Debate

• Bethany Debate Wins First AND Second place at NorCal Championships!

  February, 2007
  
  Bethany University debate team dominated the field at the Annual Northern California Championship tournament Feb 9-11. The team had the extremely rare achievement of closing out the Junior Division and winning both First and Second Place awards. The team also had the 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th, and 13th best speakers in Junior Division and the 11th best speaker in Novice Division.
  
  Twenty-five other colleges and universities attended the NorCal Championships, including: UC Davis, University of the Pacific, San Jose State University, San Francisco State University, CSU Chico, Humboldt State University, St. Mary’s College, and others.
  
  The teams of Greg Steward and Darin Conley, and Ryan Popineau and Sarajane Stewart took home First and Second Place honors at the tournament. The teams first advanced to Quarterfinals where they defended the resolution “This House believes that rehab is a cop-out.” This took them to the Semifinals, where they debated the resolution “Engage Iran.” Steward and Conley were put on opposition. Popineau and Stewart were put on the affirmative. Both teams won on a decisive 3-0 decision – clinching both First and Second Place honors for Bethany.
  
  They were specially honored at the tournament award ceremony for their achievement.
  
  Other topics at the tournament included: Whether or not consumerism is consuming the US public, Whether or not reality television obscures reality, Whether or not Intelligent Design should be taught in public schools, Whether or not market environmentalism is better than government restrictions, and others.
  
  Clinching First and Second Place at the Annual Northern California Championships added another win to Bethany’s impressive debate record. This is the eleventh tournament where the debate team has advanced into the elimination rounds, and the fifth tournament that they have won outright. The team has won both the Fall Pacific Southwest and the Northern California championships this year. This is also the second year in a row that Bethany has taken First Place at the Northern California Championship.
  
  Below is a synopsis of the NorCal Championship awards:
  
  Greg Steward and Darin Conley – First Place (Junior division)
  Sarajane Stewart and Ryan Popineau – Second Place (Junior division)
  Greg Steward – 6^th Best Speaker (Junior division)
  Sarajane Stewart – 7^th Best Speaker (Junior division)
  Ryan Popineau – 8^th Best Speaker (Junior division)
  Aaron Cannistraci – 11^th Best Speaker (Junior division)
  Darin Conley – 13^th Best Speaker (Junior division)
  Jenna Martin – 11^th Best Speaker (Novice division)
  
  

• Bethany Debate Team Undefeated at Pacific Southwest Championships!

  Debate Team with awards at Fall Pacific Southwest Championships

  
  

  December, 2006
  
  Bethany University debate team took home a slew of awards the weekend of December 1-3 at the biggest tournament in the Southwest region-the Fall Pacific Southwest Championships. Bethany University took home 1st and 3rd place in junior division and a double octofinalist award in novice division. The team also had the 3rd, 6th, and 11th best speakers out of the 72 speakers who competed in the junior division.
  
  The tournament attracted 42 colleges and universities from Arizona, Nevada and California. Over 124 teams (248 students) participated in the debates. Some of the colleges and universities in attendance included: Azusa Pacific, Point Loma, Claremont, Pepperdine, University of Nevada Reno, Cal Baptist University, Northern Arizona University, UC San Diego, University of the Pacific, San Diego State University, Biola, Vanguard, CSU Longbeach, CSU Los Angeles, and others.
  
  The team of Greg Steward and Jenna Martin took home third place in junior division. They first won on a 3-0 decision in the octofinals debating the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. This took them to the quarterfinals where they won another decisive 3-0 decision against Asuza Pacific on the topic of US farm subsidies. This took them to the semifinal round where they were narrowly defeated by Point Loma on a split 3-2 decision on the topic of lifting the embargo on Cuba.
  
  However, they were avenged in the final round by the Bethany team of Ryan Popineau and Sarajane Stewart who took home first place in junior division by defeating the Point Loma team on a 4-1 decision on the topic of a Federal ban on the use and production of tobacco cigarettes.
  
  Popineau and Stewart also had the rare achievement of going undefeated and being the number one seed in their division. They finished the tournament with an astounding 10-0 record.
  
  In novice division, Aaron Cannistraci and Kadin Williams made this their third tournament in a row where they have made award rounds by advancing to partial double octofinals.
  
  The team's joint achievements earned them additional honors at the tournament. Bethany University won first place for limited entry teams and was also awarded 5^th best overall four year school. This category calculates wins from both debate and individual events (such as impromptu, persuasive speaking, poetry reading, etc.). Despite not being entered into any individual events, Bethany was still able to take 5^th place solely on the strength of their debate performances.
  
  Topics at the tournament included: Women in combat, US Foreign policy toward Israel, US Foreign Policy with Mexico, US foreign policy towards Cuba, US Federal Government ban on tobacco cigarettes, whether justice is revenge, Don't Ask Don't Tell military policy, US recognition of Hamas, and others.
  
  Winning the Fall PSCFA Championships made this the tenth tournament in a row where the debate team has advanced into the elimination rounds, and the fourth tournament that they have won outright. Among those wins are the Northern California Championships (Novice Division) and the Novice National Championships.
  
  Below is a synopsis of the debate team's awards:
  
  Ryan Popineau and Sarajane Stewart - First Place
  Jenna Martin and Greg Steward - Third Place
  Kadin Williams and Aaron Cannistraci - Double Octofinalists
  
  
  Sarajane Stewart - 3^rd Best Speaker (out of 72)
  Greg Steward - 6^th Best Speaker (out of 72)
  Jenna Martin - 11^th Best Speaker (out of 72)
  
  
  1^st Place limited entry sweepstakes award
  5^th best overall four year school sweepstakes award
  

• Bethany Debate Team Excels in Season Opener!

  October 17, 2006
  
  The Bethany Debate team got the season off to a great start the weekend of October 13-15, advancing two teams to award rounds at the annual Santa Rosa Invitational.
  
  Fifty-three teams were entered at the tournament, comprised of the 16 colleges and universities in the novice and open divisions, including: UC Davis, Saint Mary's University, San Jose State University, University of San Francisco, and Santa Clara University, among others.
  
  Returning debaters Darin Conley and Greg Steward made Bethany Debate history by being the first team to advance to award rounds in open division. This is the highest division offered in the National Parliamentary Debate Association. The team advanced to Quarter Finals before dropping on a split 2-1 decision on the topic of sending help to Darfur.
  
  Newcomers Kadin Williams and Aaron Cannistraci made a great splash in novice division, advancing to Octofinals before dropping on the topic of federal energy policy reforms. This is an amazing accomplishment, considering that this is the pair's first debate tournament.
  
  Bethany Debate also had two speakers ranked in the top ten speakers of the tournament! Sarajane Stewart ranked seventh in open division, while Kadin Williams ranked eighth in novice division. This is Stewart's first time in open division, and Williams' first debate tournament.
  
  Topics at the tournament included: aiding Darfur, federal tax reform, body mass index regulations for runway models, third party negotiations with North Korea, U.S. energy policy reform, U.S. combat policy reform, and others.
  
  The success at the Santa Rosa Invitational continues Bethany's winning streak that started in the Spring of 2005, and includes winning the Northern California Championships (novice) and the Novice National Championships. This is Bethany's eighth tournament in a row where they have advanced to award rounds.

• Bethany's debate team was one of three Christian College debate teams covered in Christianity Today this week!!
  
  Arguing for God
  
  
• Bethany Debate Team Wins Novice National Championships!!

  Bethany University stunned seasoned veteran universities this past weekend in Rome, Georgia, by winning the 24th Annual Novice National Debate Championships. Previous winners of the prestigious tournament include: United States Airforce Academy, University of Houston, and Rice University.
  
  Colleges and universities from around the country attended the Novice National Championship, including: United States Air Force Academy (Colorado), University of New Mexico, University of South Carolina, Belmont University (Tennessee), Lock Haven University (Pennsylvania), Augsburg College (Minnosota), and others.
  
  Facing a pool of the best novice debaters in the nation, Bruin debaters Ryan Popineau and Sarajane Stewart advanced to the elimination rounds as the second seed of the tournament. The team of Darin Conley and Greg Steward narrowly missed advancing to the elimination rounds, but still managed to take top speaker honors by finishing as the 13th and 14th best speakers respectively.
  
  Popineau and Stewart first faced the United States Airforce Academy in the Quarter Final round, defeating them on the topic of whether or not to maintain a U.S. presence in Iraq.
  
  This took them into the Semifinal round, where they faced Belmont University from Nashville, Tennessee, on the topic of whether or not the Supreme Court has gained too much power. Here again, the Bethany team prevailed, winning the round on a 2-1 decision.
  
  This set up the championship round between Bethany University and the University of New Mexico, who were the top two seeds at the tournament. The championship round had five judges from various States around the nation. The teams debated the sexual politics of the Miss America pageant. Bethany University defeated the University of New Mexico on a 3-2 decision.
  
  Terry Rogers, from Western Nebraska Community College, said that the round was "one of the finest debates I've had the privilege to adjudicate".
  
  Winning the Novice National Debate Championships added another win to the impressive record that Bethany has managed to accumulate. This is the seventh tournament in a row where the debate team has advanced into the elimination rounds, and the third tournament in a row that they have won. Their most recent win prior to the Novice National Championships was the Northern California Forensics Association Championship tournament.
  
  God has truly blessed our team, and we thank all of you who supported us in prayer before the tournament and while we were competing in Georgia. We are thankful to God for each and every victory, and for what He is doing in and through these debaters.

  Debate Team winning Nationals
  
  
• Bethany Debate team wins Northern California Championship!

  Bethany University debate team reached a new high last weekend when they won the biggest tournament in the Northern California region - the Northern California Forensics Association Championships. The team also had the 5th, 8th, 12th, and 14th best speakers out of the 74 speakers who competed. This is the second tournament in a row that they have won outright.
  
  University of the Pacific Assistant Coach, Mark Urista, commented after the award ceremony that "[Bethany University] is developing a phenomenal program".
  
  Twenty-five other colleges and universities attended the NorCal Championships, including: UC Davis, University of the Pacific, San Jose State University, San Francisco State University, CSU Chico, Humboldt State University, St. Mary's College, and others.
  
  Facing a large pool of thirty-seven teams, Bruin novice debaters Abigail Ortiz, Sarajane Stewart, Darin Conley, and Greg Steward all advanced into the single elimination award rounds. The accomplishment made this the sixth tournament in a row where Bethany has advanced to award rounds.
  
  Tournaments are made up of six prelim rounds, which decide who will advance into the single elimination award rounds. After these rounds, each team that advances is ranked and put into brackets according to their ranking. The team of Ortiz/Stewart was the top seed at the tournament! Team Conley/Steward was also seeded high, taking the 8th seed at the tournament.
  
  Both teams advanced past the Octofinal round and into Quarterfinals. Unfortunately, because of their respective rankings, the two teams were forced to hit each other in the Quarterfinal round. Since two teams from the same university are not allowed to compete against each other, the top seed of Ortiz/Stewart advanced to the Semifinal rounds.
  
  Ortiz/Stewart decisively won both the Semifinal and Final rounds, taking both on 3-0 decisions. Overall, Ortiz/Stewart lost only 1 judge's ballot at the tournament (in prelims), making their overall record of judges' ballots an incredible 14-1.
  
  Here is a synopsis of their awards:
  
  Abigail Ortiz and Sarajane Stewart - First Place
  Greg Steward and Darin Conley - Quarterfinalists (by default)
  
  Sarajane Stewart - 5th Best Speaker
  Darin Conley - 8th Best Speaker
  Greg Steward - 12th Best Speaker
  Abigail Ortiz - 14th Best Speaker

  Bethany debate team wins again
  - Santa Cruz Sentinel, February 19, 2006

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• Bethany's Debate Team Wins First Place

  The Bethany debate team overwhelmed the competition at the Annual Kevin Twohy Classic speech and debate tournament this past weekend. With only three teams entered, Bethany won first place in their division, placed all three teams in the quarter finals, placed two teams in the semifinals, and had four of the top ten speakers.
  
  27 teams were entered in their bracket, comprised of the 22 colleges and universities at the event, including: UC Davis, University of the Pacific, San Jose State University, San Francisco State University, and Santa Clara University.
  
  Bethany University's debate performance was so impressive that they took 3rd place for best overall University! This category calculates wins from both debate and individual events (such as impromptu, persuasive speaking, poetry reading, etc.). Despite not being entered into any individual events, Bethany was still able to take 3rd place solely on the strength of their debate performances.
  
  Here is a synopsis of their awards:
  
  Debate
  1^st Place - Sarajane Stewart and Abigail Ortiz
  Semifinalists - Darin Conley and Greg Steward Quarterfinalists - Delia Gonzales and Justin D'Agostino
  
  Speaker Awards
  2^nd best speaker - Sarajane Stewart
  7^th best speaker - Abigail Ortiz
  8^th best speaker - Greg Steward
  10^th best speaker - Darin Conley
  
  Sweepstakes Award (Top 3 Universities Overall)
  3^rd place
  
  Topics at the tournament included: US foreign policy in South America; The effects of technology on work ethic; The U.S. policy on energy conservation; Quality television becoming a lost art; The federal war on drugs being an invasion of privacy; and others.
  
  The Bethany debate team is only in their first year and already having remarkable success. The team has made it into the award rounds at every tournament they have entered this year.

• Bethany University Hosts Clash Debate Tournament
  
  

  		On Saturday, November 5th, Bethany University hosted its first regional home school debate tournament. The guest debaters were competitors from the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association. Heading up the debate tournament was the Clash debate society. A total of one hundred participants were involved in five rounds of policy debate on the topic of medical malpractice reform.
  		Bethany's Dean of Enrollment and former Harvard debate alum, Niki Santo, opened the day with a welcoming speech to the competitors and their families. Several Bethany faculty and debate team members volunteered as judges for the event. The tournament began at 8:00 in the morning with final rounds ending at around 7:00 pm.
  		At the end of five rounds of debate, the first place award for varsity division went to Modesto's Gowen and Hoftiezer, and in the novice division Liber's Smith and Wyer took home first place. There were also awards given for the top ten speakers in both novice and varsity divisions. The top speaker for varsity division was Katie Philpot. In the novice division Diane Buscemi took top honors. Bethany University's debate coach and director of communications, Professor James H. Stewart, presented both speakers with hard bound Webster's Dictionaries in honor of their achievements. The Bethany University debate team, in cooperation with the greater Bethany community, was proud to host the Clash debate tournament and looks forward to many more in the future.

• Bethany Debaters Advance to Quarter Finals in Season Opener!

  At the NAIA Region II cross country meet held on Saturday November 5, 2005, junior Ashley Watkins made Bethany history by being the first athlete to qualify for an NAIA National Championship. She received one of five individual at large births to the national meet held in Louisville, Kentucky on November 19th. Watkins covered the fast 5K course at Woodward Park in Fresno, California in a season's best time of 19:18.
  
  Meanwhile, sophomore teammate Michelle Roth just missed qualifying for the national meet by 8 places. She finished in a season's best time of 20:28, a 13 second improvement over last year. Roth capped off a respectable 2005 season by setting new school records at virtually every meet for the #2 all-time sophomore at Bethany University. She also played a vital role as a training partner, friend and teammate to Bethany's first national qualifier.
  
  Both Roth and Watkins are a part of one of the most competitive NAIA Regions in the country. Region II has 6 womens cross country teams ranked in the top 20 of the nation (Concordia, Point Loma, Cal. State-San Marcos, Azusa Pacific, Westmont and Vanguard). All of which will be competing at the 2005 national meet.
  
  Head Coach Ron Marsh is already building on this year's success looking to recruit a full women's team to compete at the regional and national level.

• Debate Team

  This past weekend, Greg Steward and Darin Conley broke to the novice award rounds at the Annual University of Pacific speech and debate tournament in Stockton. The accomplishment continued the Bethany Debate team's win streak by making this the fourth consecutive tournament that Bethany has placed at. The team went 4-2 in pre-elimination rounds before dropping in octofinals on the topic of recycling.
  
  Steward and Conley have reached the award rounds at every tournament they have entered this year. It is only their first semester of debate.
  
  The tournament attracted national attention this year, with 33 colleges and universities entering and 114 individual teams competing. Some of the universities in attendance included: UC Berkley, UCLA, UC Davis, University of Kentucky, University of Florida, University of Nevada Reno, University of Northern Arizona, Colorado College, Rice University, and others.
  
  Topics included: Nuclear proliferation, legalization of mountain lion hunting in California, proposal for US Supreme Court to be weakened, US Fed. Employees having the right to strike, closure of US military bases on foreign soil, UN attention to Syria, and whether or not recycling is a wasteful activity.
  
  This is the team's final tournament of the semester. They are gearing up to compete again in January.

  Monday, Jan 3rd, 2005
  New Speech and Debate Team Set to Begin Spring 2005

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