MSU Debate Team members Kaavya Ramesh and Tyler Thur have earned an at-large bid in the first round of the National Debate Tournament, designating them as one of the top 16 teams in the country.
By receiving this at-large bid, Ramesh and Thur automatically qualify for the national tournament, bypassing the normal procedure.
Other colleges that earned at-large bids include: University of California-Berkeley, Georgetown University, Harvard University, University of Kansas, University of Mary Washington, University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of Oklahoma, Rutgers University, Towson University, Wake Forest University and University of West Georgia.
Ramesh is an international relations, Chinese, comparative cultures and politics senior, and Thur is an international relations sophomore. Both students are members of the MSU Honors College.
“Bids are voted on by a panel of coaches from around the country and designate a team as among the top 16 two-person teams based on season-long performance,” said Debate head coach Will Repko. “This is a huge honor for Kaavya and Tyler and the MSU Debate program as a whole.”
Additional members of Debate will participate in the District 5 qualifying tournament, which will be held at U-M beginning Friday.
The national tournament will be held at Indiana University from March 28 to April 1.
The MSU Debate Team is a part of the Honors College. For more information, go to www.debate.msu.edu.