Communication has always been an important part of understanding our peers and the ability to express our views and discuss topics both effectively and eloquently is an amazing skill to have. Competitive Speech and Debate gives students the opportunity to showcase their talents.

Last weekend our Speech and Debate team visited ASU for the Winter Trophy Tournament and emerged victorious with the Championship Trophy! I had the pleasure of interviewing sophomore and Speech and Debate member Pratham Sreekantan, who walked away with third place in the Novice Policy debate. His topic was on fiscal redistribution and how the United States should implement it. He explained that “On the affirmative we were arguing that the U.S. should implement a Green New Deal so that we make green energy in an effort to reduce the adverse effects of climate change, and on the negative we were debating that any kind of jobs that guarantee universal basic income would destroy the economy and lead to extinction.” He claims that the way they got second was the “best scenario possible, as the team in first was from ACP too, and we simply closed out finals. It felt amazing to have our work pay off, and to have medals representing that effort.”

He originally joined Speech and Debate because his father ‘highly recommended’ that he do it, and still finds joy in participating in it. Pratham’s favorite part about being in Speech and Debate is the idea that the “Speech and Debate is the shared knowledge base. You essentially have over 100 people on a team that each have their own unique abilities and views, and you can access any of those, not to mention the connections that you get with people from other schools through tournaments.” He adds that for anyone looking to join it, “absolutely go for it! It’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to my academic career. It’s not any kind of club, but a serious sport, and because of that it requires the same commitment that any other sport would, but the rewards are 1000% worth it.” We are so proud of all our students who dedicate their time and hard work to Speech and Debate and hope they continue to grow and prosper. Go Knights!