The William Pitt Debating Union (WPDU) opened its 2025 season with standout performances at the NFA-LD Washburn Warm Up, held online by Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.
Sophomore Henry Anastasi led the way as tournament champion, securing first place in the highest level of competition. Freshman McKinley Cherrier earned second place in the Junior Varsity division, while fellow freshmen and novice debaters Aidan Watkins and Kiera Weiss each came within one or two preliminary wins of advancing to the elimination rounds.
The tournament brought together 18 schools from 10 states, featuring 86 students and 58 judges over two days of competition. For WPDU, it was an early opportunity to demonstrate the strength of a team that continues to grow in both size and impact.
WPDU, one of the oldest debate societies in the nation, is a co-curricular program housed in the Dietrich School’s Department of Communication. For more than a century, it has been a powerhouse in both competitive and public debate. The team competes in the National Forensics Association’s Lincoln Douglas debate event, known as “LD,” a rigorous one-on-one format where students research and debate both sides of a single resolution throughout the year.
This year’s resolution is: “Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially increase its military presence and/or scientific exploration in the Arctic or Antarctic.” WPDU has already distinguished itself with a case known as the “Krill Aff,” which argues for expanded Antarctic inspections under Article 7 of the Antarctic Treaty System. The plan highlights transparency, international cooperation, and enforcement mechanisms, with a particular focus on stabilizing krill populations, a keystone species. When presented by WPDU debaters, the case has won 11 out of 13 rounds, an 85% success rate.
The success of the strategy also sparked numerous puns and exchanges of memes and gifs on team chat channels about krill and other crustaceans. Some messages included: “I’m going krill mode,” “shrimply incredible,” and “krill’d it.”
These early results continue a tradition of excellence. Last year, Anastasi placed second at the NFA National Championship Tournament, while WPDU ranked as the fifth top debate program despite being one of the smallest at the competition, roughly one-third the size of similarly ranked programs. This year, WPDU is building on that success with significant growth, now fielding more than 30 students from across a dozen majors.