When many Trinity students are hunkered in their rooms studying, the Trinity University Debate Team is flying around the country, preparing arguments and prepping debate notes. Fresh off their two biggest competitions, the team’s co-captains – graduating senior Ruth Patterson and Brooklyn (BK) King, junior political science and economics double-major – are surrounded by debate.
Patterson, senior Classics major, explained that they and their debate partner just returned from the National Debate Tournament (NDT). To even qualify for the tournament is a feat — only the top 78 teams in the country make the cut, Patterson explained.
Despite the tough competition, Patterson had their co-captain and debate partner by their side, and King isn’t just the other half to this debating duo. They’re also Patterson’s best friend.
King said that they met Patterson at the annual Debate team retreat. From their first meeting to their final debate at CEDA, King and Patterson have grown closer and helped each other improve as debaters.
“Brooklyn is my best friend,” Patterson said. “We were trepidatious at first, because sometimes you just don’t have that dynamic that works in a very high-pressure, fast-paced competitive activity. But I definitely think it made us closer, and it is such a joy to debate with BK.”
Working together has allowed them to push the debate team in ways that would not have been possible alone, they said. As they spent more time together at competitions, they rose through the ranks together to become co-captains.
King said that while watching their best friend and debate partner compete for their final time at the Cross Examination Debate Association National Championship (CEDA) was sad, they felt proud too.
“I think that Ruth has just given their all to the activity in a way that I really respect and admire,” King said. “It was just really cool to watch someone who has a lot of passion and care for the activity reaching those kinds of levels of success in competition, and really enjoy what they do.”
While Trinity went 5-3 out of eight rounds at CEDA and four wins to four losses out of eight rounds at NDT — which, based on the quality of competition, the duo says is “respectable” — Patterson says that debate is much more than winning. What stands out most to them is the friendships they have made, not the trophies they have won.
“It’s bittersweet to look back on it, because I just finished my last tournament. It’s been such a privilege to get to debate with these people,” Patterson said. “Debate is certainly the most important thing I have done in my life, in terms of how it has shaped me as a person.”
Though Patterson will graduate in May, King will continue as captain of the Trinity debate team for the 2026-27 season. King says they plan to continue pushing the team to new heights, using the skills they built with Patterson.
