Harvard Debaters Seek National Title; Teams Qualify for Champoinship Meet

Two teams of Harvard debaters will travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., next week to attend the National Debate Tournament (NDT) at the U.S. Air Force Academy. This marks the first time in Harvard's history that two of its teams have qualified for the event.

Ranked number one by the NDT Committee among 865 intercollegiate squads in the country, the team of Charles E. Garvin '74 and Greg A. Rosenbaum '74 was among 16 receiving special early bids to attend the tournament.

Harvard debating coach, Mark G. Arnold, said yesterday that Garvin and Rosenbaum's win-loss record of 94-17 is not only the best in the nation this year, but one of the best records ever compiled by a collegiate squad. The pair has won major national tournaments at MIT, University of Kentucky, University of Georgia, Emory, Marietta and Dartmouth.

Harvard's second team of David M. Schiffman '74 and Mitchell S. Dupler '75 qualified for the NDT at a district qualifying meet in March. Schiffman and Dupler have finished consistently high throughout the year, placing in tournaments at Brandeis, King's College, Northwestern, University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth.

Teams at the NDT will debate the proposition "that the federal government should control the supply and utilization of energy in the U.S."

"The topic tends to be interpreted pretty broadly," Schiffman said yesterday. "We've heard everything from helium conservation to gun control justified under the resolution."

Harvard has consistently been a top finisher at the NDT for the last decade. Harvard teams won the tournament in 1961 and 1969, and last year's squad finished fifth.