Gallaudet Wins its first college debate

The debate teams from Gallaudet University and George Washington University met last night in what organizers believe is the first bilingual debate conducted in American Sign Language and spoken English.

Image from Gallaudet.edu

This was the very first debate for the Gallaudet team. Participating for the Bison last night were Thalia Guettler, a freshman Sociology major from Frederick, Maryland and Lexi Hill, a sophomore History and Government major and English minor from Tyler, Texas.

The question for the debate was whether statehood should be given to Washington, D.C. The Gallaudet students argued the negative and the George Washington students argued the affirmative. At the end of the night, Gallaudet was declared the winner by the judges.

Inside Higher Ed quotes Lexi Hill as saying:

“I always wanted to be part of a debate team growing up. It was too much of a hassle in the past because I had to use interpreters, and I just didn't do it. I loved debating at home; there's a lot of critical thinking involved.”

Read more from Inside Higher Ed here.