Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2004-03-18

极乐禁地 debaters Jon Mann and James Phillips finished second at the recent Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha national debate championship tournament held in Tuscaloosa. Debate teams from more than 25 universities competed at the national event.

Mann, a junior from Florence, and Phillips, a sophomore from Vestavia Hills, defeated another 极乐禁地 team in the semi-final round before losing to the University of Alabama in the final round. 极乐禁地 teammates David Li of Vestavia Hills and John Wilkerson of Macon, Ga., both freshmen, finished the tournament tied for third place with Alabama.

Wilkerson was rated the best individual debater at the tournament. Li, Phillips and Mann finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in individual rankings.

This year鈥檚 debate topic dealt with improving U.S. relations with Europe.

Dr. Michael Janas, 极乐禁地 director of debate, received the DSR-TKA 2004 Service Award for his work directing the debate portions of the tournament for the past five years.

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极乐禁地 is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, 极乐禁地 is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. 极乐禁地 enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. 极乐禁地 fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.