Speaking of success: MSUās Speech and Debate Council wins national championships, celebrates year of prestigious accomplishments
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.āĻć½¶Ö±²„ās Speech and Debate Council claimed top national honors in recent competitions, including Mia Robertson of Starkville winning two separate national championships.
āOur speech and debate students were met with extraordinary challenges this season with virtual tournaments, yet as individuals and as a team, they rose to the occasion and beyond. We are so proud of their efforts and so fortunate to get to work with some of the brightest young minds on campus,ā said Ļć½¶Ö±²„communication instructor Cheryl Chambers, the councilās faculty advisor and director of forensics who serves alongside the councilās debate coach Brett Harvey, MSUās director of civil rights compliance.
The councilās debate team produced its most outstanding season to date, competing in eight virtual tournaments with multiple members placing in the semi-finals and finals. Eleven debaters competed in the International Public Debate Association National Tournament held April 9-11, with four advancing past preliminary rounds, including Robertson, a junior political science major who rose above 93 other debaters in the varsity division of the tournament to become National Champion. Robertson also won the IPDA season-long national championship, awarded to the debater with the best overall record for the year, outpacing more than 300 varsity debaters nationwide and making her one of only a few debaters ever to win both championships in a single year.
In addition to Robertsonās accomplishments, Ļć½¶Ö±²„junior history major Tyler Melvin of Savannah, Georgia, was the third ranked varsity debater in the nation for the season. Several other Ļć½¶Ö±²„debaters ranked in the top 10 in their respective divisions. Ļć½¶Ö±²„was named the nationās third best debate program for the seasonācompeting with more than 130 schoolsāand placed third overall at the IPDA National Tournament.
Speech team members also earned multiple accolades from their participation in 15 virtual tournaments. Among these accomplishments was Robertsonās qualification for the nationās most prestigious speech competitionāthe American Forensics Association National Tournamentāand the nationās oldest speech tournamentāthe Interstate Oratory Contest.
Robertson, who previously won the universityās first individual national championship in debate in 2019-20, also was selected to represent the students of Mississippi on the Southern Forensics Championship Tournamentās governing board. She and her Ļć½¶Ö±²„Speech and Debate Council teammates edged out 29 other colleges and universities in January to win first place Overall Sweepstakes at the Southern Forensics tournament, earning the . Fourteen Ļć½¶Ö±²„students competed in debate and individual speaking events, earning a cumulative 30 awards. Chambers, a 2006 Ļć½¶Ö±²„communication alumna, was named SFC Coach of the Year.
Harvey said Ļć½¶Ö±²„has a long history of success in speech and debate. Since being revived in 2015, the Speech and Debate Council has experienced great success, winning numerous tournament and regional championships and seeing students ranked among the top in the nation.
āWhen we restarted the program in 2015, we decided there was no reason why Mississippi State couldnāt be one of the best programs in the country, and weāve really seen the students and administration buy into that idea,ā he said.Ā
Ļć½¶Ö±²„Speech and Debate Council members include (by hometown):
ATLANTA, GeorgiaāNathaniel E. Williams, a senior business economics major
AURORA, IllinoisāDelaney L. Reed, a senior psychology major
BALDWYNāDawn M. Jackson, a senior business economics/international business and foreign language/Spanish double-major
CANTON, GeorgiaāPatrick T. McKenzie, a sophomore business economics major
COFFEEVILLEāCollin R. Staten, a freshman mechanical engineering major
COLLIERVILLE, TennesseeāNirmal K. Bhatt, a senior mechanical engineering major
ELLISVILLEāLuke Youngblood, a junior mathematics major
GULF BREEZE, FloridaāMatteo R. Mauro, a freshman communication/public relations major
HAZLEHURSTāHeather R. Harrison, a junior communication major with a double concentration in public relations and broadcast and digital journalism
KOSCIUSKOāMayukh K. Datta, a senior chemical engineering major
LOUISVILLEāEric T. Humphries, a senior biochemistry/pre-medicine major
MADISONāAnne Elizabeth Harrington, a senior political science and sociology double-major
PEACHTREE CITY, GeorgiaāAmanda G. Kronenberger, a junior political science major
RAYMONDāMarcus D. Williams, a junior art/fine arts major.
SAVANNAH, GeorgiaāTyler J. Melvin, a junior history major
STARKVILLEāMia C. Robertson, a junior political science major
VICKSBURGāRyan E. Jarratt, a senior political science and philosophy double-major
Speech and Debate Council membership is open to all Ļć½¶Ö±²„students. Fees and prior experience are not required. Members are expected to participate in regular practices and service projects and may elect to compete in individual speaking events, debating events or both.
Support for the Speech and Debate Council is made possible by the Office of the President, Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, Stennis Center for Public Service Leadership, Department of Communication, Bagley College of Engineering, Shackouls Honors College and College of Arts and Sciences, among others.
Funding for team activities also is provided through the generosity of Deborah and Philip Rabinowitz, who established The Deborah and Phil Rabinowitz Speech and Debate Council Endowment at MSU. Debbie Rabinowitz, a 1969 communication bachelorās graduate, joined the Ļć½¶Ö±²„Debate Team (now the Ļć½¶Ö±²„Speech and Debate Council) as a freshman.
To make a tax-deductible donation to the Speech and Debate Council via the Ļć½¶Ö±²„Foundation, visit .
For more information about MSUās Speech and Debate Council and the Department of Communication, visit .
Ļć½¶Ö±²„is Mississippiās leading university, available online at .