Debate team wins big event

The Monmouth College debate team includes, in front, Brianna Flynn and Brittany A. Miller. In back are, from left, Pamela Steskal, Nicole Lynch, Alex Roling, Benjamin Sauer, DeMarkco Butler, Sarah Sauer, Prof. Benita Dilley and Olivia Leonard.

Led by a gold medal performance by Benjamin Sauer and Alex Roling, the college’s ScotSpeak! debate team won the 18-team Harper College Lincoln Parliamentary League competition on Feb. 8, defeating such schools as the University of Illinois, Northern Illinois University, Harper College and College of Du Page.

Associate professor of communication Benita Dilley, who serves as the group’s faculty adviser, said, “This is a phenomenal success for this team and for our college. Unlike in athletics, where colleges compete by divisions, the Monmouth College team was competing against large public universities and programs with much larger budgets. That makes this victory even sweeter. Sauer and Roling were phenomenal. The college and their parents should be very proud of their success.”