Interregnum VIII: House of Bonhoeffer Wins Random Theme Debate Tournament

Empire State Building, NEW YORK– The café was filled with roaring students tonight for the Interregnum Random Theme Debate competition. One member from each House participated in the lightning-fast battle of wit, skill and yelling.

Greg Baumann, president of Bonhoeffer, won the final round for his House after arguing that student government is like the House of Barton.

Each round was given a theme (such as the Empire State Building or memes), and then each debater received a topic (another noun such as babysitting or mustaches). The debaters then defended a comparison between the theme and their own topic. King’s students argued that memes are like smartphones, that the Empire State Building is like pirates and most importantly, that their opponents were wrong.

The speakers were matched one on one. The rounds started with each speaker giving a two-minute speech, followed by a “crossfire” where both speakers could speak at the same time, and to finish off, both speakers gave 30-second closing speeches. Audience participation was encouraged and often drowned out both the speakers.

In the third round, Rosie Jonker of Truth debated Matt Moore of Reagan. Jonker made the case that the MCA major is like Mr. TKC because they’re both “full of really attractive people.” Moore made the case that the MCA major is like a glue stick, saying jokingly, “Roll, slap it on and somehow it works.” The audience had mixed reactions; some laughed and drummed on the tables while others shouted, “Shame.”

The judges made their decisions moments after the rounds ended. The tournament ran elimination-style, so any House that lost two rounds was eliminated. For the semi-final round there was a three-person matchup with each speaker giving only a one-minute speech and participating in a three-person crossfire. The judges chose who to eliminate, and the two who remained debated in the final round.