GROVE CITY, Pa. – The Debating Society was the first student society founded at Grove City College. And while the society no longer exists, the Speech and Debate Team does, in a big way. In just its third year of Parliamentary debate competition, the team is ranked seventh out of more than 200 schools nationally.

The College is a member of the National Parliamentary Debate Association, the largest debate association in the country. At each tournament, approximately 15 to 20 other schools compete.

In the squad’s final competition for the semester from Dec. 5 to 6 at Loyola University in Chicago, Ill., the team claimed first place for the fifth time this year. The team competes in one tournament a month, and has won sweepstakes, or overall, for every tournament it has competed in this year.

“Parliamentary debate relies on general knowledge and persuasion more than technical mastery or outside research,” said Dr. Steven Jones, associate professor of sociology and an adviser of the debate program. “The fact that our students do so well is a testament to the quality of the student body.”

Parliamentary debate is unique among types of debate in that instead of debating a single resolution – the key phrase which teams defend or refute – for the whole year, students debate a different resolution each round. They learn the resolution 15 minutes before the debate and have that amount of time to prepare. Most resolutions are taken from current events or are broad philosophical questions, Jones said. Students need a wide knowledge base to debate.

In Parliamentary debate, the Government team interprets and defends the resolution. The Opposition tries to refute the Government. After numerous preliminary rounds, the judges decide on eight to 16 teams who advance to the “out rounds,” or semi-final, single elimination rounds. “We have always broken (sent to the out rounds) at least three teams,” Jones said.

When the debate squad competed at rival Hillsdale College’s tournament in October for example, its teams placed first, third and fifth in the varsity competition and first in the novice competition.

“We’re having a good year,” Jones said, adding that most teams are winning about 75 percent of the time.

These wins are not only against small private colleges but against major universities and state schools such as Michigan State, Florida State University and the University of Alabama. The teams debate whoever attends the competitions, regardless of the school’s size. The College’s debate squad, which consists of 20 students, meets twice a week to practice and prepare for competitions.

The meetings are largely student-run. While many colleges have a full-time debate coach, Jones coaches on the side. At the College, the upper level debaters coach the lower level ones.

Occasionally the two final teams left in the competition will be Grove City College teams. When that happens, the College has “closed out,” and the teams do not debate each other. “I want them to think as a squad more than as individual teams,” Jones said.

The team of junior Luke Juday of Chesapeake, Va., squad president, and sophomore Dayne Batten of Cary, N.C., won the first three tournaments the College competed in this year.

Additionally, “Kelsey [Winther] is possibly the single best refutation debater I’ve ever seen,” Jones said. Last year, Winther, a native of Modesto, Calif., received the honor of top speaker at the national competition.

There are four varsity teams on the squad, and Jones said he is convinced that any one of these teams “can win any competition any time.”

The squad will compete at the national tournament in California in March. “Last year, we had two of the top four teams,” Jones said. “Frankly, I’d like to do that again.”

Dr. Jason Edwards, associate professor of education, also advises the team with Jones.