In Defence of Moral Error Theory

Moral error theorists typically accept two claims - one conceptual and one ontological - about moral facts. The conceptual claim is that moral facts are or entail facts about categorical reasons (and correspondingly that moral claims are or entail claims about categorical reason); the ontological claim is that there are no categorical reasons-and consequently no moral facts-in reality. I accept this version of moral error theory and I try to unpack what it amounts to in section 2. In the course of doing so I consider two preliminary objections that moral error theory is (probably) false because its implications are intuitively unacceptable (what I call the Moorean objection) and that the general motivation for moral error theory is self-undermining in that it rests on a hidden appeal to norms. | Direct Link to PDF

Moral Minds: The Nature of Right and Wrong

THE CENTRAL IDEA of this book is simple: we evolved a moral instinct, a capacity that naturally grows within each child, designed to generate rapid judgments about what is morally right or wrong based on an unconscious grammar of action. Part of this machinery was designed by the blind hand of Darwinian selection millions of years before our species evolved; other parts were added or upgraded over the evolutionary history of our species, and are unique both to humans and to our moral psychology. These ideas draw on insightsfrom another instinct: language. | Direct Link to PDF (e-book)

Oxford Studies in Metaethics

The full book is available online for free:Oxford Studies in Metaethics is designed to collect, on an annual basis, some of the best new work being done in the field of metaethics. I’m very pleased to be able to present this third volume, one that has managed so successfully to fulfill the aims envisioned for the series. | Direct Link to Book

Moral Judgment

i. Moral rules are held to have an objective, prescriptive force; they are notdependent on the authority of any individual or institution.ii. Moral rules are taken to hold generally, not just locally; they not only proscribebehavior here and now, but also in other countries and at other times in history.iii. Violations of moral rules involve a victim who has been harmed, whose rightshave been violated, or who has been subject to an injustice.iv. Violations of moral rules are typically more serious than violations ofconventional rules. | Direct Link to PDF

Boredom? ADHD?

John Plotz in the New York Times: Their Noonday Demons, and Ours

These days, when we try to get a fix on our wasted time, we use labels that run from the psychological (distraction, “mind-wandering” or “top-down processing deficit”) to the medical (A.D.H.D., hypoglycemia) to the ethical (laziness, poor work habits). But perhaps “acedia” is the label we need. After all, it afflicted those whose pursuits prefigured the routines of many workers in the postindustrial economy. Acedia’s sufferers were engaged in solitary, sedentary, cerebral effort toward a clear final goal — but a goal that could be reached only by crossing an open, empty field with few signposts. The empty field is the monk’s day of spiritual contemplation in a cell besieged by the demon acedia — or your afternoon in a coffee shop with tiptop Wi-Fi.

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Obama/Clinton?

Nobel Prize winner and former US Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, makes the case for the "natural" Obama/Clinton ticket in 2012:

Why do I say this? Because Obama needs to stir the passions and enthusiasms of a Democratic base that’s been disillusioned with his cave-ins to regressive Republicans. Hillary Clinton on the ticket can do that.

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The Boundaries of Justice

The overarching concern in the idea of justice is the need to have just relations with others—and even to have appropriate sentiments about others; and what motivates the search is the diagnosis of injustice in ongoing arrangements. In some cases, this might demand the need to change an existing boundary of sovereignty—a concern that motivated Hume’s staunchly anti-colonial position. (He once remarked, “Oh! How I long to see America and the East Indies revolted totally & finally.”) Or it might relate to the Humean recognition that as we expand trade and other relations with foreign countries, our sentiments as well as our reasoning have to take note of the recognition that “the boundaries of justice still grow larger,” without the necessity to place all the people involved in our conception of justice within the confines of one sovereign state.

Amartya Sen, in The National Review, "The Boundaries of Justice."

What Position Will Win the TOC?

First, I just want to give a shout-out to the Mountain Brook tournament in Birmingham. This is the second year I've been, and once again the hospitality and timeliness have been exceptional. Jeff Roberts really goes out of his way to bring good judges to the tournament and put on a good show (and the MB students do a great job keeping things running). If you live in the South and don't make it to this tournament, you're missing out!On to the substance of today's post: what position will win the TOC?

I'll try not to answer my own question (since I'm more interested in others' thoughts), but I will say this: debaters are doing themselves a strategic disservice by running away from the plausibly true positions on this topic. I describe the loss as a "strategic" one, because I'm reasonably certain that no one will be persuaded by pedagogical risks.

The debates that start off on dubious premises (thanks to ridiculous case positions) almost always become side-tracked by theoretical and procedural questions that can rarely be resolved predictably. This is especially true in elimination rounds against strong competitors—the marginal utility of a "non-stock" position is significantly diminished when assured that your opponent will either shift the debate to theory or respond with an even more "outside the box" argument. The race to the bottom of absurdity can quickly become a counterproductive exercise, or one that at best terminates in a coin-flip decision.

While I hesitate to make any predictions, I certainly hope that high-level debates will explore the contextually unique accounts of self-defense that tend to permeate this topic in real-world discussion. I believe that the most researched account of this issue can and should take center stage. Off-the-wall positions may be decisive in prelims and lesser tournaments, but the most consistently and universally successful positions are true ones.

What do you expect to see come out on top?

Three Judging Practices That Need To Stop by Adam Torson

All of these practices are tempting, but a moment’s reflection should suggest to most judges that they are inappropriate.

1. Speaker Point Games

Enough with the paradigms that promise increased speaker points for goofy behavior. You might think it’s hysterical to promise a thirty for bringing you a cookie, saying “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” or dancing a jig, but it’s not. Judging is not about you – the debaters aren’t there for your entertainment.

If it were harmless fun nobody would care, but speaker points matter. They affect who you debate in prelims (especially later in a tournament when brackets are smaller), whether you break, and out-round seeding. On more than one occasion I have seen a speaker point game change who breaks and who doesn’t. It’s not fair, and it should stop.

2. Berating Debaters

A certain amount of irritation at poorly debated rounds is natural, but it’s stunning how often judges go way over the top. Expressing outrage at the state of debate or the obnoxiousness of some particular practice may be cathartic, but it’s hardly constructive. Getting angry and berating debaters is self-indulgent; the oral critique is not about your anger. It is reprehensible to be proud of making a debater cry.

Sometimes anger is appropriate, as when a debater is rude or patently offensive, but this is relatively rare. Yelling at someone because they made an argument you don’t like suggests a dramatic lack of perspective – the kids are learning what a good argument is, people have different views on what a good argument is, and students are coached in different ways. The RFD is not about showing off how smart you are or how much you know about debate. Get over yourself and make your comments constructive. You are not entitled to adjudicate a tournament full of mistake free rounds.

3. Calling Tons of Evidence

Everyone seems to want debaters to be clearer, but many of us engage in a practice that incentivizes exactly the opposite. The debaters’ opportunity to effectively convey the meaning of their evidence is the constructive. Figuring out what evidence means after the round and making it part of the decision calculus is blatant intervention. There are judges who routinely call virtually every argument read in the round and reconstruct their flow on that basis. Give me a break.

I suspect this is mostly motivated by ego – none of us likes to admit that we didn’t understand an argument. But – I feel like a broken record – it’s not about you. It is unfair and pedagogically unsound to vote for arguments you straight up don’t understand – even more so when you are doing things like supplying evidence comparison for the debaters. Have enough courage to admit when you don’t get something, even at the risk of teenagers thinking you’re not as smart as they otherwise would.

Davis Labarre Wins Strake Jesuit

 Houston, TX -- Congratulations to Northland Christian's Davis Labarre for winning the 2014 Strake Jesuit College Preparatory Tournament! In finals, Davis defeated Westlake's Drew Burd on a 2-1 decision (Cockroft, Dang, Harris*). Congratulations to both debaters! Davis is coached by Paul Gravley, Courtney Coffman, Robbie Dillard, Yang Yi, and Shania Hunt. Drew is coached by Benjamin Koh. Strake is a semifinals bid qualifier to the Tournament of Champions! Pairings and results can be found on Joy of Tournaments: http://www.joyoftournaments.com/tx/strake/warmroom.aspCongratulations to Davis Labarre, Drew Burd, Karman Singh, and Dino De La O for advancing to semis and earning bids! Partial Double OctafinalsCalhoun Home AC def Kinkaid AK 3-0 (Harris, Kassam, Cockroft)Marcus LH def Pflugerville DL 3-0 (Graham, Dang, Wei)Dulles SK def Kinkaid NK 2-1 (Evnen*, McCormick, Conrad)St. Thomas JB def Cy-Fair CM 3-0 (Wright, Race, Sharma)University JR over University AFNorthland Christian DL advances without debatingKinkaid TG advances without debatingKinkaid JY advances without debatingDulles NB advances without debatingLaw Magnet DD advances without debatingWestlake DB advances without debatingFlower Mound HD advances without debatingCypress Falls KS advances without debatingFlower Mound JS advances without debatingWoodlands College Park VM advances without debatingWoodlands AC advances without debating OctafinalsNorthland Christian DL def St. Thomas JB 3-0 (McCormick, Wright, Werner)Kinkaid TG def University JR 2-1 (Delgado, Dang, Imas*)Kinkaid JY def Dulles SK 2-1 (Cory, Koshak, O’Dwyer*)Marcus LH def Dulles NB (Sasso, Graham, O’Neal)Law Magnet DD def Calhoun Home AC 3-0 (Cockroft, Baig, Tyger)Westlake DB def Flower Mound HD 3-0 (Wei, Seitz, Evnen)Cypress Falls KS def Flower Mound JS 3-0 (Harris, Sharma, Woods)Woodlands College Park VM def Woodlands AC 2-1 (Xiong, Castillo*, Sullivan) QuarterfinalsNorthland Christian DL def Woodlands College Park VM (Venkatesh Muppaneni) (Dang, Wei*, Wright)Cypress Falls KS def Kinkaid TG (Tyler Gamble) (Graham*, O’Dwyer, Baig)Westlake DB def Kinkaid JY (Jason Yang) (Evnen, Harris, Sharma)Law Magnet DD def Marcus LH (Lyndie Ho) (Cockroft*, Cory, Hodge) SemifinalsNorthland Christian DL def Law Magnet DD (Dino De La O) (Dang, Cockroft, Harris)Westlake DB def Cypress Falls KS (Karman Singh) (Sullivan, Graham, Evnen) FinalsNorthland Christian DL def Westlake DB (Drew Burd) 2-1 (Dang, Cockroft, Harris*) ChampionNorthland Christian DL (Davis Labarre)

Graham Baker Wins Blake

 Minneapolis, MN -- Congratulations to Greenhill's Graham Baker for winning the 2014 John Edie Holiday Tournament hosted by the Blake School! In finals, Graham defeated Walt Whitman's Sophia Caldera on a 2-1 decision. Congratulations to both debaters! Graham is coached by Aaron Timmons, Bekah Boyer, Josh Roberts, Chris Randall, and Rebecca Kuang. Sophia is coached by Emily Massey and Michael Harris. Blake is a quarterfinals bid qualifier to the Tournament of Champions.Pairings can be found on Tabroom: https://www.tabroom.com/index/tourn/index.mhtml?tourn_id=2999 Partial Triple OctafinalsApple Valley PH def Aberdeen Central SM (Ahsan, Massey, Plunkett)Oxbridge BK def Walt Whitman LK (Tarsney, Korsakov, Koh)Lake Highland KP def Glenbrook South JL (Tarsney, Anderson, Plunkett)DSM Roosevelt EW def WDM Valley EM (Bone, Hoverson, McClung)Millburn WH def Hopkins RA (Bone, Struver, McClung)Lexington JK def WDM Valley CT (Lonam, Kueffner, Berman)Oxbridge NV def Walt Whitman SP (Kueffner, Hamilton, Councilman)Greenhill VA def Scarsdale AY (Robbins, Sylvester, Clarke)Bronx Science CL def Scarsdale GZ (Ahsan, Theis, Sylvester)Cambridge PO def Walt Whitman NL (Hoverson, Koh, Rung)Byram Hills PE def Millburn CS (Ave, Shapiro, Leverett)Walt Whitman SC def Lake Highland AA (Shapiro, Margolies, You)WDM Valley TG def Apple Valley JB (Tisher, Horowitz, Anderson)Lake Highland MC def J. Graham Brown NT (Massac, Tisher, McElwain)Scarsdale DW def North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics TP (Froh, Roberts, Vinson)Evanston Township JS def Barrington HS (Massey, Roberts, Lonam)Hopkins SG def Scarsdale MC (You, Harris, Astacio)Lexington LW def Scarsdale JN (Ave, Berman, Harris)Bronx Science ID def Apple Valley CH (Baker, McElwain, Smith)Eastside Catholic TD def Delbarton NA (Leverett, McGinnis, Smith)WDM Valley TF def Interlake AL (Massey, Smith, Councilman)Byram Hills AJ def Apple Valley GH (Korsakov, Froh, Smith)J. Graham Brown BD advances without debatingWDM Valley GS advances without debatingGreenhill GB advances without debatingEvanston Township EW advances without debatingBronx Science DR advances without debatingEvanston Township CT advances without debatingScarsdale RG advances without debatingHawken NK advances without debatingScarsdale MB advances without debatingLexington DA advances without debating Double OctafinalsBronx Science DR def Cambridge PO (Vincent, Roberts, Astacio)Bronx Science ID def Hawken NK (Ave, Anderson, Astacio)Hopkins SG def Oxbridge BK (Struver, Koh, Ave)Greenhill VA def Millburn WH (Leverett, Struver, Tisher)Walt Whitman SC def WDM Valley TG (Kueffner, Bone, Councilman)Greenhill GB def Lexington LW (Vinson, Kueffner, Smith)Scarsdale RG def Millburn CS (Shapiro, Massey, Korsakov)Lexington DA def Byram Hills AJ (Korsakov, Shapiro, Bone)Apple Valley PH def Eastside Catholic TD (Massac, Harris, Baker)J. Graham Brown BD def Lake Highland KP (Massac, Hamilton, McElwain)Evanston EW def Lake Highland MC (Berman, McClung, McElwain)Evanston JS def Scarsdale DW (Lonam, Froh, You)Scarsdale MB def Oxbridge NV (Massey, Lonam, McClung)Evanston CT def Bronx Science CL (Randall, Smith, Theis)DSM Roosevelt EW def Lexington JK (Baker, Berman, Randall) OctafinalsScarsdale MB def DSM Roosevelt EW (Korsakov, Bone, Smith)Evanston JS def Scarsdale RG (Berman, Koh, You)Apple Valley PH def WDM Valley GS (Massey, McElwain, Kueffner)J. Graham Brown BD def Lexington DA (Harris, Massac, Baker)Walt Whitman SC def Evanston CT (Smith, Lonam, Hamilton)Evanston EW def Hopkins SG (Smith, Struver, Theis)Greenhill GB over Greenhill VABronx Science DR over Bronx Science ID QuarterfinalsGreenhill GB def J. Graham Brown BD (Blake Dawson) (Johnson, Struver, Astacio)Walt Whitman SC def Evanston EW (Eric Weine) (You, Hamilton, Rung)Scarsdale MB def Apple Valley PH (Prince Hyeamang) (Korsakov, Harris, Kueffner)Evanston JS def Bronx Science DR (Diganta Rashed) (Berman, McElwain, Theis) SemifinalsWalt Whitman SC def Evanston JS (Joey Schnide) (Kueffner, Smith, You)Greenhill GB def Scarsdale MB (Michael Bogaty) (Struver, Rung, Clarke) FinalsGreenhill GB def Walt Whitman SC (Sophia Caldera) 2-1 (Massac*, Berman, Kueffner) ChampionGreenhill GB (Graham Baker)

Bennett Eckert Wins Isidore Newman

 New Orleans, LA -- Congratulations to Greenhill's Bennett Eckert for winning the 2014 Isidore Newman tournament! In finals, Bennett defeated Northland Christian's Davis Labarre. Congratulations to both debaters! Bennett is coached by Aaron Timmons, Bekah Boyer, Josh Roberts, and Rebecca Kuang. Davis is coached by Paul Gravley, Courtney Coffman, Robbie Dillard, Yang Yi, and Shania Hunt. Isidore Newman is a semifinals bid qualifier to the Tournament of Champions. OctafinalsStony Point RJ advances without debatingGreenhill BE advances without debatingGreenhill VA advances without debatingNorthland Christian DL advances over Northland Christian MPCalhoun Home AC def Houston Independent SK (Lonam, Timmons, Lam)Durham Academy DB def Northland Christian ML 3-0 (Bates, Kueffner, Wimmer)Greenhill GB def Houston Independent NB 2-1 (Woods*, Shields, Colling)St James PD def Hockaday KK (Roberts, Coffman, Pritt) QuarterfinalsGreenhill VA over Greenhill GBGreenhill BE def Calhoun Home AC 3-0Northland DL Christian def Stony Point RJ 2-1

Durham Academy DB def Saint James PD 2-1 SemifinalsGreenhill BE over Greenhill VA (Varad Agarwala)Northland Christian DL def Durham Academy DB (Derek Brown) FinalsGreenhill BE def Northland Christian DL (Davis Labarre) ChampionGreenhill BE (Bennett Eckert)

Christian Quiroz Wins the 2014 Ridge Debates

 Basking Ridge, NJ -- Congratulations to Harrison's Amy Geller and Newark Science's Christian Quiroz for reaching finals of the 2014 Ridge Debates. Due to logistical issues, the final round will be postponed until the Newark tournament in January. Stay tuned for live coverage of the 2014 Ridge Debates! Ridge is a finals bid qualifier to the Tournament of Champions.Pairings can be found on Tabroom: https://www.tabroom.com/index/tourn/index.mhtml?tourn_id=3193 OctafinalsHarrison MZ def Randolph HK (Aguirre, Blatt, Sripathi)Millburn WH def Scarsdale DW (Curtis, Ashman, Wei)Newark Science CQ def Princeton KX (Massac, McIntyre, Hartigan)Bronx Science ID def Stuyvesant SL (Akridge, White, Siegel)Byram Hills AW def Hunter College BL (Bauchan, Smith, Scharwath)Bronx Science DR def Montville EH) (Tirado, Boone, Hu)Harrison AG def Montville JM (Dincer, Kuzmenko, Zhong)Byram Hills PE def Harrison SO (Biel, Bathke, Simkovits) QuarterfinalsNewark Science CQ def Harrison MZ (Matt Zinman) (Hartigan, Bathke, Scharwath)Harrison AG def Millburn WH (Wesley Hu) (Kuzmenko, Blatt, Chang)Byram Hills PE def Bronx Science ID (Isis Davis-Marks) (Sripathi, Smith, Biel)Byram Hills AW def Bronx Science DR (Diganta Rashed) (Dincer, Alencewicz, Tirado) SemifinalsNewark Science CQ def Byram Hills PE (Paul Erlanger) (Biel, Dincer, McIntyre)Harrison AG def Byram Hills AW (Alex Wurm) (Chang, Hartigan, Smith) FinalsNewark Science CQ def Harrison AG (Amy Geller) ChampionNewark Science CQ (Christian Quiroz) 

Millard North Closes Out Dowling Catholic

West Des Moines, IA -- Congratulations to Millard North's Priya Kukreja and Grant Brown for closing out the 2014 Dowling Catholic Tournament. In semifinals, Priya and Grant defeated Theodore Roosevelt's Emma Weddle and Oxbridge's Nalin Vattigunta, respectively. Congratulations to Priya and Grant for closing out! Priya and Grant are coached by Ananya Mitra, Connor Brown, Lauren Burdt, and Aaron Schurevich. Dowling is a semifinals bid qualifier to the Tournament of Champions. Pairings can be found on Joy of Tournaments: http://www.joyoftournaments.com/ia/dowling/warmroom.asp OctafinalsMillard North GB def Cypress Woods NS 3-0 (Meyer, Hymson, Smith)Sioux Falls Lincoln CM def Hopkins SG 2-1 (Agrawal, Hannan, Saker*)Millard North PK def Bettendorf AM 2-1 (Ave*, Horowitz, Sutter)Theodore Roosevelt EW def New Trier LK 2-1 (Smith*, Mayes, McClung)WDM Valley TG def Eagan DC 3-0 (Tisher, Sylvester, Laverty)Evanston JS def Glenbrook South JB 2-1 (Evnen, Eastlund, Rankin*)Oxbridge NV def WDM Valley TF 3-0 (Burdt, Maude, Rose)WDM Valley GS over WDM Valley EM QuarterfinalsMillard North GB def WDM Valley GS (Gina Scorpiniti) (Tisher, Mayes, Agrawal)Oxbridge NV def Sioux Falls Lincoln CM (Caleb Munce) (Hymson, McGinnis, Burdt)Millard North PK def Evanston JS (Joey Schnide) (Rose, Stancliff, Sutter)Theodore Roosevelt EW def WDM Valley TG (Trent Gilbert) (Maude, Evnen, Eastlund) SemifinalsMillard North GB def Oxbridge NV (Nalin Vattigunta)Millard North PK def Theodore Roosevelt (Emma Weddle) ChampionsMillard North GB (Grant Brown) and Millard North PK (Priya Kukreja)

Announcing the Sunvitational Round Robin Field

 Fort Lauderdale, FL -- Zach Prax, the director of debate at the University school, has released the field for the 2015 Sunvitational Round Robin. The round robin will take place on Friday, January 9th, on the campus of Nova Southeastern University. Congratulations to the debaters who were invited! The 2015 Sunvitational Round Robin Field in Lincoln-Douglas DebateVarun Bhave - Del Mar, CaliforniaDavid Branse - University School, FloridaIsis Davis-Marks - Bronx High School of Science, New YorkDino DeLaO - Law Magnet High School, TexasRahul Gosain - Scarsdale High School, New YorkNeal Kapoor - Lake Highland Preparatory, FloridaRuchir Rastogi - Lamp High School, AlabamaJake Steirn - Cypress Bay High School, FloridaAlberto Thome - Strake Jesuit Preparatory, TexasAdam Tomasi - Sacred Heart High School School, MassachusettsNalin Vattigunta - Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches, FloridaEmma Weddle - Theodore Roosevelt High School, Iowa

Pranav Reddy Wins the 2014 Glenbrooks

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]Northbrook, IL - Congratulations to Harker's Pranav Reddy for winning the 2014 Glenbrooks Speech and Debate Tournament! In finals, Pranav defeated Brentwood's Jackson Lallas on a 2-1 decision (Evnen, Laverty*, Theis). Congratulations to both debaters for reaching finals! Pranav is coached by Greg Achten, Ryan Fink, Jordan Lamothe, and Jerry Chen. Jackson is coached by Victor Jih, Richard Shmikler, Dylan Scher, Erik Legried, Naila Dharani, and Travis Chen. Congratulations to both debaters for going undefeated (7-0) in prelims! Congratulations also to Pranav for winning top speaker and advancing to elims as the top seed! Finally, congratulations to all those who bid at Glenbrooks this weekend! Glenbrooks is an octafinals bid qualifier to the Tournament of Champions. Pairings and results can be found on Tabroom: https://www.tabroom.com/index/tourn/index.mhtml?tourn_id=3308  Double OctafinalsPeninsula AT def Strake SM 3-0 (Cha, Roberts, Shmikler)Newark Science SS def John Marshall DD 3-0 (Alderete, Roberts, Smith)Lexington PC def Grapevine AY 3-0 (Castillo, Tarsney, Theis)Evanston EW def Newark Science AF 3-0 (Cha, Chen, Theis)Kinkaid TG def Woodlands AC 3-0 (Massey, Millman, Reiter)Lexington DA def Westlake DB 2-1 (Evnen*, Korn, Massey)Harker PR def WDM Valley TF 3-0 (Evnen, Woodhouse, Zhu)Scarsdale MB def Strake AlT 2-1 (Azbel, Bone*, Shmikler)Brentwood JL def Apple Valley PH 3-0 (Chy, Korsakov, Weisberg)Lake Highland Prep NK def Bronx Science JS 3-0 (Caplan, Reiter, Weisberg)Clements RG def Hockaday AH 3-0 (Cavanaugh, Hertzig, Sims)Evanston CT def Peninsula JZ 3-0 (Castillo, Fink, Hertzig)Greenhill MM def WDM Valley GS 3-0 (Alderete, Pyda, Thompson)Greenhill VA def Sacred Heart AT 2-1 (Alston, Miller*, Star)Greenhill BE def Strake RC 3-0 (Baker, Torson, Wei)Clements FT vs Millburn WH 3-0 (Arnett, Horowitz, Merchant) Octafinals (bid)Peninsula AT def Greenhill MM (Mitali Mathur) 3-0 (Achten, Star, Wei)Newark Science SS def Lake Highland Prep NK (Neal Kapoor) 3-0 (Baker, Power, Wei)Lexington PC def Kinkaid TG (Tyler Gamble) 2-1 (Massey*, Millman, Reiter)Clements RG def Evanston EW (Eric Weine) 2-1 (Boyer*, Chen, Roberts)Harker PR def Lexington DA (Dan Alessandro) 2-1 (Liu*, Scher, Timmons)Brentwood JL def Scarsdale MB (Michael Bogaty) 3-0 (Chy, Korsakov, Weisberg)Greenhill VA def Evanston CT (Carlos Taylor) 2-1 (Alston, Van Berg*, Fink)Clements FT def Greenhill BE (Bennett Eckert) 2-1 (Achten*, Fink, Wheeler) QuarterfinalsBrentwood JL def Clements RG (Rebecca Gelfer) 2-1 (Baker, Laverty, Roberts*)Harker PR def Lexington PC (Preetham Chippada) 3-0 (Scher, Van Berg, Wheeler)Clements FT def Greenhill VA (Varad Agarwala) 3-0 (Achten, Fink, Star)Peninsula AT def Newark Science SS (SunHee Simon) 2-1 (Boyer, Horowitz, Merchant*) SemifinalsHarker PR def Peninsula AT (Arjun Tambe) 2-1 (Merchant*, Roberts, Star)Brentwood JL def Clements FT (Felix Tan) 3-0 (Evnen, Fink, Theis) FinalsHarker PR def Brentwood JL (Jackson Lallas) 2-1 (Evnen, Laverty*, Theis) ChampionHarker PR (Pranav Reddy)  Speaker Awards

1. Harker - Pranav Reddy

2. Newark Science - SunHee Simon

3. Peninsula - Arjun Tambe

4. Greenhill - Bennett Eckert

5. Clements - Rebecca Gelfer

6. Evanston - Carlos Taylor

7. Scarsdale - Rahul Gosain

8. Lexington - Preetham Chippada

9. Woodlands - Abbey Chapman

10. Lake Highland Prep - Neal Kapoor

Isis Davis-Marks and Adegoke Fakorede Co-Champion Bump

Montrose, NY - Congratulations to Bronx Science's Isis Davis-Marks and Newark Science's Adegoke Fakorede for co-championing the 2014 Malcolm A. Bump Memorial Tournament! In semifinals, Isis defeated Harrison's Sarah Ryan; Adegoke defeated Sacred Heart's Adam Tomasi. As per tradition, there was no final round. Congratulations to both debaters! Isis is coached by Jon Cruz, Zack Struver, Abhi Elisetty, and Nathan Cha. Adegoke is coached by Jonathan Alston, Chris Randall, and Dr. Tommy Curry. Stay tuned for live coverage of the Malcolm A. Bump Memorial Tournament held at Hendrick Hudson HS in New York! Bump is a semifinals bid qualifier to the Tournament of Champions. Pairings can be found on Tabroom: https://www.tabroom.com/index/tourn/index.mhtml?tourn_id=2830 Double OctafinalsSacred Heart AT def Ridge NPByram Hills PE def Stuyvesant TCBronx Science JS def Ridge TTConcord Carlisle DL def Byram Hills SCHarrison AG def Newark Science NSBenjamin Cardozo AB def Scarsdale MCHarrison EA def Ridge SKScarsdale MM def Collegiate DKHarrison KK def Monticello DASyosset AM def Bronx Science DRBronx Science ZPo def Harrison EEHunter College BL def Collegiate NEBronx Science ID def Ridge VKaNewark Science AF def Hunter College SCHarrison SR def Hunter College AKNewark Science AK def Lexington AQ OctafinalsSacred Heart AT def Newark Science AKBenjamin Cardozo AB def Concord Carlisle DLBronx Science JS def Harrison AGHarrison KK def Bronx Science ZPoNewark Science AF def Syosset AMHunter College BL def Scarsdale MMBronx Science ID def Byram Hills PEHarrison SR over Harrison EA QuarterfinalsHarrison SR def Hunter College BL (Ben Laufer) (Page, Martin, Lu)Bronx Science ID def Benjamin Cardozo AB (Alex Boukis) (Zhou, Kuzmenko, Lufty)Newark Science AF vs Bronx Science JS (Smith, Lufty, Hertzig)Sacred Heart AT vs Harrison KK (Li, Tirado, Pregasen) Semifinals (bid)Bronx Science ID def Harrison SR (Sarah Ryan)Newark Science AF def Sacred Heart AT (Adam Tomasi) Co-ChampionsBronx Science ID (Isis Davis-Marks)Newark Science (Adegoke Fakorede)