Union’s Debate Team Hosts Virtual Tournament

On Sept. 29-Oct. 2, the Union University debate team hosted a virtual debate tournament in Jennings Hall with 140 students from 26 different schools, while also housing students from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) on campus.

On Friday, Union welcomed students from the MTSU debate team for the first virtual debate tournament Union had ever hosted. Teams all the way from Florida to Oklahoma participated in the tournament online, while the Union debate team, with the help of others, facilitated the tournament from Union’s campus.

With COVID-19 no longer impacting travel among states, the necessity of virtual tournaments has been put into question. However, Rebecca Whitaker, Union’s debate coach, believes that they still provide many opportunities for students competing in debate.

Unlike in-person tournaments, virtual tournaments provide a unique chance for students to learn communication skills through online platforms. This has become an integral part of communication in businesses and society and is an important skill for students to learn.

“One really important reason why we need to continue having virtual tournaments is because much of how business operates and how our society operates now is virtual,” Whitaker said. “And so we’re really doing our students a disservice by not teaching them and training them and giving them opportunities to practice effective communication through computer media communication.”

Virtual tournaments also tend to benefit smaller schools with smaller budgets for their programs.

“Our budgets are not increasing for the most part. There are some schools whose budgets are increasing but many are not. And smaller schools just have smaller budgets. And so this creates a more equal playing field for people who can’t travel to as many tournaments as they need to,” Whitaker said.

At a debate workshop this summer, Coach Whitaker heavily advocated keeping virtual tournaments as an option for schools. Having Union host a tournament was one practical way to back up this idea.

“Because I was advocating so fiercely in that meeting that we needed to keep allowing virtual tournaments I decided to put feet to my words by hosting one, ” Whitaker said.

MTSU’s coach, Patrick Richey, helped run the technological side of the tournament while Union’s team prepped MTSU for their debate rounds in the competition. Coach Whitaker had a vision for the tournament to incorporate MTSU into their team by creating an environment of Christian hospitality for the students.

“One tangible thing that Union does is helping incoming students literally unpack their vehicles and move them into the dorm so we are going to do the same thing with MTSU. We are going to host them on campus and point them to who God is through the process,” Whitaker said.

Throughout the weekend, Union’s debate team had groups of individuals designated to help MTSU competitors feel welcome. This helped to create bonds between schools that build a community based on more than just debate, while teaching the students important communication skills in the process.

“Hosting a tournament is a valuable opportunity because it allows us to further develop our relationships by serving other schools on the circuit,” Micah McGee, junior business major, said. “This strengthens our connections in the debate community and gives students a new understanding of the value of civil discourse.”

Photo by Laila Al-Hagal