KU British Parliamentary debate team enjoys successful season

LAWRENCE — This year, the KU Debate program offered Jayhawks the opportunity to compete in a different format from the policy style for which the University of Kansas program is primarily known. British Parliamentary debate is a format that is used internationally.

The format consists of two-person teams debating in rounds that involve four teams. The teams are ranked in the debate first through fourth based on which teams did the better job of debating. The students are given a topic 15 minutes before the debate begins. The topics they debated this season ranged from questions of foreign and domestic policy to arguments about social media, economics, philosophy and competing values such as “does money buy happiness.”  The debaters rely on their preparation and wit for their speeches in each debate. It requires students to have a wide range of knowledge to compete in the BP format.

This was the first year that KU students competed in a full season of BP debate competitions, and the team enjoyed a successful year. The squad competed in the Yaatly Online Debate League tournament series and qualified to compete in the in-person YODL Championship tournament hosted by California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, which took place March 28-30.

The team of Alex Brake, Olathe, and Stevie Silverman, Raytown, Missouri, reached the finals of the honors division at the British Parliamentary YODL Debate Championship tournament. The pair competed in six rounds of debates to qualify for the semifinals in the honors division.

In the semifinal round, they competed against Carroll College, the University of Idaho and Lewis & Clark College. The topic for the debate was “This house believes that the rise of short-form content (TikTok, Reels, Shorts, etc.) has done more harm than good for the music industry.” The top two teams, Kansas and Idaho, advanced to the championship debate. The other two teams in the championship were the University of Miami and Lewis & Clark College. The topic for the finals was “This house believes that the urban-rural divide is more about cultural identity than economic disparities.”  Lewis & Clark College were the winners of the honors championship.

Two other KU teams represented KU at the championship tournament: Isaac Martinez, Spearman, Texas, with Morgan Peters, Clay Center; and Estrella Hernandez, Kansas City, Missouri, with Abraham Frederick, Mulberry.

Schools competing at the YODL Championship tournament included the Air Force Academy, the University of Alaska, Ball State University, California Polytechnic State University, Carroll College, Colorado College, Claremont College, Clemson University, the University of Denver, the College of Idaho, Lewis & Clark College, Loyola Chicago University, Loyola Marymount University, the University of Mississippi, Morehouse College, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Regis University, Seattle University, Texas Tech University, the University of Vermont, Willamette University and the University of Wisconsin.

Each of the KU teams performed well over the course of the season, ranking first in multiple debates. The team of Martinez and Peters reached the semifinals of the honors division at a YODL tournament in February, competing against the University of Seattle, the University of Mississippi and Lewis & Clark College. The topic for the semifinal debate was “This house would tax unused real estate at a higher rate.”

The coaches for the KUBP team are Saiemeh Wahidi and Ash Denchfield, graduate students in the Department of Communication Studies.

“Saiemeh and Ash have done a phenomenal job teaching the BP format to our students and have devoted a great deal of time preparing them for the tournaments,” said Scott Harris, the David B. Pittaway Director of Debate at KU. “I am so impressed with the progress the squad has made in such a short time.”

Wahidi and Denchfield came to KU with extensive experience in British Parliamentary debate. Denchfield was a BP and policy debate coach at Kansas State University, and Wahidi was a championship BP debater in Afghanistan.

“The best feeling for me was seeing our debaters represent KU among so many universities in the in-person championship tournament in California,” Wahidi said. “Seeing our debaters' powerful representation of KU through their debating skills and our achievements in the in-person championship showed me that we have come a long way and made great improvements that I will forever be proud of.”

Denchfield said, “Our three teams are filled with young scholars, inquisitive minds and a hunger for more. They are quick-witted, sharp and speedy with their argumentation. I do not doubt that next year at the National YODL Tournament that we will see all of them in finals.”

KU Debate will return to competition in British Parliamentary debate next fall. Any KU student interested in joining the KU BP team should contact Harris.