JCCC’s debate team was awarded the prestigious McClintock Award, presented to the national champion community college team, at the Cross-Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National Tournament held at Binghamton, New York, this spring. The CEDA national championship is based on the team’s earned points during the entire season in competition with four-year colleges and universities as well as other community colleges.

JCCC was the top ranked community college the entire 2010-2011 season and finished by a significant margin of points. JCCC dominated the head-to-head competition with fellow community college debate teams throughout the season.

This is the second year in a row JCCC has won the National Championship and fifth year in a row JCCC has been in the top three in community college sweepstakes.

Two JCCC debaters, Jeremy David and Tyler Kowalewski, Overland Park, were both awarded the “All-American Debater Award” in a field of predominately four-year college recipients. This award distinction is given to 30 debaters in the country who represent the best of intercollegiate debate. Recipients demonstrate competitive success, good conduct and contributions to their squad.

JCCC was also recognized with a Top 3 Public Sphere Award given to debate programs, which over the course of the past academic year have best advanced the values of debate in the public sphere through sponsorship of public debate activities. JCCC was recognized for its end-of-the-semester public debates that have record turnouts and for its retirement home public debates.

The JCCC debate team traveled to 14 tournaments this year, and the team won awards at all of them. Throughout the year the JCCC debate team was consistently ranked as the top community college, maintained a top 20 ranking since November 2010 and finished in the top 20 rankings ahead of schools such as Boston College, University of California-Berkeley, Dartmouth College, Georgetown University, University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University and Wake Forest University.

Terri Easley, associate professor, speech and debate, is the JCCC debate coach, and Justin Stanley, assistant professor of speech and debate, is the assistant coach.