The only competitive academic team on campus will not be meeting this semester. The Shepherd University Debate Team competed in tournaments under the Collegiate Forensic Association circuit, debating topics like domestic infrastructure, foreign policy and forensics, or presenting speeches and interpretations of poetry, prose and play.
The debate team no longer meets because of a combination of factors. Dr. Joyce Webb, who has been director of the debate team for 34 years, was made aware that the course had been closed, but there has been no discussion about the future of the co-curricular activity.
Dr. Webb, who serves as an associate professor in the department of communications, stated that she had five students enrolled in her class and additional students wanting to enroll when it was closed from enrollment the Friday before the fall semester started. The dean of arts and humanities Dow Benedict said, “The course hasn’t been able to attract 10 students for several years.” However, the course was closed during the first and second add/drop weeks offered this semester when students could have registered for the course. There were also pages of arts and humanities classes, which did not meet the ten-student requirement, and were not closed.
The course portion of the co-curricular activity had its name changed from “Intercollegiate Forensics” to “Debate and Competitive Speaking” this semester. The title reflected the course’s content clearer for students. The course was placed in a separate category titled “Special Topicsommunication courses. While the new title did make the course material clearer, its location on RAIL may or may not have made it easier for students to register for the course.
Tim Leonard, a senior, recalled that the students involved in the debate team ranged from semester to semester. During the fall semester there were between seven and eight students on the team, while student involvement could drop to two or three students during the spring semester. The lack of student participation depended on a couple of factors. There were students who did not realize the workload that went into being on the debate team, and occasionally there were differences between the former director and students.
Leonard mentioned that there were students who had an issue with the time Dr. Webb offered the class. The Debate and Competitive Speaking course was scheduled to meet on Tuesday evenings between 9-11 p.m.. Although Dr. Webb said this time was necessary, the time conflicted with some students’ schedules (i.e. non-traditional, commuter and residential students).
During his time as captain of the debate team, Leonard said, “Shepherd, overall, would be in the top three on the leaderboards in CFA tournaments” and had been a successful collegiate team.
Although the debate team was successful with and without the necessary student involvement, because the class portion of the co-curricular activity was canceled, the funding from the Student Government Association was no longer available. Without the funding, the debate team can no longer afford to travel to tournaments.
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