debate before a large audience. Nowadays a debating society will invite thirty or forty colleges to enter teams in a whole series of round-robin debates extending over an entire weekend.

"Debating is the one area in college where a student can gain knowledge in a subject not offered in his course work and then put it to use, which is the final and practical test," says James. "It also is an area where he can learn specialized knowledge to a degree not possible within the framework of the usual course offering."

Who makes a good debater? "Almost anybody of superior intelligence who is willing to work," says James. "One vital asset is complete mastery of the subject matter, and this comes only from diligent study and much discussion with others. The other asset is a knowledge of the principles of argumentation and persuasion which the men are taught.

"We try to pair up two-man teams of different personality - the quiet and reserved individual, for example, with the more dynamic personality.

"But above all, we note that our best debaters are generally students who combine above-average grades with a strongly competitive outlook. They need not be 'outgoing' in personality, but it is essential that they be persons of broad interests with the ability to master facts in many areas of knowledge.

Preparing for a debate is often harder, and more educational, than course work. Thedebaters here gathering facts and planning strategy are (l to r) William T. Krasnow '55,Robert H. Gile '56, Thomas L. Waddell '55 and Charles E. Greenberg '55.

Thomas L. Waddell '55 (left) of Beaver, Pa., president of the Forensic Union, withHerbert L. James, debating coach and Instructor in Speech. Behind them are some ofthe trophies recently won by Dartmouth's debaters.