Stephen F. Austin State University

Dan Eldridge recently became the fourth Stephen F. Austin State University debater in the past eight years to win the International Public Debate Association’s national championship tournament.

Arguing before an audience of 200 was “the biggest rush of his life,” Eldridge said. He now finds it hard to believe his delve into discourse started as little more than brotherly banter.

“I became interested in debate after my brother got involved with it in middle school,” he said. “It was just one more form of sibling rivalry for us.” Eldridge participated in debate all four years of both high school and college. He said the time he’s invested in the craft has paid off.

“Two aspects have kept me involved,” he said. “First, I love public speaking. Second, I enjoy stimulating intelligent thought and finding multiple ways to look at situations.” Debaters at SFA meet weekly, according to Stephen Jeffcoat, director of forensics.

Jeffcoat said the university has had at least a dozen good, solid debaters over the course of the past several years, in addition to a former debater who became governor of Colorado (Bill Owens) and one who became the first female president of the American Medical Association (Dr. Nancy Dickey).

“Through debate, students learn to back up their arguments, gain confidence as speakers and advocates and to express themselves,” he said. “We have several who have gone on to become attorneys, business leaders and teachers. These are the leaders of the next generation.”

Jeffcoat said debaters have no idea before competition as to what they will be asked to argue. For that reason, they must be well versed on literally hundreds of subjects ranging from current events to foreign affairs.

“They have a half-hour to prepare their arguments, and they have access to wireless Internet,” he said.

More important than the Web, though, is the reservoir of knowledge from which students must be able to draw, Jeffcoat said.

“They should be knowledgeable about social security, welfare and foreign policy,” he said.

Eldridge said the topic he argued to become to national champion was “Why Wireless Internet is Bad for Debate.”

“We have the purest form of debate, at IPDA,” he said. “We want to keep it that way. When people rely on the Internet, they are spouting other people’s research, ideas and opinions. It’s very rapid-fire, but the thoughts are not their own.”

Becoming a debater is a serious commitment, Jeffcoat said. The team meets once a week for an hour-and-a-half and travels 15 or more weekends each school year to destinations throughout the country. They often leave on Thursday night and do not return home until Sunday night.

“They have to complete their homework on the road,” Jeffcoat said. Traveling in close quarters and sharing hotel rooms creates camaraderie among team members that Eldridge likened to that of a family.

“My roommate is a member of the debate team,” he said. “It’s nice to experience that feeling of being part of a family. When you spend seven consecutive weekends in a van on the road you become close.”

Jeffcoat, who was recently named president of the International Public Debate Association, cultivates his students’ enthusiasm by being an eager participant, himself.

“As a teacher, it is my No. 1 responsibility to help students develop to their full potential,” he said. “My mother was a teacher who cared deeply for her students, and I learned, first-hand, by watching her.”

Public speaking is a vital skill in today’s workforce, Jeffcoat said. “There are few careers today where people do not have to speak regularly to customers or clients,” he said. “Debaters learn to become natural public speakers and communicators.”

After Eldridge graduates in May, he plans to work on his master’s degree. “I want to get my Ph.D. and some day coach debate,” he said. “I’d like to start at a school that doesn’t have a program, and start one from scratch.”

Eldridge said it’s also his dream to bring debate to juvenile probation centers. “I’d like to teach them skills that they may not have,” he said. “Sometimes it’s the absence of certain skills that may cause them to commit crimes.”

Debate is a chance for one to see another point of view and to look more critically at what people say and present in the form of ideas, Eldridge said.

National winners of the SFA debate season included Chris Duerringer, second place open division, Pat Rickey, seventh place open division, and Steve Goode, eighth place open division. Dan Eldridge won second place - varsity division; Billy Wiggins won third place - varsity division and John Nichols won eighth place - varsity division. Fourth place in the novice division went to Randi Cooper and seventh place in the novice division went to Zach Williams.

Winners of the national tournament included Dan Eldridge, national champion and second place speaker; Zach Williams, semi-finalist novice; Chris Duerringer, quarterfinals - open division; Steve Good, quarterfinals - open division and seventh place speaker; Billy Wiggins, octofinalist - varsity division and sixth place speaker and Eboni Davis, eighth place speaker, novice division.