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Madison Week

Johns Hopkins University wins 2008 Madison Cup: Annual debate honors President Madison’s legacy

By Michelle Hite (’88)

In the vane of James Madison University’s eponym, the annual Madison Cup Debates have turned into a premier event attracting many civic leaders of tomorrow from universities across the nation.

Wednesday and Thursday, JMU’s Debate Team competed in the sixth James Madison Commemorative Debate and Citizen Forum with debaters from 15 college and universities. Johns Hopkins University, defending champions, again won the Madison Cup. Johns Hopkins debaters Vivek Suri and Chris Baia took the top prize of $5,000 home for their university’s debate program.

Wake Forest University took second place and $2,500, and Yale University took third place and $1,000. John Verstandig of Verstandig Broadcasting in Harrisonburg generously supports the annual Madison Cup Debate prizes.

Three other teams made it to Thursday’s debate finals earning Honorable Mentions for their arguments. The University of Richmond, Vanderbilt University and the University of Mary Washington debaters joined the top three teams to argue both sides of the resolution: “Resolved that the United States should chart a new course toward peace in the Middle East.”

The Madison Cup utilizes the Mace form of debate, also known as the “long-table” format, where more than one team argues both sides of the argument. JMU professor of speech communication studies John Stone moderated the final event.

Fourth President James Madison firmly believed that open and civil debate is a fundamental ingredient to sustaining a free society. He intentionally began the Bill of Rights with the principle of free speech. Madison wrote to James Monroe in 1794 that nothing was more indefensible or dangerous than suppression of sentiments critical of the government. So while the university celebrates James Madison Week once a year, everyday public expressions like the debate on our campus are the ones that truly honor President Madison.

For the first time, the Madison Cup Debate audience was asked to vote on the top debate teams because the judges’ final decision was announced Friday at the Centennial Convocation. Audience members voted for the University of Richmond, Vanderbilt and Johns Hopkins as their first through third selections.

While debate judges deliberated privately, the Wilson Hall debate floor was opened to the audience of students, professors and community members. More than 20 audience participants asked question of the debate finalists, and JMU student Timothy Sandol (’08) won the “best floor speech.”

Debate moderator John Stone wrapped up the evening quoting Gordon R. Mitchell’s paper, “Simulated Public Argument as a Pedagogical Play on Worlds:” “The fate of efforts to right the course of American deliberative democracy will depend largely on choices made by those who have power to influence prospects for citizen comprehension and engagement in argumentation over salient issues of public interest. Given the gravity of these concerns, teachers and students of argumentation should feel unique pressures, since argumentation pedagogy has long been counted on to empower students as exemplary participants in democratic public spheres of discussion.”

Mitchell is associate professor of communication and director of the William Pitt Debating Union at the University of Pittsburgh, (Pennsylvania).

The JMU Debate team spent no time resting after the Madison Cup finals on Thursday. This weekend, JMU will host the National Debates for the first time in JMU Debate history.

Watch the 2008 Madison Cup Debate finals.