Ten members attend the Georgia State University National Debate Tournament

The novice freshmen team wins their division in their first policy debate tournament

Ten members of the Florida State University Debate Team attended the Georgia State University National Debate Tournament in Atlanta, September 21-24. There were about 150 teams competing from around the country, including Harvard University, Northwestern University, Wake Forest University, and Dartmouth College.

The novice freshmen team of Alex Cherlow and Dustin Daniels impressed everyone by winning their division in their first policy debate tournament ever. They did not lose a single ballot all weekend. The Cherlow-Daniels duo was the 1st seed team after preliminary rounds, accruing an unmatched 6-0 win/loss record. They went on to defeat Emory University in Semi-Finals on a 3-0 three judge panel decision, followed by a win over rival school the University of Miami in the final round, also a 3-0 decision. Cherlow earned the 1st Place Top Speaker Award in Novice Division and Daniels the Fourth Place Speaker Award, respectively.

The FSU Debate Team is preparing for its next debate tournament at Vanderbilt University, October 18-21. This season’s topic is United States foreign policy towards the Middle East, specifically Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Afghanistan. The team is conducting copious amounts of research, practicing speeches, and addressing strategic strengths/weaknesses from the previous tournament.

The Florida State University Debate Team is a part of the Cross-Examination Debate Association and participates in Policy Debate. The team also hosts several FSU Campus Public Debates throughout the school year. Debate Team participation is open to all registered undergraduate students at FSU. Communication majors and minors are especially encouraged to get involved. Students interested in joining the Debate Team should contact Matt Grindy, Director of Debate, at mag04m@fsu.edu.