ANNUAL BANQUET
April 27, 2002
TONIGHT'S PROGRAM:
Reception
Dinner
Welcome
Special Awards
Annual Prizes
Senior Speeches
Edwin
Lawrence wanted a banquet to be held at the end of each debate season to
celebrate the forensic experience.
Every spring we invite a few honored guests and all LDU parents to join
us for a good time. A booklet
about the year is prepared, seniors say good-bye, there is a minimum of
oratory, and the various prizes for debate achievement may be distributed. Substantial cash awards accompany many
of these prizes. These awards are
distributed based on service to the LDU and others on the team, and achievement
in representing the LDU and UVM in analysis and performance. A committee appointed by the coaches
gives out these awards.
BRIEF HISTORY OF DEBATE AT
UVM:
NOW 103 YEARS OLD
Intercollegiate
debate at the University of Vermont began in 1899 when Edwin W. Lawrence '01
started the University of Vermont debate team. Throughout the early part of this century debate was a constant
part of life at UVM. After the
Second World War, a cohesive national level of debate competition began to take
shape, and Vermont was an important force. Dr. Robert Huber came to UVM in the late 1940's, and
throughout the 1950's and 1960's he led the Vermont debate team to national
dominance, including national titles at all levels. During this time, Edwin W. Lawrence gave generously to the
University to establish an endowment for the debate team and a professorial
chair to teach forensics and work with the team ÑÑ which became the Lawrence
Debate Union. The 1980's replaced
the doldrums of the 1970's with a revitalized and successful debate team
stressing education, competition, and service. Throughout the 1980Õs and 1990Õs
UVM has been a consistent top national competitor. Since the award was created
five out of the six East Region Debater of the Year awards have gone to UVM
students. During this period UVM has national championships in Novice Debate
and Public Debate, and has placed as high as Third in Varsity Debate and as
high as Fifth in the National Sweepstakes race. This is doubly impressive
because the vast majority of our opponent schools have extensive scholarship
programs for talented high school debaters and a substantially larger budget,
while UVM has students with little or no high school experience and very high
travel costs. Success is possible through a community of students, staff,
faculty, alumni volunteers, and friends.
ORGANIZATION OF THE LDU:
The LDU is an endowed,
co-curricular program at the University of Vermont located within the Speech
and Debate program of the Department of Theatre. It is directed by the Lawrence Professor of Forensics and
coaches hired by the University.
Members
of the LDU are UVM students enrolled in at least six hours of undergraduate
study per semester and who are working toward a Bachelor's degree. Members are
expected to attend meetings, participate meaningfully in one of the three LDU
areas of emphasis, provide information to the coaching staff about academic
schedules and standing, and follow through on voluntary verbal commitments.
The
LDU has active partnerships with the Community College of Vermont, Middlebury
College, and Burlington High School.
The
coaching staff is composed of debate experts who teach debate, explore issues,
and coach students to win in competition and in life. They are overworked and underpaid.
The
primary budget for the LDU is the income generated each year by the Lawrence
Fund to Encourage and Develop Debating.
It is our generous bequest from Mr. Lawrence, and as such, the LDU is
responsible for the highest standards of good stewardship. It may or may not be completely spent
in any given year, and unspent funds are rolled forward to the next year.
The
Student Government Association also sponsors the LDU. A small sum of money each year is used to travel and to
promote community debates. For these purposes, the LDU elects a student as
S.G.A. Coordinator each year, and these funds are spent as directed by the S.G.A.
DEBATERS 2001-2002
Ertan Barucic
Marget Brue
Vilasa Campbell
Nick Cantalupo
Brian Cole
Shane Egizi
Aaron Fishbone
Adam Fronheiser
Adam Gana
Sky Ganer
Stephen Gilpatric
Justin Goralnick
Claudia Greenman
Josh Grenier
Casey Gervais
Julianne Hellmuth
Teresa Hill
Brian Hurley
Chong Kim
Matt Klein
Keith Kosow
Lana Langsweirdt
Sheila Limprevil
Jillian Marty
Steph McDonald
Kayce Massey
Nikki Muradian
Amy Myers
Edwin Owusu
Anthony Pagan
Meredith Parmett
Jake Ricker
Cody Rounds
Nick Soverel
Abigail Trebilcock
Carlos Varela
Shawn Wilkerson
Julie Winn
Jill Witney
Peter Wright
COACHES
Greta Lockwood, alum
Charles Hoag, student
Jennifer Knops, alum
Jackie Massey, faculty
Lionel Palardy (Office
Manager), staff
Rodrigo Rojas, friend
Alfred Snider, faculty
Matt Sweeney, student
ACHIEVEMENTS
Highest Number of Wins in LDU History Ð 438
Highest number of debates in LDU History - 831
#9 Debate Program in the USA, 2001-2002 CEDA
Sweepstakes and NDT Sweepstakes
#2 Novice Debate Team in the USA
Brian Cole & Adam Gana
#33 Varsity Debate Team in the USA
Shawn Wilkerson & Aaron Fishbone
2001-20012 All American Debate Team
Aaron Fishbone
Shawn Wilkerson
#9 Junior Varsity Debate Team in the USA
Casey Gervais & Meredith Parmett
#9 Novice Debate Team in the USA
Teresa Hill & Marget Brue
#3 Junior Varsity Debate Team in the East
Anthony Pagan & Edwin Owusu
Casey Gervais & Meredith Parmett
#3 Junior Varsity Debater in the East
Jillian Marty
#8 Junior Varsity Debater in the East
Claudia Greenman
Towson Judging Award
Binghamton Judging Award
Charles Hoag
A YEAR OF UVM DEBATE
831
TWO HOUR DEBATES =
1662 hours of debating
69.25 days of debating
2.3 months of debating
24,930 minutes of UVM speeches
9972 minutes of UVM cross-examination
WE TRAVEL AND COMPETE:
Primer Torneo Hispanoamericano de
Debate, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
Univ. of Northern Iowa, IA
US Military Academy, West Point,
NY
Univ. of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
UVM, Burlington, VT
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Binghamton Univ., Binghamton, NY
University of Central Oklahoma,
Oklahoma City, OK
Columbia University, NYC, NY
Wake Forest University,
Winston-Salem, NC
University of Missouri at Kansas
City, KC, MO
William Jewell College, Liberty,
MO
Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY
University of Kansas, Lawrence,
KS
Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL
Towson Univ., Towson, MD
National Debate Tournament,
Springfield, MO
CEDA Nationals, California State
Univ. Fullerton, CA
Segundo Torneo Hispanoamericano
de Debate, Universidad Interamericano, Puerto Rico
FRIENDS OF THE LDU
Ken Barton, Thrifty Car Rental
John Burgess, alumni
Andrea Comtois, Theatre Dept.
Roy Ferland, Residential Life
Sanh Son, Housekeeping
Andrew Hendrickson, A&S Computing
Karen McGregor, Vermont Community Access Media
Barbara Mercure, Facilities Scheduling
Joan Smith, A&S Dean
Martin Thaler, Bill Schenk, Theatre Dept.
Wes Wright, CIT
PATRONS OF THE CAUSE
Bloomberg Foundation,
NJ
Budin, Greenman
and Greenman, NJ
Matthew Byrne,
Attorney, IL
Sallie Chafer,
Ziggurat Consulting, WV
James
Copeland, National
Forensic
League
Nicholas
Danigelis, UVM
Steve
Dolley, Nuclear Control Institute, DC
Glenn Ellingson,
Verizon, CA
Laura LaPierre
Ellingson, Santa Clara Univ., CA
Jeffrey Fernandez,
NY
Justin
Green, Dallas, TX
Jethro
Hayman & Cleopatra Jones, Cornell University
Jewish Communal
Fund, NYC
Tomislav
Kargacin, Novi Sad, Serbia
Kirkland &
Ellis Foundation, Chicago, IL
Ashlyn Murphy
Lembree, NH
Terry McKnight,
VT
John Meany,
Claremont Colleges
Helen
Morgan, Univ. of Pittsburgh
Chuck
Morton, Attorney, MD
Col. Eric
Nelson, US Air Force
Debbie
Newman, Cambridge Union, UK
Justin
Parmett, Univ. of South Carolina, SC
Sam
Press, Attorney, VT
Erynne Ross,
Attorney, IL
Raelynn
Schwartz, Wake Forest Univ., NC
Noel
Selegzi, International Debate Education Association
Paula Skowron,
RI
Bojana Skrt,
Z.I.P., Slovenia
Larry Stempler,
Attorney, NJ
Verizon Foundation,
CA
Lord
Watson of Richmond, OBE, UK
Marc
Whitmore, English-Speaking Union, London, UK
Steve
Woods, Western Washington Univ.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
FLASHPOINT
Weekly television show on Burlington
Channel 15, Wed. 12:30 PM, Thur. 10:30 PM, Sat. 1 PM. 250 different shows so
far. Now also available on the Internet.
WORLD DEBATE INSTITUTE
Two week intensive summer debate
program held for 20 summers. The largest summer educational program in the USA
for college debaters, in 2001 had over 300 students from 15 nations.
DEBATE CENTRAL
The Internet's largest and most
complete resource for debate related instructional, theoretical,
organizational, and reference material. 30,000 hits a day, used by 72
countries, at http://debate.uvm.edu/
WEBCASTS OF DEBATES
CEDA Nationals, Fullerton, CA; NFL
Nationals, Oklahoma City, OK.; Primer Torneo Hispanoamericano de Debate,
Santiago, Chile; Barkley Forum for High Schools, Atlanta, GA.
THE VOICE OF EDWIN
Our weekly newsletter available to
any and all. Let us know if you would like a mail or email subscription.
SPEAKERS FROM THE HOUSE
Weekly statewide television program
of Vermont legislature democrats presented by Abigail Trebilcock and Aaron
Fishbone.
URBAN DEBATE LEAGUES
Working with 15 cities bringing
debate teams to inner city high schools.
PARTNERSHIPS
Asian Studies Outreach Program, UVM
Burlington High School
English Speaking Union, UK
Free Debate Club of Belgrade, YU
Inner Mongolia Normal University,
China
International Debate Education
Association
Kyung Hee University, Republic of
Korea
Nuclear Threat Initiative,
Washington, DC
Sino-American Seminar on Educational
Leadership, China
Universidad Diego Portales, Chile
Vermont Debate and Forensic League
Vermont Principals Association
World Debate Organization