The LSUS debate team has established itself as one of the premier programs in the International Public Debate Association format, and the Pilots put that “international” part to the test in a whirlwind tour of the United Kingdom.
In a land where debate is part of the established curriculum from an early age, the relatively new LSUS debaters participated in three debates against colleges from Scotland and England.
LSUS joined Central Missouri and Lee College as the American component of the 27th annual Montgomery Cup. Debates took place against the University of Ediburgh, Imperial College, and Durham University.
“It’s simultaneously foreign but also very familiar,” LSUS debater C.J. Longino said of the Scottish debate style on a video podcast. “When you’re debating against an international team, it’s great to interact with their culture and their style of debating.
“They are incredibly funny. It reminds you of how interconnected we are. Despite the differences in culture and language to a certain extent, we all have similar rhetoric and feelings that we share and that we use to argue our points.”
Five LSUS debaters made the trip – Longino, Chloe Fresne, Daniel Davis, Jordan Guillot and Cameron Foley.
LSUS debate coach A.J. Edwards, who was making his second Montgomery Cup trip, jokingly advised his debaters not to get into a test of wit.
“We are not prepared for a wit battle,” Edwards quipped. “But the greatest part about the trip is learning the different styles of communication in debate.
“They debate very differently than we do, and you have conversations with their debaters about that style and why they make the arguments they make. It helps us with our own style.”
Graduate assistant Daniel Davis said he appreciated how the UK debaters took broad philosophical arguments and condensed them down to digestible pieces.
“That’s not something I’m really used to as a debater myself because it can get a little confusing trying to make those arguments,” Davis said. “The people have been unbelievably friendly and nice, almost like a Southern demeanor in a way.”
Of course, sightseeing was on the agenda as well, taking in sites like London’s Big Ben and Buckingham Palace along with the old golf course at St. Andrews in Scotland.
The LSUS squad got in a little hike, ascending Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh (more than 800 feet in elevation). Traversing the slippery isles for glimpses of the Scottish castles and beaches.
And lots of practice saying, “Cheers.”
“That’s been my favorite part,” Longino said. “You say it after everything.”
Added Davis, “It’s been the trip of a lifetime. It’s been really interesting to share this experience because you’re all doing something grand together.”
That trip was made possible through financial support from the LSUS Foundation and the Noel Foundation.
The trip lasted 16 days with the group returning this past weekend.
