Dear UF Speech and Debate coaches and teammates, Well, after I wrote that, I think it just all became real. I can’t believe I’ve spent four beautiful years on this team! I’m a much different person today than I was when I walked into my very first Speech and Debate meeting, during which I spent […]
So, Sometimes I think my biggest mistake in high school was only competing in Speech & Debate for two years. I revisited that mistake in college, only competing on the policy squad for two years. I always wondered what could have been if I had the time to transform all my potential into technical skill. […]
When I first joined the Speech and Debate team I wasn’t concerned about learning or public speaking. I lived under rock when it came to the political world. I had no idea what was going on in Europe, or in the Middle East, and where exactly is Egypt located? I simply joined because I wanted […]
IOA stands for Interstate Oratorical Association. It is the longest running, and most prestigious, speech competition in the United States. IOA is a persuasion only tournament. Only the top two people in persuasion from each state qualify to attend IOA. Each qualifier turns in a copy of their speech to be published. UF was lucky […]
At the end of every year, the UF Speech and Debate Team comes together to eat dinner and recognize the people who have made the year so great. We recognize the outgoing officers and welcome our new ones. We recognize our graduating seniors and we give out awards. This year we were proud to recognize […]
The Madison Cup is an annual debate tournament held at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. It is a long table format, which means there is more than one team arguing both the affirmative and negative side. This year’s debate topic was “This house believes that warrantless electronic surveillance has done more harm than good.” […]
On April 8th, 2014, six of the intramural debate team members took the stage to discuss and debate the very happening topic- should college athletes be paid? Jessie Rojas, Jordan Lopez and Matthew Kalap stood on the affirmative side and asserted that student athletes gave enough time and energy to raise billions of dollars for […]
On April 4-8 the UF Speech Team traveled to Arizona State University for the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament. We arrived Thursday and spent Friday morning practicing events. We then trekked across the ASU campus for lunch and to find the buildings used for the competition. A surprise awaited us when we returned […]
The policy debate team traveled to Bloomington, Indiana for the 2014 Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National tournament. In novice policy debate, One team made it to the Elite 8 (quarterfinals). Eran Del Castillo, Stephanie Cone, and Evan Cartagena received Summa Cum Laude National Debate Scholar Awards. Heather Marchini received a Cum Laude National Debate Scholar […]
The debate team traveled to George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia last weekend for JV Novice Nationals. In junior varsity policy debate, Simon and Vas got to the octafinals. Simon got 12th speaker.