The Wisconsin Speech & Debate Society recently traveled to Nashville, TN, to compete in the Vanderbilt 2025 Debate Championships. After a weekend of intense competition, the teams from Wisconsin found tremendous success, bringing home top honors!
Championship Victory
The team of Lucy Dreyer and Dheeraj Pasikanti claimed the champion title in the open division of the tournament, defeating top teams from Georgia Tech, Willamette, and Mississippi in the finals room. One of their most memorable debates was the finals round, where they tackled the following motion from closing opposition:
This House would join the hivemind.
Earth has been approached by a hive mind alien race who presents humanity with an option: assimilate into the hive mind or remain individualistic. Assimilating into the hivemind means that individuals’ physical bodies join into the alien race while their consciousness exists in a utopia of their mind and that allconscious human suffering will cease, but individuals will be completely unaware of what their body is doing or of what is being done to them. Rejecting the aliens means that humanity remains alone, with all of the problems of human creation and the knowledge of outside existence. You have the deciding vote.
Novice Success
Our first-year debaters demonstrated incredible growth throughout the season!
Notably, Lucy won a championship in her first season of debate, an extraordinary achievement that highlights her skill and determination.
Additionally, the team of Ben Pralat and Patrick DeCabooter showcased their skills and resilience, advancing to the quarterfinals against tough competition. One of their favorite debates came in the Closing Opposition on the motion:
TH, as a social activist group, would pursue violent over nonviolent means for change
Speaker Awards
Beyond team success, several Wisconsin debaters earned individual recognition for their outstanding rhetorical abilities:
Open Division:
- 7th – Izzy Parker
Novice Division:
- 4th – Lucy Dreyer
- 8th – Ben Pralat
These remarkable achievements reflect the dedication and hard work our debaters have put into honing their craft. With the season still underway, the Wisconsin Speech & Debate Society looks forward to more opportunities to showcase its talent on the national stage. Go Badgers!