Ithica College

This blog entry is about the great couple of days we spent at Ithica College, which is located in one of the most beautiful parts of up-state New York.

Having spent a few days at Cornell with our ol’ pal Alex Just, and our hero-host Sam Nelson, we travelled a very short distance across the city of Ithica to Ithica college where we were met by our new host Scott Thompson.

We dropped our bags of in the guest-house and made our way to the college. We were scheduled to have four debates over two days, all of which were on the motion ‘This House Believes the sun is setting on America, and rising on China” We were the government so went through the SBS World Guide (AKA The Infamous Book of lies!) every copy of the Economist we could find and all of the research material Wikipedia and Google had to offer.

The first debate was in the afternoon and our audience included a mix of students and some local retirees who were part of a debate programme Scott runs in the community. As government for all four debates Ben and I tried out our arguments about Chinese oil strategy, foreign policy and manufacturing industry. Aside from one audience member being slightly disturbed by our support for Chinese repression the debate was a great success!

We were invited for a dinner at a great Italian restaurant, which reminded us of England before suiting up and heading to the high-profile public debate back at College. Once again the audience were impressed with our research, but specifically there was a resident professor of Chinese government, from China, who graciously contributed her expertise at the end of the round.

That evening we met Scott’s wife who is from Mexico, and family, back at their home in Ithica. We were given all sorts of traditional Mexican tequila which is apparently, supposed to be sipped neat. We had a really fun night and even got a bottle as gift to enjoy during our trip! Thanks again!

The next day we got a full tour of the college, which is built on one of the most attractive landscapes in America. We finished up with two final debates for communication theory classes, after which we talked about some of the tactics we use for public speaking. The students had some really great questions about England, tuition fees, the London riots, and my personal favourite Harry Potter!

Upon completion we drove towards our next destination, Colgate University, and were welcomed by British Weather. The snow started to fall that late evening, as Scott’s children taught us some Spanish and we travelled to our next destination, exited about continuing the best tour ever!

Cornell University

After a fantastic weekend of adjudication at the Yale Intervarsity tournament and a chance to catch up with the mud-island migrant community in New England we boarded the bus to Cornell University. Our snug six hour journey to Ithaca, New York was made far more comfortable by stunning views of the Catskill Mountains and good if blurry-eyed conversation with our kind hosts from Cornell. Our first afternoon in Cornell allowed us to get some much needed laundry done and to spend the evening having a great Thai meal with our fantastic hosts Sam Nelson and Alex Just. They were keen to stress (having both been on previous tours) that they wanted to give us some free time to relax and gather our strength after being on the road for a month.

As such our second day in Ithaca allowed us to explore the stunning grounds of the campus. Cornell University is regularly voted as one of the most beautiful campuses in the U.S. situated on a hill the campus provides stunning views of the surrounding autumnal trees and the nearby lakes. We spent our afternoon becoming acquainted with the programmes that Sam runs and took embarked on our first visit to maximum security prison (more on that later). That evening we were asked to give a short talk on our perspectives on the London riots, a subject which both Richard and I felt suitably under-qualified to talk about – nonetheless the gathered students seemed suitably interested to stay and ask some thought provoking questions. Our evening was topped off by a pub quiz with Alex and all the good people at the Telluride House (our kind accommodation hosts). Our collective intellectual efforts were supplemented by plentiful amounts of local beer and free popcorn yet despite receiving bonus points for Ben’s ability to lick his own elbow we only managed a rather mediocre second place.

The following day we were tasked with a number of debates. Our final evening’s debate drew a good crowd to debate whether we should reveal the true horrors of war. Despite our host’s valiant efforts and some keen questions from the audience we scored a narrow victory. However, by far the most affecting experience of our stay and possibly our tour so far was our visit to prison earlier that day. For the past five years Sam has spearheaded a programme which aims to engage young people imprisoned in McCormick detention facility just outside of Ithaca. Our task was to argue that African Americans should not be granted reparations for slavery. The environment and the fact that our audience and opponents were all African American made the case somewhat of an uphill battle. But the debate was good spirited and everyone was willing to ask sharp questions and react to some impressive speeches from the residents.

We left with tremendous admiration for Sam and the relationship both him and his students have developed with the residents of McCormick. Our return journey was one in which few words were exchanged. It was incredibly difficult to square the kinds of crimes these young men had committed with the articulate and intelligent people we had the pleasure of debating against. Even with those crimes in mind (most of which were committed when they were barely in their teens) it seemed such a tremendous waste of life to lock children up for 23 hour hours a day, with little or no social contact and no meaningful stimulation.

Waco, Baylor University

Last but not least we arrived in Waco, Texas. We arrived in a tiny propeller plane where (either reassuringly or not) almost every other passenger seemed to know each other, and even the flight attendants seemed uncertain whether we would land safely. After emerging from the miniscule airport at Waco we were greeted by our generous host Matt from Baylor University. Baylor is a high performing school whose reputation in Texas had preceded our arrival. Although traditionally a strictly conservative school with a strong Jesuit tradition the debate team appeared to somewhat challenge that reputation and were a really great group.

After meeting the team we were whisked through the lush surroundings of Waco to George W. Bush’s favourite culinary establishment (his ranch is just a short drive away) suitably named “George’s”. It’s a homely kind of place, the sort of place a ‘man of the people’ type of President might appreciate, a kind of grab a seat and a beer (or seven) before ordering food. Our first sight (to the despair and horror of our hosts) was a portly chap sat amidst his litter of teenage children who was sporting rather proudly a large confederate flag tattoo on his arm. We wondered how George might react. After some excellent catfish and some really good local beer we headed back. Afterwards we were taken to popular student haunt/ karaoke bar Scruffy Murphies where we made up for our lost beer pong record by beating our American hosts (and Kyle in particular) at pool.

Awaking in the luxurious splendour of the Hilton in Waco we were fed a rather hearty Mexican lunch, as we gasped at the prospect of our ever expanding arteries. We were then taken to see the Baylor Bear, actually a pair of live bears which double as the university’s mascot and a source of attraction for visitors. Having previously lived a rather stunted existence in a concrete pit the bears received a new $5 million enclosure, apparently as a result of a school student complaining to PETA. After a tour of the vast zoo which is on the edge of campus and the stunning and lush (in the literal sense, not in the Gavin and Stacy sense you pleb) local surroundings we prepared for our evening’s debate. It was always going to be an uphill struggle we had to convince the conservative audience (after recent wall to wall coverage of drone strikes) and with a significant military component that we should never use drone strikes. After one of the best debates we’ve had we succumbed to a very close defeat by our excellent opposition. As a perfect means to ameliorate our loss we were taken to a fantastic restaurant where Richard sampled some fine Surf and Turf and Ben ate sixteen ounces of prime rib. The whole meal was rounded off with six of us attempting to demolish the hulking dessert monstrosity that was the ‘chocolate sack’. Despite being the size of a small infant we attempted to demolish a mountain of cream, ice cream, berries and sponge encased in solid chocolate. Barely able to move we none the less drowned our sorrows at Scruffy Murphy’s and witnessed an eclectic mix of old school hip hop, classic country and Bob Dylan.

Our final day in Waco took us to yet more food this time for lunch at the ironically named ‘Health Club’ followed by a visit to Waco’s very own tribute to type II diabetes, the Dr. Pepper Museum. We learned that its inventor was a bit of a mug, receiving almost no share of the profits and that adverts in the 1950s seemed to indicate that viewers were phenomenally gullible. Our final few hours ended with a rather sombre visit to a small but beautiful rural area just outside of Waco. This is the spot (ironically not in Waco) at which for 52 days the FBI besieged the compound of the Branch Davidian’s loopy leader David Koresch. The chain of events on the last day are unclear, after some time the FBI attempted to enter the compound with an armoured vehicle, almost immediately a fire started. In the ensuing flames over 80 of his followers died (most of the population) including many young children. Even nearly two decades on the place has an eerie and sombre feel. The foundations of the burnt out basement still visible along with the narrow and isolated escape routes.

Despite a moving end to our visit we had a great time at Baylor. Waco was a cracking place to visit and we were left with regret that most people don’t see past the association with such a tragic event. Having received a generous late night lift from one of our new found friends Alex we prepared for our trip to New Haven, Connecticut and the tournament at Yale.

Amarillo, West Texas A&M

Greetings followers!

This part of the blog is about the great time we had in Amarillo, at West Texas A&M.

LorAnn and Keagan picked us up from the airport and we travelled to get some lunch at an American diner first of all. It was midday on a Sunday so we were promptly introduced to what is affectionately known as the ‘church rush’ where the people of Amarillo fill the local restaurants!

After lunch we dropped our bags off at the hotel and went to a dinner being held for the entire debate team, at one of the faculty members houses. We couldn’t have expected the kind of welcome we were given. There was a full buffet and all the root beer we could drink (which has become our favourite, non-alcoholic beverage this trip!) and the chance to meet the whole speech team. The night ended with the entire Communications Department jumping on a bouncy castle, and discussing Scar’s (of Lion King fame) sexual orientation.

The next day we had an early start and the poor soul tasked with driving us around (Thanks again Dino!) took us on what was a fairly packed schedule that involved us holding class-room discussions where Ben and I made as many British jokes as possible. Suffice it to say our charm could use some improvement! After lunch we travelled to what we are told is the second largest canyon in the United States. We’ve since been unable to verify that claim put we believe the people who told us, unless they are in correct, in which case we completely disassociate ourselves from it and them (Sorry LorAnn)

The canyon was brilliant, and vast. We spent a long time driving down it’s winding roads, discussing Harry Potter and taking photographs with the local turkey population. Once we’d left the Canyon it was debate time. We debated the motion ‘THW cap political spending’ and were each paired with a debater from the University. We suited up and put on a show, to a room of around 200 people.

After the debate we went for dinner at a great Mexican restaurant, and had some great chats over shrimp burritos. Afterwards we were invited to Jessica and Brandi’s house to watch Ricky Gervais annihilate his Hollywood audience at the Golden Globes on Youtube. We’ve subsequently convinced them both to come to Europe next Christmas! (#socialismftw)

On our final day in Amarillo we went to the museum located on the University grounds. Uniquely the museum didn’t really specialise in any particular historical period, but we saw exhibits on cars, oil production, steam engines and the Native American’s. Once we’d finished in the museum we went to one of the tourist highlights of Amarillo: Cadillac Range. Basically some billionaire dumped a row of Cadillac cars in the ground, and it is traditional for tourists to spray paint the cars. Being the ‘lads-on-tour’ that we are, sprayed the tires with the English flag (see the photo above)

We finished up with a trip to a restaurant called The Big Texan, home of the 72 oz steak, where Ben and I managed to fit in another great meal before boarding our flight and waving our newly made friends goodbye!

Texas State University

Next up we headed to the hospitable Texas State University, situated just outside of Austin in San Marcos. Fresh from our journey from Dallas we were greeted by Laura and Amanda and taken straight for a private tour of the Texas State Capitol building. The vast nineteenth century pink marble monolith was, we discovered, specifically designed to be just a few feet taller than its counterpart in Washington. Our guide, Michael, nimbly helped us over the usual tourist barriers to see some of the key artefacts and stand on the floor of the senate and congress. Amongst the stream of trivia we learned was that much of the original building (including most of the floors and ceilings) was constructed from glass (now covered) such that early on at night it would literally shine as a beacon for miles around. After a few drinks in Austin’s famous Sixth St. we were promptly taken to Wayne Kraemer’s picture-box house in the heart of the historic district. We enjoyed some of the best steak we’ve ever eaten (although Wayne says the recipe is a closely guarded secret) and met our future opponents Ryan and Shanna as well as many others on the debate team.

In the morning we traipsed through a couple of classes answering questions about the UK; students seemed somewhat disappointed that English people do not (on the whole) live in castles nor know the Queen personally but we made up for it with our apparently ‘quaint’ accents. After our morning ‘cultural exchange’ we were taken on a pretty impressive tour of the campus by the seven foot tall Seamus. Texas State’s most famous alum is Lyndon B. Johnson and as such almost everything on campus is named after him (roads, lecture theatres and the debating society) as with most of the universities we have visited they have absolutely phenomenal facilities. Uniquely they also have the source of a freshwater spring on campus offering students and locals the opportunity to dive into some of the clearest, bluest water we’ve seen. The evening’s debate against Shanna and Ryan had a fantastic turnout of somewhere in the region of 200 students. We were tasked with trying to convince the audience that the U.S. government should impose strict neutrality laws – with the effect of banning Fox News. Despite us having to effectively support the scrapping of many of the rights in the First Amendment our well-crafted jokes appeared to convince the audience to take leave of their senses and support us. The rest of the night saw Ben constantly offered a range of American beer to try and convince him that it really could be drunk.

Our last two days in San Marcos afforded us the opportunity to get down to some serious Worlds format coaching with the whole squad at Texas State in preparation for their trip to Oxford in November. After a long but hugely enjoyable day we were taken to somewhat of a Texan tradition – a nationally renowned bring your own beer barbeque place: ‘Salt Lick’. The restaurant is huge, it probably seats about 300 and takes no reservations. Despite having to wait over an hour and a half the reward of all you can eat ribs, chicken, sausage and beef along with brilliant company made for a brilliant evening. The next day we were treated by Wayne to a trip to San Antonio, the original capital of the Republic of Texas where we visited the Alamo, drank prickly pear margaritas (whilst serenaded by a Mariachi band) and toured the Tower of the Americas to see for miles around.

The University of North Texas, Dallas (8th - 12th October)

To understand our initial trepidation at heading to Texas it’s necessary to explain the reaction of many of those we had met in our preceding travels. Upon informing our generous hosts that we were to spend 14 days in Texas some gave a look of horror but most were content to respond as if they had heard we were suffering from a terminal disease. Suffice to say Texas is an amazingly diverse place which we only wish we could have spent more time in.

Our first stop in Texas took us to Dallas, home of the Cowboys, the eponymous 1980s drama of the same name and of course our generous hosts the good people of the University of North Texas (UNT). Before our eyes could adjust to the glare of the Texan sun we were whisked away by Colin and Grant to lunch on tempura shrimp burritos (absolutely outstanding) and introduced to the Beer-garita (a vast margarita garnished with an upended full bottle of Mexico’s finest Corona beer – similarly outstanding). From our Mexican feast we were driven to our first college American (an important addition)Football game, where our hosts UNT annihilated their opponents from Florida. The first thing to understand about the college ‘football’ is that it’s not akin to university sport in the UK where teams are lucky to get a handful of dragooned girlfriends/ boyfriends to come and watch. UNT’s comparatively modest stadium can seat 20,000 fans and boasts a 300 piece (national championship winning) marching band complete with canon to entertain the crowd. Our day was rounded off by a fantastic home cooked dinner at Louis’ house where we gained our title as undefeated beer pong champions in Texas.

Sunday brought the extravaganza of the Texas State Fair, a huge 300 acre plot devoted to rides, trucks and about ten times the variety of deep fried food than even the Scottish can muster. Amidst an admittedly drizzly day (the first in months) we were shown around by Alyssa, Megan, Searles and Brian along with his wonderful family. In Texas it seems acceptable to fry almost anything, bubble gum, corn, lemonade, oreos, butter, peanut butter and jelly (jam for those of you from Mud Island) sandwiches and… (wait for it) beer. In what can only be described as a ravioli like substance filled with cold beer we all universally agreed it was the worst thing we had ever tasted. After a day of calorific assault, fairground attractions and prize winning cattle we ended up at Babe’s probably one of the best fried chicken restaurants in the US. Where along with fine company we spent considerable time convincing our dumfounded waitress that in Britain we do indeed have straws, and by extension other forms of plastics.

Monday finally saw some downtime to do some much needed laundry and provided the opportunity to take a tour with Brian and Louis around the fantastically green and sumptuous campus at UNT, meet the student union president and get involved in some speech and debate classes. The day was rounded off by an amazing meal at a restaurant called Hannah’s with Brian, Louis and his fiancée proving that Texas really can offer more than just deep fried food. The night was rounded off in a faux British pub where we got to know a little more about Texas politics. In particular we were horrified that some of the schools had to endure huge funding cuts leaving teaching ratios at a frankly developing world standard of 50:1. Perhaps a sample of what might come under a Perry presidency.

Our final full day in Dallas was devoted to a range of classroom debates and practice debates where we helped prepare some of the younger students at UNT. We both really relished the opportunity to debate with the students and had an excellent day of it. The main event in the evening was the big public debate, this time on campaign finance, with us bravely taking the side of the opposition against the fantastic Brett and Alyssa. Somehow, despite some rather close to the mark quips about Texan beer from Ben, we managed to convince at least some of the audience that corporations, lobbyists and the top 1% should control elections and that any cap on finance would increase inequality. It must have only been our accents which prevented us from being ejected from the room of around 300 attendees.

Perhaps the highlight of the night was the chance to meet a veteran of a US-UK debate held in 1962 to a prime time US audience of 11 million viewers. Ann, had us falling over in stiches with recollections from the unfortunately snooty team from Oxford who, she and her partner had valiantly defeated almost 50 years before. The night ended in an Irish themed bar called Hooligans and we were entertained by Louis’ constant attacks on the declining quality of the establishment, which were met with equally barbed but good humoured comments from the fun filled staff. After a great night out we headed back to the hotel, were sad to leave such fantastic hosts and prepared to travel to Texas’ liberal paradise in an otherwise conservative sea, Austin.

Salutations!

Thank you for returning to the blog, we are trying our best to update as much as possible but, as requested, we are being kept super-busy debating, teaching and being brilliantly hosted.

This blog post is about the great time we had in Greencastle Indiana, at DePauw University.

Our driver Norm drove us across the city to our hotel, which was situated right on the campus. We dropped off our bags and were taken to lunch by our amazingly funny host Geoff Klinger, who gave us a tour of the University’s expansive campus. For dinner, some of DePauw’s great debaters, and huge personalities, Bre, Amber and Patrick, who treated us to the true student-cuisine that Is Marvin’s! (Think McDonald’s but authentic!) Afterwards we went to an ice-cream social held by one of the sororities, and were introduced to a bunch of incredible people including, Natalie and Varsha to name but a few. We weren’t quite brave enough to play volleyball with the other students, but our accents gifted us a great many new friends that evening.

The next day we were kept on our toes. We started the day with a lunch in the University cafeteria, which looked just like what you may have seen on Mean Girls. Afterwards, we had a high stakes, one-on-one debate, about the legitimacy of torture. for a communications class where the winner was awarded $1.00! The reasonably liberal audience resolved that torturing terrorist suspects was illegitimate, allowing us to calibrate the sensibilities of the crowd for the main event later that day.

We suited up, as is customary, and found a room full of people, most of whom were women curious to hear our British accents, or so the student newspaper article would have you believe. We debated THB the US should end the War on Drugs. The debate descended into one about the merits of legalising cannabis which, although a tough sell to any room full of liberal students, we managed to win by a reasonable margin.

With debate won we filled our stomachs at Buffalo Wild Wings, a great Western Rib shack, before changing and heading to a frat party, convened by the President of the debating society. It’s safe to say that we had far too much fun that evening, but met a great number of interesting people from all over the world. The following evening, on what was our final night in Indiana, we went to a Sports Party, also held at one of the University fraternities. The party was crazy, and not short of a few dishevelled students unwinding from a stressful first semester. We finished the evening the way we began, with a meal at Marvin’s with our favourite people (Natalie, Varsha, Bri and Amanda) before riding off into the Indiana sunset the following morning, ready for the adventure that would be Texas!

P.S Stay tuned for the first instalment of our trip to Texas, it’s a great story and involves Ben and I eating some deep fried food you never would have thought could have existed.

P.P.S After the debate we were given some T-shirts that Ben chose to wear over his suit to show his appreciation. The photograph is posted alongside the blog.