UNLV’s Don Fagan and Amber Jones fight to win the final round for novices at SWC’s Hannie Shaft Invitational Debate Tournament. Photo by Victoria Gonzalez

 

“Alternative facts” had no place at SWC’s second annual Hannie Schaft Invitational Debate Tournament. Reality ruled as college and university students discussed topics straight out of recent presidential speeches.

Turns out that the truth can be kind of sexy.

This year the tournament, the only one of its kind in San Diego County, drew 25 debating duos from 10 institutions, including the University of Miami, USC and The New School from New York.

SWC was represented by debaters Arantxa Calles, 20, a telemedia major who won second place nationally last year, and Jorge del Castillo, 21, a political science major, the reigning Southern California district champion. Debate coach Jordan Mills said Calles and del Castillo put in a very good showing in the Open category, where they got to the sixth round.

“Unfortunately, they didn’t quite make it, but for a second-year team, up against teams that are on full scholarship to four-year schools, to be only one round away from breaking was actually very impressive,” Mills said.

SWC students taking the intersession debate class had the opportunity to debate for the first time among the nation’s best.

Novice debater Amanda Estevané, 18, a psychology major, debated against UNLV. She participated because she thought it would be interesting.

“We had only done one debate in class, so that was like our first actual debate really,” she said.

Estevané said she was impressed by the UNLV students’courage and raw talent.

“The UNLV team was really good,” she said. “It was sort of scary because they have experience and I knew they were going to be good right off the bat.

Mills said the tournament was an opportunity for first-time debaters.

“It was a really good chance to get people a chance to sort of get their feet wet and try out debate when they wouldn’t have had a chance normally.”

Professor of Communication Graciela Saez, a star debater from Gonzaga University, serves as SWC’s second debate coach. She said the team participates in cross examination debate, often referred to as policy debate.

“We focus on whether a policy should be implemented or not, so it’s usually more connected to policy making and what our government does and should be doing and how we relate to our governments,” she said. “Some other types of debate don’t discuss policy as much.”

Greenhouse gas emissions is this year’s topic. Topics are selected annually by the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA), the organizing body of policy style debate.

This year’s National Championship Tournament located in Kansas City, Kansas, was itself the subject of a debate. Kansas is subject to a boycott by California Assembly Bill AB 1887, which forbids California public funds to be spent in Kansas, Mississipi, North Carolina and Tennessee, all states that have legislated discrimination against the LGBT community. All four states prohibit transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Mills said he thinks the site should be moved, but considered a plan to have the team stay in neighboring Kansas City, Missouri.

“If we can make it so we are not spending any money in Kansas and we stay in Missouri, we might go out to Nationals there,” he said.

Before the team figured out how to participate in Nationals, it first needed to qualify. Unfortunately, it did not.

Four SWC teams participated in the District 1 Qualifier and Pacific Championships at USC in the Open and Novice categories. Three were able to get to round six before being eliminated.