Photos provided by OCU Student Publications
OCU and Wiley College Celebrate History with
Great Debate By Leslie Berger
Oklahoma City University and Wiley College relived history last fall with a new generation of “Great Debaters.” Wiley College visited the OCU campus from Oct. 24 to 26 to celebrate the historic debate between OCU and Marshall, Texas-based Wiley College that was portrayed in Denzel Washington’s 2007 hit movie “The Great Debaters.” The film follows the Wiley College debate team’s rise to the 1935 national championship and a 74-1 winning record during a 15-year stretch. A 1931 debate between OCU and Wiley College marked the historically black school’s first debate against a white team, and the debate was the first inter-racial debate ever held in the South. OCU hosted a variety of events throughout the weekend under the theme “The Great Debaters 2.0” including a movie screening, basketball games against Wiley College, a banquet and debate. A worship service and choir concert at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in downtown Oklahoma City culminated the event. Additionally, OCU brought 400 Oklahoma City high school students to campus for a film screening and discussion. OCU and Wiley agreed to take part in a friendly debate about “When the values are in conflict, activism should take priority over social stability.” The schools agreed that no winner would be selected. OCU students Christian Balden and Luke Reese debated the affirmative case against Caress Russell and Tristan Love, who represented Wiley College. Actor Nate Parker, who stars in the film, was honored during the banquet at OCU as part of the celebration. “We had a wonderful celebration that allowed us to educate many in the community about the historic debate, restore our relationship with Wiley College and bring focus to important social topics,” said Clinton Normore, director of multicultural student affairs at Oklahoma City University. “As I sat through each of the events that comprised this historic and surreal weekend I couldn’t help but be filled with a tremendous amount of pride to be a member of the OCU family. As always, our university demonstrated the kind of gracious spirit and service to others that is reflective of the values we hold dear. We are excited about the new opportunities brought forth by ‘The Great Debaters 2.0.’” l
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Luke Reese, psychology freshman, debates against Wiley College, in the Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel Oct. 25 during the Wiley College Celebration Weekend.
Wiley College mass communications sophomore Caress Russell debates against OCU.
Tristan Love, Wiley College computer science freshman, debates against the OCU team, Luke Reese, psychology freshman, and Christian Balden, religion/philosophy sophomore.
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