Debate Team Starts Season Strong
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The Fullerton College Speech and Debate Team participated at the Aztec Invitational hosted by San Diego State University on Oct. 6 and 7. The Hornet debate team finished second place in the community college debate sweepstakes division, an award given based on the collective success of a debate program during the tournament. Fullerton College bested several local universities such as Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton, and Fresno State.
Damian Solis was the tournament-speaking champion in the novice (beginner) division of debate. He and partner, Melanie Cardenas, were undefeated after five preliminary debate and placed third after losing a close debate to Cal State Long Beach in the semifinals.
Solis, a first-year college student, reflected, “The win felt really good and a little unreal.”
Other tournament highlights include Harut Kejejyan and Evan Jensen’s second place finish in varsity debate after a big win over Cal State Long Beach in the semifinals. Teammates, Leila Majd-Faridi & Mike Becerra, were also semifinalists in the novice division.
The Hornets walked away with a list of top 10 speaker accolades including, Madison DeVries (novice 2nd place), Mike Becerra (novice 5th place), Melanie Cardenas (novice 7th place), Germaine Baltazar (varsity 7th place), Leila Majd-Faridi (novice 8th place), and Joshua Kazarian (varsity 9th place).
The team resumes competition again on Oct. 20 at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The Fullerton College Speech and Debate team is coached by Toni Nielson, Jeanette Rodriguez and Jeff Samano.
