Debate Team championship win caps year of achievement for Center for Democracy in Deaf America

Junior Trent Mora claimed the fourth championship in Gallaudet Debate Team history on April 27 at the Sierra Sustainability Summit in Yosemite National Park. It was his second consecutive win at the event, which invites debaters to spend time in nature with experts to inform their arguments. Mora (pictured above with assistant coach Aubrey Moorman) prevailed with his proposal to increase Indigenous-led tourism and improve co-management between tribal lands and the government.

“What’s even more impressive is that he stepped up as an ‘iron man’ when his debate partner dropped out due to illness at the last minute,” says coach Dr. Brendan Stern, ’05, who is Executive Director of the Center for Democracy in Deaf America (CDDA). 

It has been a busy year for the Debate Team and all of CDDA’s programs, which aim to boost civic engagement. In August, CDDA held a launch party for SignVote, a campaign to get students — and people in Deaf communities across the country — informed about the 2024 election.

On campus, SignVote organized multiple voter registration booths, and deployed student and faculty ambassadors to raise awareness about the candidates’ stances on various issues and why voting matters.

Stern also toured nationally, in collaboration with the Gallaudet Alumni Association, offering SignVote Community Workshops in California, Texas, and Florida. These sessions explored how Deaf people could make a difference in the 2024 election.

Debate viewing parties and an election night event drew hundreds of attendees, both in person and online. These gatherings provided a chance to hold meaningful discussions in American Sign Language led by faculty experts, covering topics such as the effects of polling and social media.

Other events this year included the 3rd annual Gallaudet Distinguished Debate, which considered the fairness of requiring ASL interpreters on live television, a film screening, co-hosted with the Schuchman Center, of a documentary on the history of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the 5th annual Youth Debate Finals for deaf and hard-of-hearing middle and high school youth.

Gallaudet’s Debate Team traveled to compete in multiple tournaments, including the British Parliamentary Novice Nationals at Cornell in Ithaca, NY and the Huber British Parliamentary tournament at University of Vermont in Burlington. At the West Coast Transatlantic Dialogues, held in Denver, Colorado, Debaters Nicole Hicks and Hiruni Hewapathirange-Mayadunne took home the novice championship trophy. Last month, Gallaudet hosted the Georgetown Philodemic Society at Ole Jim for a debate between the two schools on whether the world would be better without religion.

The team still has one more event coming up: the Transatlantic Dialogues at Ecole de Guerre in Paris, France in June.