Debate 17: Baylor Univeristy, Waco, TX.

We drove to Austin via the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library, which was fitting considering we had just left the care of the LBJ debate society. We had a quick look around before being transferred to our next host Matt Garber for the drive to Waco - a city famous for three things: the 1993 siege, Dr Pepper and Baylor University. Matt and the debate team took used to lunch at a local café/restaurant, which is famous for catering for G. W. Bush at his nearby Crawford ranch. Several pictures of George/Condi and Bush Senior adorned the restaurant’s hallway.

Baylor is a large, very rich and very conservative Christian university. The campus is very well appointed finished all in matching red brick and mock spires. The debate team were very nice and that evening we opposed the motion ‘TH supports US military action in Iran to prevent nuclearization. Both the speakers were from a strictly policy background (Baylor won nationals for policy several times in the 70s and 80s) - but were able to adapt to the format quite well. It is probably a sign of the current Administration’s unpopularity that even at one of America’s most conservative universities - only miles from Crawford – our gentle to heavy mocking of Bush and the Neo-Conservative ideology went over really well with the audience. In the end it was a clear win for the Brits after an interesting Q&A. We were pleased with the excellent turnout of nearly 200 students. After dinner we were taken for steak (what else in Texas!) – which turned out to be among the very have sampled to date! A robust discussion about some of Baylor University’s admissions policies really brought to light how diverse opinions can be on American campuses…

In keeping with our lifestyle the stop was only to last 24 hours and the next morning we were back on the road and heading south.