Binghamton University continued its successful stretch in competitive debate at the Northeast Regional Opener, held in the Fine Arts Building this weekend.

It was the third straight year that BU hosted the the regional opener, an event run by the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA).

The tournament was broken into three skill divisions, Novice, Junior Varsity and Varsity, with each division debating under the guidelines of CEDA and the National Debate Tournament (NDT).

Binghamton took second place to Rutgers in the Varsity finals. West Point won the tournament at both the Novice and JV levels.

“It was a good result, we made it very far despite our lack of experience,” said Joe Leeson-Schatz, director of the BU speech and debate team since 2001. “It provides good ground moving forward and for providing the education for our debaters on how to get to the next competitive level.”

BU was ranked 10th in the nation last year, marking the team’s seventh year as a top-10 team. In 2008, the team was ranked No. 1 in the nation.

About 25 different universities attended the tournament and nearly 300 students competed.

This year’s debate topic was the United States federal government and its fiscal involvement in modern energy production.

Chirag Raparia, a novice debater and an undeclared freshman, participated in his first debate at the weekend opener.

Raparia said he practiced for the tournament with experienced members of the BU speech and debate team.

“This is a test round to see how it is and to see if I’m good at it,” Raparia said of his first experience debating. “I plan on staying in debate. With proper training, I can make arguments come naturally.”

Michael Dong, a sophomore from Cornell University majoring in computer science, said he respects BU’s speech and debate team.

“Binghamton has good debaters who are known for crazy things; the evidence and authors that they use aren’t conventional,” Dong said. “BU is doing an excellent job of hosting.”

John Maine, a junior majoring in philosophy, politics, and law, is a new member of the BU debate team.

“It’s good to take on positions that you don’t agree with in order to see the other point of view,” Maine said. “I like arguing and find debate intellectually stimulating; it is a commitment, debate is like two classes worth of work.”

Maine said that BU’s coaches helped the speech and debate team perform very well at the tournament.

“The coaches have been instrumental in helping and preparing, they work very hard and it is paying off,” Maine said.

Leeson-Schatz, a professor in the English department, said that he was impressed with the team’s turnout for its first tournament of the school year.

This year, 38 students attended the first tournament. Leeson-Schantz expects numbers for subsequent tournaments to remain in the high 20s, and more dedication from team members this year.