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Louisiana Tech University’s debate team made history recently as the first team from Louisiana to have been accepted to compete in the World Universities Debate Championship (WUDC), which is recognized as the largest and most prestigious debate tournament in the world.

Sam Hathorn, a sophomore education major from Alexandria, and Ben Markway, a senior accounting major from Deville, will compete in late December in Chennai, India.

“I’m extremely excited and honored to be given this opportunity to represent Louisiana Tech University at the Worlds Universities Debating Championship in India,” said Markway.  “This is a chance of a lifetime and I can’t wait to compete.”

“The thrill of competitive debate at the world championship level makes for a promise of an amazing experience,” explains Hathorn.  “Without the education that I’ve learned at Tech, this level of competition wouldn’t have been possible.”

The WUDC accepts only the top debaters from the top debate programs, which is a held in a new country every year. The admissions process starts seven months prior to the actual competition with thousands of debate programs from around the world submitting applications.  Only 300 teams are chosen to compete in the world championships.

Louisiana Tech’s debate team has been successful in competition over this past year.  The team started last season at the United States Air Force Academy besting teams from Duke, Cornell and Michigan, and ending the season taking by second place at Purdue.  As the team has continued to expand within the national and international circuits, there have been no signs of their momentum slowing.

For more information concerning the Louisiana Tech Debate Team, please contact Shane Puckett, director of debate, at spuckett@latech.edu. Written by Shane Puckett – spuckett@latech.edu