More than 25 members of the MSU debate team spend countless hours each week perusing textbooks in the corridors of Linton Hall to research arguments for their next great debate.
The team will travel to Harvard University this weekend for its fifth tournament, this time against 70 other schools.
"Our goal is to have as many two-person teams advance to the final round of tournaments on Monday (as possible)," said Will Repko, one of the debate coaches.
Repko said the team did well at their last tournament in Washington, D.C.
"Even our first-year students had a strong showing," he said.
Each debate season, a new topic for each team to discuss is chosen. This year's topic is centered around European relations with America, which could branch into several ideas such as reconstruction efforts in Iraq, NATO involvement and trade disputes.
The debate members must be able to argue either side of a selected issue at each tournament.
"Debate is not as arbitrary as you would think," Repko said. "Different teams make different arguments, and sometimes we are able to scout out other teams' arguments, and we can divide the preparation and begin to plan for the competition."
Members said the team is not just hours of disagreements.
"One of the biggest misconceptions about the debate team is that all we ever do is argue all the time," communication freshman Fernando Kirkman said.
Being involved in the debate team takes dedication, Repko said, and some members spend anywhere from five to 40 hours a week practicing.
"Some of the coaches and older team members have become deeply invested in this team," Repko said. "It is impressive how much time they log."
But hours of research can only do so much to aid the team's performance, he said
"Members put in a lot of preparation," Repko said. "But in the end, it is all trial by fire."
Debators agreed the art is all about knowing the opponents' strengths and weaknesses.
"You have to find different attacks on positions, research both your argument as well as arguments counter to what you have to say," team Director Mike Eber said. "That is something that would be nice to have more in American politics."
Debate members said a great deal of psychology is involved in each tournament.
"The MSU debate is much like a game of chess," political science senior Shaun Vanhorn said.
And the team's reputation is well known.
James Madison freshman Andrea Reed said she traveled more than 1,000 miles from her home in Dallas, Texas, to attend MSU to get involved in the debate team.
"When I was choosing colleges, I considered schools that both had my major and a successful debate program, and I had heard MSU had the best overall competition success," Reed said.
