Bates seniors Tamara Bucknell, Guilford, Conn., and Amy Keith of Fair Lawn, N.J., finished fourth among North American teams, second among U.S. teams and 20th overall among 176 squads from the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Africa. The pair opposed the proposition, “This house believes that old generals should not have to face the music” in a debate against three Australian universities, including the the tournament winners, Monash University.

“We are thrilled to have finally advanced to the elimination rounds at this tournament, the largest and most prestigious academic intercollegiate tournament in the world,” said Erich Fuchs, assistant debate coach at Bates and a member of the Bates class of 1992. The Manila tournament represented the first time the Worlds were held in Asia.

Bucknell-Pogue is a rhetoric major writing a senior honors thesis on the Oslo Peace Accords. She spent the second semester of her junior year studying in Jordan, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. A philosophy major, Keith is writing a feminist critique of John Rawl’s justice theory as her senior honors thesis.

Also participating in the competition were Bates seniors Mark Boudreau of Winchester, Mass., and Brenda Phelan of Boston, Mass., who finished 65th in the field, and sophomore Julia Marchello of Billings, Mont., who served as a tournament judge.