The FIU Debate Team continues its successful participation in college-level competitions. This past weekend, our students received the Overall Sweepstakes trophy after competing during two days at the University of Florida Gator Tournament.
Mostly comprised of novice debaters, our students duelled in five rounds at Gainesville. FIU had three teams in the competition: Elizabeth Taveras and Jennifer Kleinberg, Albert Paradela and Mark Lopez-Trigo, and Stephanie Piedrahita and Emily Bello-Pardo, the Team’s President.
Topics included:
1. Should the US change its foreign policy toward Iran?
2. Should the US Supreme Court overturn the ban on same-sex marriage?
3. Should we prioritize the environment over the economy?
The Gator Individual Events Tournament saw Mark Lopez-Trigo and Alberto Paradela participate in the extemporaneous speaking category, where they discussed topics like the war in Afghanistan and football equipment safety. Jennifer Kleinberg participated both in impromptu speech and extemporaneous speaking, where she discussed, among other topics, whether the US would modify its gun laws.
Emily Bello-Pardo participated both in impromptu and extemporaneous speaking, and ranked #1 in her second-round extemporaneous speech where she discussed Nicolas Maduro’s ability to lead Venezuela should Hugo Chavez die. Emily ranked #10 best speaker in the Parliamentary Debate tournament.
Congratulations to the FIU Debate Team for a great performance! Information on upcoming events will be posted soon.
Below, the latest addition to our FIU Debate trophy collection!
