Fort Hays State University announced today that debate coach Bill Shanahan has been fired and the debate program suspended after the mooning incident that occurred at the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National Tournament in March.
[Fort Hays State University President Edward H. ] Hammond said the debate program was suspended “until problems were addressed at the national level.”
The university said debate students’ scholarships would be honored.
Hammond said in the news release that it was “equally important for FHSU to take a stand against the declining standards of college debate.”
“We are an institute of higher learning, and this incident provides a valuable ‘teaching moment,’” he said. “Our society has become increasingly confrontational and uncivil. Our investigation revealed that those ills have also infected college debate. We have a responsibility not only to deal with the specific incident but to stand up against this decline in the standards of college debate.
There is a lot of discussion about the firing the NDTCEDA listserv. Non-subscribers can browse the real-time archive.
Additional Media Coverage
- Mooning Debate Coach Fired
- Kansas College Dismisses Prof Over Mooning Incident
- FHSU Fires Debate Coach, Suspends Debate Program
- Statement by the Cross Examination Debate Association Regarding Fort Hays University Press Conference
- WSU Professor Describes What Shanahan Video Didn’t Show
- Fort Hays Fires Shanahan
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
You took this from Brandon Sheats at the first affirmative, didn’t you?
First, the First Affirmative blog has been discontinued and the blog items appears on the front page at gaforensics.com.
Second, I don’t see that gaforensics.com has written about the firing (yet).
Third, I knew a decision was coming soon. I saw the first notice on the NDTCEDA listserv.
Fourth, if I find an item of interest on another debate blog, I link back to the original story.
That’s what I meant; as far as gaforensics and the first affirmative goes.
Facebook Link
His blog automatically updates a note on facebook, which is where I saw it. Above linked is the note.
Then again….maybe he took it from you?
I’m not well versed on Facebook, but it looks to me like the Notes function is either an RSS reader or a way to share items from your RSS reader that you think others will find interesting. If you glance through the full list of Brandon’s notes you will see items from PFDebate Blog, Victory Briefs Daily, Global Debate, etc.
Ok. I saw it on his before I saw it on here, and they appeared at the approximately the same time, so its understandable.
That’s weird. I never remembered setting those notes up on Facebook.