Public Debate 2014: Should Fraternities be Banned?
April 29, 2014
For the last public debate of the semester, the UR Debate Union decided to take on the controversial topic of whether all-male social fraternities should be banned on college campuses. The debate was very well-attended. At the end of the debate, the audience voted on which side won the argument and gave the victory to Nina and Miriam, who were arguing that fraternities should be banned.
Continue ReadingUSU 2014: Purdue
April 20, 2014
For the last tournament of the 2013-2014 season, several members of the URDU’s worlds squad made the long drive out to Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, for the 2014 US Universities Debating Championships. The tournament was very well-run and, in an exciting turn of events, included several delicious snack breaks ranging from Insomnia Cookies to make-your-own tacos for dinner. Although none of our partnerships broke to elimination rounds, several of them did very well. Our varsity partnership of Nina & Reefat was one of the top 50 teams at the tournament, while Chris & Miriam were the 6th novice seed and missed the break to novice finals by 5 speaker points.
Continue ReadingColgate IV 2014
April 20, 2014
This past weekend, part of the URDU’s Worlds team traveled to Hamilton, NY to compete in the Colgate IV. Although none of our teams brought home awards, the experience was highly educational and the competition was stiff. The tournament also offered high-quality team bonding time in spite of the fact that the team traded the snowy trenches of Rochester for nearly identical snowy trenches in Hamilton.
Continue ReadingCEDA 2014
March 27, 2014
This past weekend, the URDU’s policy squad headed to Indiana University for the always entertaining and educational CEDA nationals. The whole group had a blast and was able to learn a lot.
Continue ReadingVienna IV 2014
March 13, 2014
This past week, the URDU sent 2 partnerships and 1 coach to the Vienna IV in Vienna, Austria. The tournament was our first Overseas tournament in more than 3 years. The teams got to experience high-caliber international competition, as well as have fun exploring the city of Vienna. Highlights included a schnitzel and beer social at the tournament, riding the oldest Ferris Wheel still operating, walking the Danube, and exploring Vienna’s old cathedrals and palaces.
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