October 29, 2009
This week's Northeast University Sweepstakes rankings place 
the St. John’s University Debate Society with an early
lead in the year-long race. As of October 27, according to
Professor Alfred C. Snider, Ph.D., Director of Debate at the
University of Vermont, the rankings, schools and totals are:
1 St John's 108
2 Cornell 103
2 Hobart William Smith 103
4 Colgate 101
5 Vermont 93
6 Bates 92
7 Bard 53
8 Kings 48
9 Williams 31
10 Rochester 27
11 Cape Cod 21
12 Rochester Institute of Technology 16
13 Cortland 9
The entire debate society contributes to this effort, says Stephen
Llano, Assistant Professor in St. John’s College of Liberal Arts
and Science and Director of Debate. “The efforts of each
student-pair who compete at a tournament are reflected in the point
total. The race is a reflection of the overall strength of the club
and each student who participates at tournaments.”
St. John's is doing extremely well this year due to hard work by
team members while attending some of the toughest tournaments in
the world this semester - the Claremont Colleges US Open, The
University of Toronto Hart House IV (intervarsity), and the Yale
IV. All of these tournaments saw St. John's debaters rise to the
challenge and finish each tournament with a respectable
record.
The Northeast University Sweepstakes race concludes in the second
week of April after the U.S. University National Championships,
which this year will be held at Regis University in Denver,
Colorado.
The St. John's University Debate Society is housed in the
Department of Rhetoric, Communication and Theater, but is open to
any and all St. John's University students. There are no auditions,
try-outs or fees.
Students who are interested should attend one of the regular
meetings for more information. Contact Professor. Llano (llanos@stjohns.edu or
718-990-5606) or join our group on Facebook. Interested Faculty are
always welcome to attend any meeting to observe practice.