Hours of work have been a driving factor for the K-State debate team. Before the debate season started, the team prepared for seven days for 8-10 hours a day. During the season, many of the debaters put in 10-25 hours a week, said Justin Green, director of the K-State debate team.
    Their effort has started to pay off.
    The team was recently named second in the nation in the Cross Examination Debate Association, which is made up of more than 200 schools, some from the Ivy League, said Green.
    “This hard work becomes much more rewarding when trophies follow it,” Green said. “But, with only one fourth of the season down it really does raise our expectations for success.”
    The team earned its ranking after a strong performance at the recent Kansas City Kansas Community College Tournament, according to a recent press release. The press release stated that five different K-State varsity pairs have advanced to the elimination rounds in the first two tournaments this season.
    This is the first time this has happened in more than 10 years.
    Beth Mendenhall, a debater and junior in philosophy and political science, said she has always been proud to be a member of the K-State debate team. But she said it is nice to see the team’s work reflected in the overall rankings. Mendenhall and her debate partner won the KCKCC tournament undefeated in the varsity division. She said the team has to keep up its effort this year.
    “We can’t relax yet though, because other teams around the country are working hard to beat us,” Mendenhall said.
    Green said the team consists of 22 undergraduate debaters, four graduate students who help the team and two assistant directors who serve as coaches. He described the team as a family and said the team helps each other out when there are problems.
    Green said this was the team’s greatest strength. He also said the team is always looking for new members who want to devote 10 hours a week to learning the art of argument.
    Natalie Pennington, a graduate student in Communication Studies, helps coach the team. She said the highlight of the year for her has been seeing everyone work together to do well at each tournament.
    “I think debate is a great way to increase critical thinking skills while spending time with people you like and getting to learn about a variety of topics,” Pennington said.
    Mendenhall said that President Wefald’s support has been integral to the team’s success, since many debate teams around the country can’t travel or have more than a few teams because of lack of administrative support.
    “Wefald has helped our team grow in size and quality, and I hope it continues to do so,” she said.
    The team has several goals for the season. Green said the first is to win a national championship.
    “This is our goal every year - you always want to be the best,” Green said. “Even if we don’t win it this year, we will know what it took just to get close.”
    If the team does not win, Green said it hopes for a top-5 or top-10 finish. The team finished fifth last year.         Green also said that 100 percent of graduates in the past four years have immediately gone to law school, graduate school or their desired fields, pointing to the skills that debate develops for students. Green said preparing students is the ultimate goal of the team.
    “Most importantly, we want our graduates of our program to be in a position of success once they are done debating,” Green said.
    Green said anyone interested in joining the debate team should contact him at jmgreen@ksu.edu.

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