Erskine College Erskine debaters tackle a timely question
- - goal is to have logical, evidence-centered debates on current topics. At the 2024 President’s Cup Debate on Nov. 20, 2024, just a couple of weeks after the United States presidential election, four members of the Erskine College Debate Team considered the resolution “Ranked choice voting is an inferior method of determining Ranked choice voting, a controversial method, requires that voters rank candidates
by preference on their ballots rather than simply voting for one candidate. “Erskine debate students are taught to articulate positions that they may or may not personally agree with,” says Debate Coach Morgan Roberts.
“This skill is encouraged to challenge students’ starting assumptions and teach them to think critically about different positions in order to understand how each po- sition was formed.”
In addition to studying “the various positions and their argumentation,” debate team members learn to consider “which position is the most God honoring response,” Roberts adds.
“Erskine’s debate team does not simply seek to develop quality orators, but to de- velop the hearts and minds of students to be kingdom focused and discerning when engaging contemporary topics,” she says. Taking the stage in Memorial Hall were Pete Fast and Caleb Roberts
resolution, arguing that ranked choice voting is an inferior method, and Carson Bleich and Ellie Jordan negating the resolution, arguing that ranked choice voting is not an inferior method.
All four students are sophomores and members of the Honors Institute. Bleich and
Jordan were declared the victors. Judges for the event were Assistant Professor of Po- litical Science Dr. Matthew Cawvey, Director of Campus Ministries and External Rela- tions Dr. Jamie Williams, and Nancy Campbell, a friend of the college who organized debate teams and tournaments for many years while homeschooling her children. Originally scheduled for a date in early October, the President’s Cup was resched- uled after the disruption of Hurricane Helene. Before the winners were announced, senior Annie Bruner, who went on to com- plete her graduate requirements in December 2024, was honored for her contributions to the team. Debate Coach Morgan Roberts spoke about Annie, who has been on the team since its formation, and her teammates presented her with a gift and a bouquet anything!” she says. The President’s Cup was one of three events during the fall semester which tested the skills and dedication of Erskine’s team members. Prior to their on-campus contest, debaters traveled to Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Tennessee Valley Invitational in September and then attended the Pejaver Memo- rial Tournament at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in October. Several debate events are planned for the spring semester. The 2024-25 Erskine Debate roster at the time of the President’s Cup included sophomore Carson Bleich, senior Annie Bruner, freshman Corey Dingle, sopho- more Pete Fast, sophomore Ellie Jordan, senior Noah Lin, freshman Leighton Mc- Cuen, sophomore Jackson Parris, senior Harvee Patel, sophomore Laurel Reynolds,
Debate Coach Morgan Roberts, left, with An- nie Bruner
sophomore Caleb Roberts, and fresh- man Anna Grace Sturkie. -
the inauguration of Dr. Steve Adamson as Erskine’s president, and continues as an annual event. The president was on hand to congratulate the winners.
From left, Caleb Roberts, Pete Fast, Coach Mor- gan Roberts, Ellie Jordan, and Carson Bleich
From left, Carson Bleich, Dr. Steve Adamson, and Ellie Jordan
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The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
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