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Deep South Debate Brings Verbal Sparring to Mississippi College


Coach Merle Ziegler joins members of the Mississippi College debate team for a photo in late September outside Aven Hall.

Mississippi College debaters recently discussed how to strengthen the United Nations, whether standardized testing is a necessary evil and putting a man on Mars as NASA’s top priority.

All that verbal sparring by MC students and their opponents came at a recent debate tournament in Texas.

On December 4-5, Mississippi College students will sharpen their verbal skills. They will face teams from Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi in the Deep South Debate on the Clinton campus.

The event on the Clinton campus will attract 70 to 80 debaters from schools around the region. For the past dozen years, Mississippi College hosted the tournament.

MC’s debate squad is led by graduate student James Tulp of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, who competes in the professional division.

Undergraduates like Andrew Rock of Birmingham, Alabama compete in the junior varsity division. Students Will Earnhart of Madison, and McLaurin High graduate Elli Wilkinson of Brandon are MC debaters in the novice division.

All four students turned in exceptional performances in debate tournaments the past few weeks, says debate coach Merle Ziegler, a communication professor.

Mississippi College recorded the best won/loss record at the Weevil Wars tournament at the University of Arkansas earlier this fall.

Schools expected to make the trip to Mississippi College’s annual tournament include: the University of Southern Mississippi, East Texas Baptist University, Lee College in Houston, Texas, the University of Arkansas-Monticello and LSU-Shreveport.

The war of words is always informative and follows International Debate Association rules. MC debaters recently tackled whether Al-Assad should stay in power in Syria, and if college football is better than the NFL.

At his Aven Hall office, Ziegler will sign up judges for the early December tournament. The volunteer job is open to students, faculty, staff and metro Jackson residents.

For details, contact Merle Ziegler at 601-925-3456 or mziegler@mc.edu