At the moment, the Lawrence Debate Union (LDU) may very well be UVM’s most successful team. The UVM debate team is currently ranked seventh out of 500 colleges and universities that participated in 33 tournaments worldwide, the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) website stated. In the top 10 rankings, LDU is placed behind Sydney Union, Monash, Yale, Cornell, Oxford Union and Cambridge. UVM is ahead of Colgate, the London School of Economics and McGill, according to the IDEA website. “We’ve been fortunate enough to draw some of UVM’s best and brightest students to the debate team,” coach David Register said. “This kind of success would be impossible without the intelligent, dedicated and hardworking students who have committed themselves to the family.” Up next, the LDU is sending three teams to the World Championships that will be taking place in Manila, Philippines over winter break. Selleck was optimistic about the team’s performance in the upcoming trip to the Philippines. “We have a decent chance of breaking into the elimination rounds,” she said.