Despite this spring’s 2-year suspension of the Whitman College debate team for misconduct, debate still has a presence on campus. Four former members of the debate team have formed an independent team, Sweets Debate, and continue to attend competitions across the country.

Then-president George Bridges suspended the debate team in April after an investigation into suspected violations of school and team alcohol policies and allegations of gender discrimination. In the following months, debaters met with administrators and trustees to appeal the process, but to no avail. Once it became clear that the decision to suspend the team was final, seniors Kyle Hendrix, Margaret Rockey and Noah Stern and junior Jack Lassiter decided to go it alone.

“Debate was a really huge part of all of our lives, and the team was a really huge part of all of our lives. And it meant something for us to be able to connect with other debaters in the community, some of whom are our really good friends, and who are really smart and inspiring people,” Rockey said. “When we realized that there was a way for us to continue competing in some iteration—it’s obviously drastically different without a program, without institutional support, without being able to go to most tournaments, without having rooms on campus—but being able to participate to some degree was something we didn’t want to pass up.”

The foursome set up a GoFundMe page on October 10th to solicit donations to cover expenses such as travel and tournament entrance fees. As of writing, the page had garnered $5,075 in donations, exceeding their $5,000 goal for the season.

With these funds, the team has already attended two tournaments, the Northwest Warmup and Steve Hunt Classic, and won both. Future plans are uncertain, and highly dependent on which tournaments accept the team.  While some tournaments and organizations allow teams not officially affiliated with colleges to compete, many do not.  Between this, the team’s still-limited budget and the size of the team, the Sweets’ tournament schedule is bare-bones and uncertain compared to previous years.

“There aren’t really any plans, period.  It’s pretty ad hoc,” Rockey said. “There are a few we’re considering, but our schedule looks different than it has in past years, obviously, because we don’t have the same amount of funding to pay entry fees, or to get hotels or to transport ourselves.”

Donors to the group vary widely, from personal acquaintances and family members, to members of the national college debate community.  Junior Nathan Gruenberg, who donated to the page, considers the four debaters good friends.

“I’d been talking to them a lot about why the debate team got cancelled,” Gruenberg said.  “I don’t understand the allegations completely, but I know that what was being said about the debate team didn’t seem to ring true for [Hendrix, Rockey, Stern and Lassiter]. They were barred from [competing] at the really high level that they are able to compete at, and be very successful at—I just felt that they should still have a chance to do that. They can still continue doing what they love without upholding this pervasive and potentially negative structure that the debate team was said to be doing.”

The team is not designed for longevity.  The Sweets Debaters have made no efforts to recruit new members, and don’t plan to. With three of the four members graduating, the team has no plans to continue after the conclusion of this season.

Meanwhile, the college has begun the decision process on whether to resurrect the debate team when the suspension surpasses its two-year minimum. The first step, according to Dean of Students Chuck Cleveland, will be to form a review board to examine other schools’ debate teams and propose changes to Whitman debate that would allay the concerns that led to the suspension.

“We’re looking at what constitutes a successful team in terms of resources, support, the nature of the competition et cetera,” Cleveland said. “The college’s intentions with regards to debate are positive.  There’s a positive and hopeful nature about what we’re trying to do.  That’s how we’re approaching it.”

In the meantime, the Sweets are safe from any administrative action against them. Cleveland says that while the school does not support the team, the administration will not make any effort to hamper them in their efforts to stay involved in debate.

“The college doesn’t support, and really doesn’t approve of, the debate [team], but we don’t feel that we can restrict their right to do that. So that’s the response.  I’ve met with them, they know that and we don’t see anything further that needs to be done,” Cleveland said.  “It’s up to the individual tournaments whether they allow them to debate or not.”