UK hosting two major national debate tournaments this weekend
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Oct. 5--More than 140 college debate teams are in town as the University of Kentucky, a perennial national power in collegiate debating, hosts two major national tournaments.
Today is the final day of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Round Robin invitational, the oldest tournament of its kind in the country and one of only two remaining, according to J.W. Patterson, now in his 35th year as UK's debate director.
"It's a very coveted invitation because it has so much prestige in the debate community," said Patterson, who has coached two national championship teams, a national runner-up team, six semifinalist teams and six people who have won top debater at the national championships, as well as several novice champions.
The Round Robin, at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center on North Broadway, includes the top nine teams in unofficial pre-season rankings: UK, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Emory University, University of California at Berkeley, California State University at Fullerton, the University of Oklahoma, Wayne State University and the University of Georgia, he said.
Today's competitions are at 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
The Henry Clay Debates, one of only five large national tournaments, will be at UK's Whitehall Classroom Building on Saturday and Sunday. The top 32 teams will compete in the double- elimination final competition Monday at the Ramada.
UK does not compete in the Henry Clay Debates because all team members are needed to host the many visiting teams.
Saturday's and Sunday's rounds will be at 8:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Monday's rounds will start at 8 a.m. and go until 10 or 11 p.m., Patterson said.
Both tournaments are free and open to the public.
The topic for all intercollegiate debates this year is: "The United States Supreme Court should overrule one or more of the following decisions: Planned Parenthood vs. Casey (a 1992 abortion case); Ex Parte Quirin (a 1942 case that pertains to the president's authority in the war on terror and that allowed the establishment of a military tribunal to try enemy war criminals); U.S. vs. Morrison (a 2000 case dealing with violence against women); and Milliken vs. Bradley (a 1974 school desegregation case).
