On April 6, 2015, the Rutgers University–Newark Debate Team concluded its 2014-15 season with continued success and accolades. After competing in 14 tournaments, the team deftly managed to hold onto its overall number one ranking in the Northeast for the third straight year, according to the national poll of coaches of the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA).
“Throughout the entire season, our varsity, junior varsity, and novice teams represented Rutgers University–Newark exceedingly well,” remarks Christopher Kozak, RU-N’s director of debate and the team’s coach. “With a corps of debaters that consists of six students who have been ranked as the top-10 best debaters in the nation for two consecutive years, we easily garnered first place at many of the regional tournaments. This and lots of hard work enabled us to maintain our top spot in the Northeast.”
Nationally, a record number of three sets of RU-N debaters, each comprised of two students, cleared the elimination rounds of the CEDA National Championship; Quamir Johnson and Jaye Ross, each residents of Newark, New Jersey, earned second place in the junior varsity/novice division. At the National Debate Tournament, the other major national competition, Kevon Haughton of Newark, New Jersey, and his debate partner Hannah Stafford of Hopkins, Minnesota, returned to the invitation-only contest for the second year in a row and advanced to the second round of the at-large qualifier to compete in a field of 78 teams.
In addition to participation in tournaments, the debate team organized numerous events at the local level. It hosted one high school debate tournament and one college debate tournament in the fall, welcoming hundreds of students on each occasion. In February, the team presented to a standing-room-only crowd of RU-N students a public debate during which U.S. Senator Cory Booker facilitated a conversation on, and RU-N students Elijah Smith of Newark, New Jersey, and Subroto Sinha of Randolph, New Jersey, debated the many issues of, student debt.
Off-campus, four debaters (Haughton, Johnson, Ross, and Lizbett Mendoza of Newark, New Jersey) received paid internships with Newark Public Schools to assist with its various debate programs. Moreover, as a result of their exemplary performances at The Mvubu Debates at George Washington University, Smith and Christopher Randall of Baltimore, Maryland, qualified for a study tour of South Africa to visit several historic sites such as Robben Island and meet human rights leaders like Bishop Desmond Tutu.
With an impressive collegiate debate resumé, both regionally and nationally, and meaningful initiatives and activities locally and internationally, it’s no wonder the popularity of the debate team at RU-N continues to grow. During its sixth year of existence, the team’s active roster has increased from six students to more than 16.
“Our reach goes beyond Rutgers University-Newark. Membership includes students from Essex County College who plan to transfer to RU–N in the near future and further their collegiate debate careers here,” Kozak proudly notes.
Anyone interested in joining the team, can contact Kozak at kozakism@gmail.com.