Associate Professor of Philosophy Edward Scott likes to compare the English language to a house.
“And it’s not a hovel,” he says. “It’s a mansion. It’s richly appointed, and there is stained glass in the windows.”
Scott has served as a faculty advisor to the Mary Baldwin University (MBU) Debate Team since 2012 and says the key to a successful orator is a certain comfort living in this house.
“You must be aware of the multiple resources that English makes available to any of us who wish to convince our neighbors,” he says. “The more knowledgeable you are about it or the more you are able to call upon it for the sake of constructing an argument, the better.”
In the early days of the college, teams came from Bridgewater, Hampden-Sydney, the University of Virginia, and even Cambridge University in England and used the resources of the English language to debate topics such as coeducation and the emergence of women from the home. Now every year, MBU’s team heads to the Wells Fargo Ethics Bowl, sponsored by the Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges, to deliberate a variety of case studies highlighting ethical dilemmas. (Previous themes include ethics and business, ethics and medicine; and ethics and sports.)
Mary Baldwin won the competition once, back in 2008, and last year’s team put in a competitive performance at the 2019 Ethics Bowl, winning three rounds.
“There have been many years where we’ve won every single match except one,” Scott says. “What I have noticed in those cases is that whoever we lost to eventually won the championship.”
But no matter the outcome, Scott is always proud.
“This type of experience hones a student’s skill for rational debate for the sake of being a good citizen. I want them to be able to think rationally, logically, and sensitively about issues that affect their fellow citizens, in order to make a better world for all of us.”
Edward Scott, Associate Professor of Philosophy and faculty advisor for MBU Debate Team
“These students have always been poised and articulate, and that’s inspirational for anyone who has the chance to see them as representatives of the university,” he said.
When the entire team graduated last year, Scott had to go looking for a fresh group of orators. Interested students wrote a short essay about any previous debating experience and why they wanted to join; Scott picked the team based on those essays.
Kris Walsh ’22, Joshua Henson ’23, Courtney Rosenstadt ’23, and Daleya Scaife ’23 comprise MBU’s new team, and they will head to the University of Lynchburg on February 9 for the 21st annual Ethics Bowl. During the two-day event, 16 teams from 15 Virginia colleges will debate cases surrounding ethics and higher education. Schools will be divided into two divisions, with each debate round pitting two teams against one another. Each will state their case regarding an ethical problem or scenario for a panel of judges, which represent a variety of career fields from business and law, to journalism. Teams will then answer a question posed by their opponents and one posed by the judges, and after concluding statements, the winner of the session will be declared. Whether they win or lose, each team goes on to compete in three more rounds. The top school from each division go on to compete for the championship.
To prepare for competition, Scott runs the students through mock debates, holding them to the same time limits and playing the part of judge by asking follow-up questions. The team will meet on Thursday and Friday evenings to go through practice rounds up until the Ethics Bowl. To be successful, Scott says these debaters not only require eloquence and a nimble mind, but the ability to be sensitive to an ethical issue and the people whose lives are affected by that issue.
“This type of experience hones a student’s skill for rational debate for the sake of being a good citizen,” Scott says. “I want them to be able to think rationally, logically and sensitively about issues that affect their fellow citizens, in order to make a better world for all of us.”