Members of the LSC-Tomball Debate Club participated in the Houston Area League of Forensics Parliamentary Debate Marathon tournament October 10th and 11th. Students Caleb Loomis, Allison Altman, Jaques Keyes, and Eric Robinson formed two-person teams and faced similar teams from around the state including Texas State University, Howard Payne University, San Jacinto College North, and Lone Star College-Kingwood.
Parliamentary-style intercollegiate debate features two-person teams debating questions of fact, value or policy in a timed format using alternating constructive and rebuttal speeches punctuated by cross-examination. Teams represent the “Government” or the “Opposition” and make use of a modified parliamentary procedure. The competitors are issued a new topic 20 minutes before each round and are allowed no prepared evidence in the round. Speakers must rely on their own knowledge of current events and their skill in critical thinking. Topics at this event included UN. corruption, reduction of energy poverty, health care reform, troop levels in Afghanistan, federal support for homeschooling, and international response to a nuclear Iran.