Heinz/Craddock travel, debate in Vermont despite Sandy

BURLINGTON, VT--Juniors Josh Craddock and Noah Heinz made a strong showing at the University of Vermont debate tournament this weekend despite the fact that the King’s Debate Society's team canceled plans to attend the tournament due to Hurricane Sandy.

Craddock and Heinz broke from the preliminary rounds with 14 points, the third highest preliminary standing at the tournament. The duo finished as quarter-finalists with Craddock taking seventh place speaker and Heinz taking eighth place.

After Sandy hit early last week, KDS initially planned to weather the storm and compete at the tournament regardless of conditions. But on Wednesday, Oct. 31, KDS leadership decided that transporting more than 15 people to the tournament would be infeasible.

After hearing of the cancellation, Craddock and Heinz decided to travel to the tournament without KDS. Craddock and Heinz pitched in to cover their costs and arranged for "crash housing" in UVM dorms.

The UVM tournament, run by debate guru Alfred “Tuna” Snider, is known for its competitive turnout and its focus on social issues. Teams at the tournament included St. John’s, Cornell Vermont, and a host of other well-known schools.

Among other topics, Josh and Noah debated about employer’s access to criminal records, a legal maximum on work hours and deleting friends on Facebook who post offensive political content.

Heinz and Craddock were eliminated in the quarter final round opposing the motion “This house believes that the hookup culture has been good for women.”