Debate wins national championship
03/16/2025
The Gina Lane Debate Society, William Jewell College’s debate team, were crowned champions Friday at the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence (NPTE) held at McKendree University.
Patrick Terry, junior political science major, and Trent Dixon, junior communication major, went undefeated at the tournament, defeating former national champions along the way. In the final round, Terry and Dixon defeated a team from UC Berkeley 6-1. The team is led by second-year coach Mason Remaley, who placed second twice at nationals as a student competitor.
“Parli, in many ways, is a beautiful game,” Terry said. “You leave every round with a feeling of greater insight into how to win the game, different perspectives on the world and knowledge of current events.”
During the tournament, Terry and Dixon debated a variety of topics, including resolutions pertaining to the East African Federation, Syrian Arab Republic, lithium mining and exploration of outer space. In parliamentary debate, the topic changes every round. Competitors are permitted to bring only the notes they have prepped during the 20 minutes before the start of the round, thus advantaging those who already have a detailed understanding of both sides of every issue.
“Parliamentary debate is unlike any other type of debate in its combination of intense academic rigor on complicated policy topics, strategic thinking, creativity and intellectual depth,” Remaley said. “The topics that we debated required a wide knowledge base, if we were to have any chance of succeeding. You have to be an expert in everything from human rights law and global economics to history and philosophy.”
The team spent months researching, writing arguments and producing policy proposals, practicing almost every day in preparation for the tournament. “Pat and Trent are some of the hardest working debaters on the circuit. They have unbelievable drive and ambition,” Remaley said. “They know they are going up against schools that have much bigger programs, Rice University, Berkeley, etc., and they know that it is up to them if they want to succeed.”
The tournament consisted of 24 teams representing 12 schools from around the country. To qualify for the NPTE, teams must earn enough points throughout the year by finishing in the top half of invitational tournaments. “This is quite literally the best of the best,” Remaley said. “This tournament is the final one for people who have been debating for nearly a decade, if they started in high school. People from all over the country work all year in the hopes to even qualify, let alone win it.”
Debate at Jewell
This is Jewell’s fifth national championship in the past 20 years (2005, 2007, 2010 and 2016). Competitive debate first began at Jewell in 1868.