DePauw Debater Wins Indiana University Debates Commemorating Lincoln Bicentennial

Senior Michael Lutz won the Intervarsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate Competition held at Indiana University, February 7-8, 2009.  The event, sponsored by the Hutton Honors College, the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, ABE at IU, the Maurer School of Law, and others, brought together the top teams in debate from Illinois and Indiana to commemorate the Lincoln Bicentennial.

Lutz compiled a preliminary 5-1 record to advance to the semi-finals, and then to the final round where he faced stiff competition from the University of Illinois, but Lutz prevailed on a 4-1 decision because of the strength of his arguments and his persuasive performance according to the judges who were IU Professors, Bloomington City Council members, and Monroe County Council members.  The resolution for the tournament was “The United States Should Significantly Curtail the Powers of the President.”  Lutz spoke on the negative side in the final round.

Keelin Kelly, the other DePauw debater invited to the tournament, and Lutz’s regular season partner, also had a strong finish.  She compiled a 4-2 record in preliminary rounds to advance to the semi-finals, dropping in that round to the debater from Illinois that Lutz went on to defeat in the finals.

 

DePauw Debate: Now and Then

DePauw Debaters insisted on visiting the Ben & Jerry's Factory after rounds at the US Universities National Debate Championships hosted by the University of Vermont, April 2-5, 2009. Left to Right: Christine Walker, Avery Archer, Aaron Dicker, Kevin Milne, Keelin Kelly, and Michael Lutz.

 

 

The DePauw Debate Team heads for the Vandalia station in April 1897 to take the train for a debate with Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. One of the team members is historian Charles A. Beard.