PHOTOS: The Great Debate: Rollins vs. Beijing Foreign Studies University, January 29th, 2013

The Great Debate: Rollins debates job outsourcing with Beijing students

PHOTOS:  Rollins Debate Team vs. Cambridge Debate Society, April 5, 2012  

ORLANDO SENTINEL:  Trayvon Martin: Rollins College debates gun law with Cambridge team, April 10, 2012

Star Invitational, Jacksonville State College, Jacksonville Florida, November 8-11, 2012.

On November 8^th and 9^th, the members of the Rollins College Varsity Debate Team participated in an electrifying debate competition at the Florida State College at Jacksonville at the South Campus.  This was a state-wide debate competition so Rollins competed against other Floridacolleges and universities (Florida State University, Miami Dade Community College, Florida Southern College, University of Central Florida, etc.)  The topics at this competition included, stopping subsidies for companies that outsource jobs, the separation of church and state, and reducing the amount of candy kids eat. 

The final round featured a debate between Rollins, represented by Zohaib Jessani and David Gevorgyan, and a team from Florida State University.  The topic of the round was: This House Believes that the United States should sign onto the Treaty for the International Criminal Court.  Both teams performed well but Rollins lost in a 2 to 1 decision to the Florida State Team.  Nevertheless, Rollins was awarded best overall debate team, 1^st Place in Sweepstakes Points, 2^nd place in Parliamentary Debate, 1^st place, 4^rdplace, and 6^th place Speaker Awards.  

John G. Fee Invitational, Berea College, Berea Kentucky, October 18-21, 2012.

 On the weekend of October 18, 2012, the Rollins College Debate Team participated in a mid-west regional debate competition at Berea College in Berea Kentucky.  This debate competition featured teams from Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida.  As is customary in parliamentary debates, audience members were encouraged to shout cheers and jeers while the speakers offered arguments in favor of and against issues such as the Dream Act, Fracking, Subsidies, and globalization.  The Rollins Debate Team posted a record of 5 and 1 in the preliminary rounds, but, unfortunately, lost in the first elimination round by a vote of 2 to 1.  Nevertheless, Rollins was award 7^th Place in the Competition and 3^rd Place in Parliamentary Speaking. 

  
NPDA Novice National Competition - Lafayette College

Rollins College is a member of the National Parliamentary Debate Association which is the largest debate association in America with more than 1,100 members.  During spring break the novice members of the Rollins Debate Team attended the National Parliamentary Debate Association’s Novice National Competition in Philadelphia, PA.  We performed excellently!  I am extremely happy to announce that we are currently ranked second nationally in novice parliamentary debate, we have the second and third best novice parliamentary debaters in the country, Melissa Fussell #2 and Rebecca Wilson #3, and we are the fourth best novice team overall, i.e. in all categories of competition, i.e. debate, impromptu speaking, etc.  Please join me in congratulating Melissa Fussell and Rebecca Wilson and the member of the debate team on a job well done.

Marks Invitational - University of West Florida

Star Invitational - Florida State College at Jacksonville

Cumberland Swing - Berea College

Healthcare Debate - Winter Park University Club

ITT Tech Invitational - ITT Technical College

On Wednesday, July 20, members of the Rollins College Varsity Debate Team participated in an electrifying debate competition at ITT Tech’s Lake Mary campus.  For the first time ever ITT Tech hosted an exhibition debate featuring the Rollins Debate Team on the topics of (1) national standardized testing and (2) using the International Criminal Court to prosecute the perpetrators of torture at Guantanamo Bay.
The debate was organized by ITT English Instructor Sarah Beth Hopton as part of an ongoing intellectual exchange between ITT and Rollins College.  Moreover, it was well attended by ITT students, guests, and instructors; even the Associate Dean of General Studies, Leslie Gibson, was in attendance.  As is customary in parliamentary debates, the members of the audience were encouraged to shout cheers and jeers while the speakers offered arguments in favor of and against standardized testing and using the International Criminal Court to prosecute American citizens.  The audience was also invited to judge the debate and determine the winners.
Speaking about this event, Rollins Alumni Associate Dean Gibson remarked: “What a pleasure it was to have you and your debate team members here at ITT Tech to demonstrate the power of language to our students!” She continued: “I especially appreciated the agenda that you prepared for Ms. Hopton’s composition class that allowed the audience to see the preparation  and strategy behind the scenes as well as the actual debate.”  Ms. Sarah Beth Hopton added: “I was on quite the intellectual high after the debate, largely because it was so nice to be surrounded by such excellent minds.”  She continued: “Many students commented that it changed their view of debate, and some even said it changed their view of writing and researching, meaning, they finally see the value in English!”
The Rollins team thanked the ITT administration and staff for hosting them and promised to return for more debates in the future.