Buff Briefs | Debate team wins championship

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Debate team wins championship

The University of Colorado at Boulder Debate Team won the country’s most prestigious collegiate debate contest, the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence, held on March 30 in Los Angeles.

CU-Boulder’s winning two-person team, juniors William Van Treuren and Than Hedman, bested the University of Oregon in a unanimous 7-0 decision at Asuza Pacific University, the host school, during the three-day competition.

It is the first national title for CU’s debaters, which is student-run team that has no paid coaches and practices in various unoccupied classrooms in the Eaton Humanities Building.

Sixty-four of the country’s topranked university and college debate teams competed in the invitationonly event. In their winning round, Van Treuren and Hedman argued against the following resolution: “The United States Supreme Court should eliminate the ‘plain view exception’ for searches of personal computers. “

Provost candidate named

A search committee is recommending only one candidate for CU-Boulder provost: Robert Sternberg, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University.

If appointed by Chancellor Phil DiStefano, Sternberg would infuse new blood into a position that has been held by CU insiders for many years.

DiStefano himself had a long tenure as the campus’s top academic officer, although the post has also been held on an interim basis by Susan Avery and, most recently, Stein Sture. All three were already CU faculty members at the time of their appointment.

The search committee reviewed 58 applications for the position, according to Todd Gleeson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at CU-Boulder and chair of the search committee. The committee identified eight semifinalists and scheduled preliminary interviews, but immediately prior to the interviews, three of the semifinalists opted for other positions, he said. After inter viewing the remaining five semifinalists, the search committee of 21 faculty, staff and students, decided that two individuals stood out. One candidate then withdrew from consideration, Gleeson said.

Sternberg, a psychologist, will visit the campus the week of April 12 and interview with campus faculty, staff, students and administrators. The schedule of campus interviews and Sternberg’s curriculum vita are posted on the search website at www.colorado.edu/chancellor/ provostsearch.

Second annual Spring Fest

The University of Colorado at Boulder’s second annual Spring Fest is expected to draw thousands of students and visitors to campus April 9-11 for the Buffalo Can Challenge, Admitted Student Day, Healthy Kids Day, the spring football game, the Forever Buffs 5K run and other events.

The Buffalo Can Challenge will be held on Friday, April 9, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Carlson Gymnasium. Teams bring nonperishable food items to design and build sculptures exhibited and judged for awards in seven categories. All food items will be donated to Community Food Share, the food bank of Boulder and Broomfield counties.

Admitted Student Day is Saturday, April 10, when an estimated 4,000 high school seniors and parents will arrive on campus for tours and information sessions. Also on April 10, the athletic department will host Healthy Kids Day on Folsom Field at 11 a.m., before the spring football game kickoff at 1:30 p.m.

Spring Fest also will include census campaigning on April 10, when volunteers will canvass lowresponse-rate neighborhoods, primarily student areas.

The Forever Buffs 5K run on Sunday, April 11, will raise money for the 2010 senior class gift, as well as the region of Darfur in Africa. The run will start at 8 a.m. at the Duane Physics and Astrophysics entrance, across the street from the buffalo statue by Folsom Field, and will end on the Duane Physics and Astrophysics lawn.

Respond: letters@boulderweekly.