Erskine College
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The Erskine College Debate Team traveled to Tennessee for a debate tour- nament Feb. 9-10 at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, earn- ing a second-place slot among the four-year colleges participating. “Caleb Roberts placed in Semi-Finals in Novice Debate and Ellie Jor-
dan placed in Quarter Finals in Novice Debate,” says Debate Coach Morgan Roberts. “Annie Bruner received the sixth-place novice speaker award and Jackson Parris received the third-place novice speaker award.” The Erskine students’ combined achievements earned the team its second-place position, she says.
“The most exciting thing about winning an award at this tournament was to see the improvements from last year’s team to now,” says Bruner, one of the team’s co-captains.
“At the same Pellissippi competition last year,” she recalls, “we got third
For this year’s group, we placed second overall in debate, which was neat to experience since the debate team is still such a new group in comparison to other colleges and universities.” The IPDA National Championship Tournament & Convention, set for April 12-15 at Mississippi State University-Starkville, is the last scheduled event of the spring semester for Erskine’s debate team. Noah Lin,
face. “These tournaments mean more to us than places to compete. They serve as opportunities for us to measure our progress, hone our abilities, and broaden our understanding of issues, making every moment leading up to them meaningful and thrilling.”
Both Bruner and Lin are pleased with the debate team’s camaraderie. Bruner believes the camarade- rie comes in part from “spending a lot of time together, whether in the classroom, at practice, or in gener- al,” and she has received real help from the team.
“Having common time and con- versations allows the others to pick up on when I become frus- trated with my opponents, espe- cially when in team debates, and [to know] how to make me laugh at the situation later,” she says. “Our achievements are based on
trust and the belief that each mem- ber contributes something to our team,” says Lin. “This makes us a versatile and resilient group, ready to tackle any obstacle head-on.” The co-captains have high praise for their coach. “Morgan has created an environ- ment where every team member feels appreciated and empowered, not only enhancing our debating abilities but also instilling in us the values of empathy, critical thinking, and the courage to stand by our be- liefs,” Lin says.
“For the most part, Morgan just wants us to represent Christ, Erskine, and ourselves to the best of our abili- ties,” Bruner says. “She loves and has experience with debate and knows each of us well enough to show us how to bring our best selves to the debate world.”
Members of the team who attended the Knoxville event are, from left, junior Annie Bruner, co-captain; freshman Carson Bleich; junior Noah Lin, co-captain; freshman Caleb Roberts; sophomore Ellie Jordan; and freshman Jackson Parris.
The Erskine College Debate Team was formed in August 2022. Ac- cording to the organization’s web page, “Students on the debate team learn to develop skills in clear com- munication, team building, creative thinking, logic, ethics, research, and community. Team members seek to - tions, during competition and at all other times, by setting examples of character and integrity on and off campus.”
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The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
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