University of La Verne Makes Finals in Pan American Debates

University of La Verne debaters Kandin Maraquin and Tanner Long earned a spot in the finals of the English language division at the Pan American Universities Debating Championship on March 10-12. The event, which drew about 100 teams representing 76 colleges and universities, was hailed a success by participants, said Rob Ruiz, debate adviser.

The event incorporated debate in both English and Spanish. Hundreds of students from North and South America, Central America, and the Caribbean participated.

“It was the hard work of our volunteers who made them feel welcome, Ruiz said. “The positive and comforting feedback we received from the participants was overwhelming and reminded me why the University of La Verne works hard to host such prestigious tournaments.”

Students Kate Hall and Matt Aust of Pacific Lutheran University won the Spanish division of the event and Miriam Kohn and Chris Perkins of University of Rochester won the English division, Ruiz said.

Judges named Yale University student Marina Tan top speaker in English and Julian Triana Vargas of Universidad Sergio Arboleda in Colombia as the top Spanish speaker.

The English language competition came down to four finalists on the third day of the event – University of Rochester, Cornell University, UCLA, and the University of La Verne.

“For us to take out Yale in the semifinals and advance to the finals – people were shocked,” Ruiz said.

The debate team’s next stop is the U.S. Universities Debating Championship at University of Denver on April 14-17.