Daniel Webster Debate Places 2nd at St. Paul's

Exeter’s Daniel Webster Debate Society placed second overall at St. Paul’s Invitational Policy Tournament last Sunday, a feat that was highlighted by senior Hansen Shi’s individual first-place finish and qualification for the annual World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships.Shi’s individual success was compounded by the sharp performances of other team members that led the Advanced Team, comprised of Shi, senior Thomas Clark, upper Hersh Bhargava and lower Michael Shao, to finish in third place and Shi and Clark to finish in second place as a pair. Other notable performances came from newcomer debaters lower Mandy Lu and prep Arjun Rajan, who as a pair received second place in the Novice division.Shi praised Exeter’s team for their achievements during the tournament. “I was particularly impressed with how well the debaters in the Novice division did, especially considering the fact that for many, this past weekend at St. Paul’s was their first time going to a tournament,” he said. “I'm very happy with the performance Exeter delivered this past weekend and I know we will be able to continue it in future years.”This tournament, which was a policy debate, led Exeter’s team, acclimated to parliamentary debate, to wade into somewhat unfamiliar waters. There are significant structural dichotomies between the two debate forms, most distinctively, the extended fifteen-to-sixteen minute policy rounds versus eight-and-a-half minute parliamentary rounds. Furthermore, policy debates offer the opportunity for a cross-examination and prior preparation.Clark and Shi debated “The city of Detroit should seek to sell off the art assets it owns and are housed in the Detroit Institute of Arts to help offset the city’s bankruptcy obligations,” formulating their arguments weeks in advance, and anticipating those of the opposition. “I personally think that Hansen and Thomas had the more difficult side to defend, so it’s a true testament to their debating skills that they did so well,” Betty Luther-Hillman, history instructor and advisor to the debate team, said. “In addition, Hansen’s overall score was three points higher than the second-place speaker, which is a remarkable margin of victory.”In order to qualify for World’s, a competitor must earn the highest individual score of anyone in the tournament. The last Exonian to qualify was alumnus Michael Ambler in 2008.  In a field of 48 competitors, Shi exceeded this minimum threshold, earning a total of 75 points compared to the next highest score of 72 points, and earning a rare 27 out of 30 points in one round.According to Frances Johnson, science instructor and advisor to the debate team, Shi’s scores separated him from other competitors in the tournament.“Hansen’s performance the day of the debate, evident from the results sheet, was excellent; he had high scores in all three rounds, including in one round receiving a 27 out of 30, which is a score so high that sometimes an entire tournament will pass without someone getting a 27,” Johnson said. “When they announced the scores, and they announced that Hansen Shi got first place and qualified for World’s, we all froze for a second and then applauded madly. It was very exciting.”Many on the team, both fellow debaters and faculty advisors, recognized Shi’s outstanding and multifaceted abilities as a speaker, debater, and scholar.Clark, a co-head of the debate team and Shi’s partner during the St. Paul’s tournament, praised Shi’s eloquence and logic during debates. “Hansen instills fear in whichever team we debate against because he explains everything with crystal-clear logic and has complete control over his presentation - he talks calmly, smoothly, and his hand gestures and eye contact are always purposeful,” he said. “Hansen also spells everything out with such good logic that in the end, the other team’s argument falls apart.”Johnson echoed Clark’s sentiments, noting that Shi’s ability to analyze issues with depth and clarity has proven to be instrumental in his success as a debater.“We will do practice sessions about issues of rights and morality, such as gun control, and Hansen’s the first one to see any flaw,” she said. “He has an amazing mind, to be able to just look at something and quickly see the implications and the illogic of someone else’s argument, which is a necessary quality of a great debater.”Johnson added that she believes these will enable Shi to perform well at the 2014 World Championships, which are presently scheduled to occur from April 23 to April 29 in Lithuania. “My personal thought is that Hansen can not only qualify for Worlds, but go in and do very well. ”After narrowly falling short of qualifying for Worlds last year, Shi was happy to see his efforts rewarded by the opportunity this year.He said, “Any success at a debate tournament is always somewhat of a pleasant surprise for me considering how easily these things can be skewed; however, I had especially high hopes for the tournament this year because last year I missed qualifying for World's by just three points out of 90.”