Frater Wins Debate, Takes Third in Another

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University - Carbondale Debate Team spent part of the holiday break in Southern California and part of it in Denver. They weren't surfing and they weren't skiing. They were doing what they do best - winning arguments.

The duo of Kevin Calderwood and Frater Kyle Dennis (Beta-Chi, Southern Illinois Univ. - Carbondale) won one of two tournaments hosted by California State University Long Beach, beating out nearly 40 other teams. Frater Dennis (standing second from left in picture) is a senior in business from Blue Springs, Mo., and Calderwood is a sophomore in political science from Chesterfield, Mo. The Calderwood and Dennis duo tied for third in the other tournament at Long Beach.

SIUC Director of Debate Todd Graham said SIUC is the only university with two different debating pairs to win tournaments this season. The other tournament-winning SIUC team is Adam Testerman and Josh Campfield. They won at Creighton University in the fall.

The SIUC debaters went on to a pair of tournaments held at the University of Denver and co-hosted by the University of Utah. Graham said about 100 teams competed at this tournament, representing about 50 schools from more than 20 different states.

The Calderwood and Dennis duo placed third in both tournaments in Denver. They also finished in the top 10 for individual speakers awards - a feat they accomplished in Long Beach as well. Testerman and Thomas tied for ninth in both Denver tournaments.

"This is a pretty huge deal," Graham said. "These tournaments were massive - the biggest all year and the biggest until Nationals."

SIUC debates in both the National Parliamentary Debate Association and the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence. The national tournament for NPTE is in mid-March at the University of Puget Sound in Washington. Nationals for NPDA are in late March and at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Adapted from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale News Release. If you would like to see your chapter news here, contact Communications Coordinator Tom McAninch.