Morehouse College captured the 2017 Lafayette Debates North American Championships last week in Washington D.C., solidifying its place among the nation’s best collegiate debate programs.
Senior Jonathan Carlisle and junior Keith Matier defeated Vanderbilt University on the topic “Should democracies prioritize interculturalism as a strategy for managing diversity.” It is the seventh national and fourth international championship for the Morehouse debate program in the last six years, and a testament to the rigor and value of all historically black colleges.
From a Morehouse release:
“There is a common belief among people in American society that HBCUs aren’t valuable, and that they don’t have the educational vitality to produce things like this,” Carlisle said. “What this victory says to me is that I chose the right school, and the education that I’m receiving is valuable. I believe that I can do anything in the world because of the experiences that I have had at Morehouse College.”
Carlisle and Matier will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Paris to study forensic debate as the grand prize for the international title.
