For the first time in more than two years, the University of La Verne debate team traveled to the East Coast to compete in the Harvard University Speech and Debate Championship last weekend.
While winning first place in the Pubic Speaking category, La Verne completed a personal mission of the team by defeating Yale, the sole Ivy League school the team had not previously defeated. The team’s overall record is 15-8.
Although Stanford University took first place in debate, the La Verne victory in Public Speaking came in large part to alumnus and current director of debate, Jason Sandford, accomplishing a good portion of the team’s original goal. In winning, Sandford defeated Yale, Columbia, New York University, Brandeis and Windsor. While more than 150 schools were in attendance, ULV and Stanford were the only two West Coast universities in the tournament.
“It was scary and nerve-wracking, but ability-wise, I knew they were not any better than we were,” said sophomore Bonnie Chuen about competing against the larger universities.
Junior Christina Hernandez and Sandford defeated Cornell (3-0), Tufts (1-0) and Vassar (1-0); Chuen and senior Joshua Heydorff defeated MIT (3-0) and Bates (1-0); and sophomore Shannon Beets and junior Scott Mac Kay defeated Wesleyan (1-0) and Tufts (1-0).
—Cory Cruz
