Zoe Seaman-Grant named top collegiate novice debater in the nation

2014 Mar 19

Zoe Seaman-Grant, a member of the Brooks Quimby Debate Council at Bates College, was the American Parliamentary Debate Association's top-ranked novice collegiate debater in the nation the week of Monday, March 10.

Seaman-Grant's best-in-the-nation standing followed her novice-speaker victories at the Stanford University tournament on March 8, the Wellesley College tournament on Feb. 8 and the Providence College tournament on Jan. 31. Her other top-five novice speaker finishes include second at Vassar on Oct. 5, 2013, third at Brandeis on Oct. 19, 2013, third at Brown on Oct. 26, 2013, and fifth at the Wesleyan tournament held Nov. 16, 2013.

Seaman-Grant and teammate Matt Kahn of Newington, Conn., finished first in the novice division at the Boston University Tournament held Sept. 28, 2013, as well as the Vassar College tournament held Oct. 5, 2013. The pair finished as the third novice team at Brandeis on Oct. 19, 2013, and second at Brown on Oct. 26, 2013.

"The hard work of team members has established the BQDC as one of the premier debate teams in America," says Jan Hovden, director of debate and lecturer in rhetoric at Bates. "I couldn't be prouder of them, and I look forward to continued success throughout the rest of the year."

The Brooks Quimby Debate Council at Bates College is one of the world's most successful debating societies. Bates debaters are routinely ranked among the best in the U.S. while also competing internationally, including annually at the World Universities Debating Championships. The Brooks Quimby Debate Council is distinctive in that the club does not hold competitive tryouts but is open to all interested students, often developing top debaters who have had no prior experience. Alumni of the Bates program include Bob Goodlatte '74, U.S. Congressman and chair of the House Judiciary Committee; Joyce White Vance '82, U.S. Attorney for Northern Alabama; Edmund S. Muskie '36, U.S. Senator and author of the landmark Clean Water and Clean Air acts; and Benjamin E. Mays '20, civil rights leader and longtime president of Morehouse College.

Seaman-Grant, the daughter of Mr. Robert P. Grant and Dr. Myra J. Seaman of Mount Pleasant, S.C., is a 2013 graduate of Academic Magnet High School in North Charleston, S.C.

Located in Lewiston, Maine, Bates is internationally recognized as a leading college of the liberal arts, attracting 2,000 students from across the U.S. and around the world. Since 1855, Bates has been dedicated to educating the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. With a commitment to affordability, Bates has always admitted students without regard to gender, race, religion or national origin. Cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action, Bates prepares leaders sustained by a love of learning and zeal for responsible stewardship of the wider world.