UM Debate moves up to #8 nationally!

On the wave of another outstanding tournament performance at Vanderbilt this weekend, The University of Miami Debate Team has moved up to #8 Nationally in the National Debate Tournament Rankings (up from #11 in the previous ranking).  Schools looking up at UM include traditional powerhouses Northwestern, Harvard, Vanderbilt, Emory, and over 100 other schools.  We trail only Wake Forest in the Southeast region (they are 5th).  UM is #11 (up from 12) in the Cross Examination Debate Association rankings.  Both rankings reward points based on ballots won across all divisions of debate.  UM is helped by the size of its team, with 26 UM students already representing the U in intercollegiate debate competitio...

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UM Debate is ranked #11 in the nation!

The first National Intercollegiate Debate Rankings for 2013 have been posted, and The University of Miami Debate Team is ranked among the nation’s elite.  In the National Debate Tournament (NDT) rankings, UM placed 11th (of 115 member schools), and the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) rankings place UM at #12.  UM is second in the Southeast Region to Wake Forest, who is ranked 6th by the NDT and 5th by CEDA. Rankings are based on an accumulation of ballots won across all divisions of debate. ...

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An amazing showing for the Canes at the West Point Debate Tournament

The University of Miami Debate Team traveled to West Point, New York on October 18-21 to compete at the US Military Academy. As a squad, the team won 26 debates, losing only 12. Four of five UM Teams entered in the tournament advanced into the elimination (award) rounds). In a field of 42 teams in novice debate, UM teams finished the preliminary debates seeded 4, 5, and 13, and advanced into the semifinals.  In Junior Varsity, UM was the 9th seed.  In the Junior Varsity Division, David Silverman and Spencer George compiled a preliminary debate record of 4-2, but lost a 2-1 decision in the sweet sixteen to Liberty University. The UM Novice team of Valentina Valdez and Nate Nunez also had a 4-2 record in the prelims, and defeated...

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Results from the Sunshine State Showdown at UCF

In order to generate more opportunities for debate competition closer to home, and to promote the growth on debate programs in Florida, UM Debate led the organization of the first Sunshine State Showdown Intercollegiate Debate Tournament, held at The University of Central Florida in Orlando on October 12.  The tournament was hosted by UCF, and run by UM Faculty David Steinberg and Patrick Waldinger.  UF, FSU, USF, UCF, and UM participated.  That the event was held was a success for us, and it offered the opportunity to involve 12 UM Debaters (and lots of other student debaters from Florida) in an excellent day of debate competition.  For nine UM students, it was their first time to enter an intercollegiate policy debate...

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UM Debate gets a first place finish at Georgia State!

Ashley Park and Barbara Puodzius, members of the University of Miami Debate team, won the novice championship at the Georgia State University National College Debate Tournament held in Atlanta on September 21-23.   The team is sponsored by the School of Communication and coached by David Steinberg, a senior lecturer at the SoC and the university’s director of debate.Park and Puodzius, both students in the College of Arts and Sciences, defeated teams from Wake Forest, the University of West Georgia, Vanderbilt and the University of Louisville.UM’s squad entered two novice teams and three junior varsity teams in the policy debate tournament, which was held under the auspices of the American Debate Association, the Cross Examination...

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University of Miami to host the 2014 Pan American University Debating Championship

The University of Miami debate team is excited to be hosting the Pan American University Debating Championship January 24th - 26th, 2014. The competition will bring in students from universities across the U.S., Latin America, and Europe to debate contemporary topics that effect a globalized world. Students will be able to compete in either English or Spanish language British parliamentary format debates. For more information check out the tournament page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CPUD20...

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Updated list of debate video sites

Thanks to the efforts of various coaches and directors across the country, this year in debate has produced a substantial amount of high quality videos available for online viewing. This is a brief collection of various debate videos we have come across (feel free to send us your links if you're not mentioned) from the last two years. The videos are divided up by event below. ...

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2013 DSR-TKA National Champions!

The University of Miami debate team won the championship at the national tournament for Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha, the national forensics and debate honorary, held March 1-3 at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Securing the win for the ‘Canes were Ali Jessani, 19, a sophomore majoring in communication studies and political science, and Ryden Butler, 20, a sophomore majoring in political science, history and economics. The debate team is sponsored by UM School of Communication and directed by Communication Studies Professor David L. Steinberg with the help of coaches/graduate assistants Randall Martinez and Joe Graziano. The topic of the final debate was “The U.S. Federal government should better fund colleges and universities.”...

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Total transition to paperless complete

After a brief sabbatical from policy debate in the Fall, the team came back to CEDA/NDT style debate at the Bulldog Debates at the University of Georgia. This marks the first tournament for the Canes after making a full transition to paperless debate. The team was excited about the switch over, and had some big wins throughout the weekend against Richmond, Notre Dame, and the University of Houston. The team's next policy tournament is the district tournament at Vanderbi...

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Canes go to Dublin! First international trip in Canes history.

 The University of Miami Debate Team took their talents across the pond for their first international competition in Dublin, Ireland. Though the competition was fierce, the Hurricanes had a strong showing and came away with huge wins, including a top ranking over the team from Oxford. The tournament, known as the Trinity Inter-Varsity competition, brought in 167 speakers from around the world to compete in the Worlds debating format over various issues including domestic abuse, marriage equality, and the role of women in the military. Countries being represented at the tournament included France, England, China, Singapore, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Finland, Russia, and of course the U helped represent the American delegation....

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UM takes on Worlds Debate at Yale

The University of Miami debate team broke new ground last weekend by competing at the fifth annual Yale Inter-Varsity Debate Tournament. It was the University of Miami’s first appearance on the competitive british parliamentary debate circuit, competing against 152 squads from all over the United States, and Canada. The team sent two squads to debate side by side with the likes of Harvard, MIT, Duke, McGill University, and the University of Toronto in a two day event spanning the New Haven campus. Representing the University of Miami the sophomore team of Ali Jessani and Ryden Butler were joined by debate veterans Jeremy Tan and graduate student Randall Martinez....

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Canes win Georgia Tech!

Over the weekend, the University of Miami Debate Team came away with a first place finish at the Georgia Tech debate tournament. Leading the way for the Canes, the varsity team of Ali Jessani (Sophomore, School of Communication) and senior Jeremy Tan (Senior, School of Business) finished the tournament with a preliminary record of four wins and one loss, before advancing into the quarterfinal round of competition....

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Team hosts presidential debate watch party

The team has been making strides on campus by hosting and participating in various co-sponsored events with each of the campus political parties concerning the upcoming presidential elections. At the beginning of October, members of the debate squad participated in a mock healthcare debate concerning the highly controversial piece of legislation the Affordable Healthcare Act of 2010. After playing the role of politicians, the team then hosted over one hundred and fifty students at a presidential debate watch party on the night of the first showdown between President Obama and Governor Romney. The crowd was electric for this event with many students cheering on their favorite candidates, tweeting instant reactions to the event, and agreeing...

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UM Debate plays host in the Ibis High School Debate Tournament

  The team played host to various high school debate squads throughout the state by resurrecting the high school Ibis Debate Tournament here on campus. A number of schools throughout the state of Florida descended upon Coral Gables to debate the topic of transportation infrastructure investment within the United States. The UM debaters served as judges, ballot runners, as well as tabulation staff to ensure the tournament experience was enjoyed by all those who attended. Kenny McCafferey, coach of the Berkeley Prep team that won the competition and UM alumni said, “This tournament was ran  better than it’s ever been ran before. And that includes the years that I ran the tournament.” ...

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Team breaks at their first NPDA tournament - Loyola Results

Last weekend, the University of Miami Debate team kicked off its competitive season in Chicago, at the Loyola Rambler tournament. The tournament was a new venture for the debaters as they competed for the first time on the National Parliamentary Debate Association circuit.Various top ranked programs from the Midwest were in attendance including Purdue, Wheaton, McKendree, and the host school Loyola. In the course of three days, the University of Miami competed in thirty rounds of competition represented by three underclassmen teams. Competing for the University of Miami were varsity members Ryden Butler and Ali Jessani, joined by newcomers Russ Wilde Jr., Joe Karam, Ishtpreet Singh, and international exchange student Jeremy Tan.The students...

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