Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Over the break, Swarthmore competed at the Dartmouth College debate tournament in New Hampshire. Julie Baker ’08 and her partner, Dylan Gadek from Yale University, reached the semifinal round and placed 4th overall out of 58 teams from the most prestigious colleges and universities in the Northeast. Baker was also the top speaker at the tournament out of 116 competitors.
Over January 26-27, two teams from Swarthmore competed at the North American Debate Championship held at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Baker and partner Chris Ford ’07 competed in the quarterfinal round, ranking 8th out of the 60 best varsity teams from the U.S. and Canada and qualifying to compete at the American Parliamentary Debate Association’s national championship tournament in the process. Ford ranked 4th speaker overall out of 120 competitors.
Last weekend the Peaslee Debate Society attended the 8th Annual International Debate Championship at New York University. Chris Sawyer ’10 and Cyrus Stoller ’10 placed 5th amongst novice teams in attendance. Julie Baker ’08 and Chris Ford ’07 went undefeated in preliminary rounds and broke to varsity semifinals, where they lost in a close 4-3 decision. Baker and Ford placed 3rd team overall out of 100 teams at what was one of the most competitive tournaments of the year. Additionally, Baker was the 3rd place individual speaker out of 200 debaters. Her finish this weekend makes her currently the highest ranked female college debater in the country.