History of the Debate Team

2024-25 Season

The 5th Annual Stories and Speeches in Sign: A SignVote Special

• Date: Tuesday, October 8
• Format: Persuasive Speech Competition
• Debaters/Propositions:
• Junior Trent Mora: Felons should be allowed to become president.
• Freshman Levi Wood: The United States would be better off if we were under an attack again.
• Senior Aubrie Bauer: Stand-alone DEI programs at colleges and universities should be abolished.
• Freshman Evan Stromberg: All American citizens should own a gun.
• Senior Lorelei Becktel: Supreme Court Justices should be elected, not selected.
• Junior Nicole Hicks: Porn should be banned.
• Senior Ella Stromberg: College should not be free.
• Freshman Hiruni Hewapathiranage-Mayadunne: The U.S. should finish the wall.
• Results:
• 1st place: Aubrie Bauer
• 2nd place: Trent Mora
• 3rd place: Hiruni Hewapathiranage-Mayadunne
• Audience’s Favorite: Aubrie Bauer

Huber Debates at the University of Vermont

• Date: Saturday, November 9 – Sunday, November 10
• Format: British Parliamentary
• Debaters: Senior Lorelei Becktel and junior Trent Mora
• Results / Awards:
  • Semifinalist
  • Becktel won 3rd place ESL speaker

British Parliamentary Novice Nationals at Cornell University

• Date: Saturday, February 22 – Sunday, February 23
• Format: British Parliamentary
• Debaters: Senior Joe Cherichello and junior Nicole Hicks

West Coast Transatlantic Dialogues at MSU-Denver

• Date: Saturday, March 1
• Format: Civic Debate
• Proposition: Which institutions, public or private, should hold primary responsibility in preparing people to be on the lookout for misinformation and disinformation?
• Debaters: Junior Nicole Hicks and freshman Hiruni Hewapathiranage-Mayadunne
• Results/Awards:
• Novice Champion
• Hicks won 4th place speaker 
• Hewapathiranage-Mayadunne won 5th place speaker

Janus Forum at the University of Vermont

• Date: Saturday, March 8
• Format: Mixed Dialogue
• Proposition: The United States’ free expression should be replaced with the German model.
• Debaters: Senior Lorelei Becktel and junior Trent Mora
• Results:
• Mora’s team won

Georgetown Philodemic Society Debate at Gallaudet

• Date: Thursday, April 3
• Format: Oxford
• Resolution: The world would be better without religion.
• Debaters: Junior Clark Barrett (affirmatie keynote speaker) and junior Nicole Hicks (negation keynote speaker)
• Results: Negation won by 9-38 with 10 abstaining

Sierra Sustainability Summit at Yosemite

• Date: Sunday, April 26
• Format: Present-and-Defend
• Topic: How can Federal and Tribal co-management practices and policies be strengthened in order to balance and achieve the following goals:

  1. Increasing the sustainability of public lands, 

  2. Encouraging increased visitation by non-traditional visitors, and 

  3. Ensuring Indigenous peoples’ access rights to their accustomed and usual lands?

• Debaters: Junior Trent Mora
• Results/Awards
  • Champion

2023-24 Season

St. Ignatius Dialogues

• Date: Saturday, September 30
• Format: Venn Diagrams
• Propositions:
• R1: How can we best embrace diversity without exacerbating conflict or losing identity?
• R2: What should the role of technology be in advancing social justice?
• R3: What is the best way to support the LGBTQ+ community?
• Debaters: Senior Jonathan Summers and sophomore Trent Mora
• Results / Awards:
  • Summers won 2nd novice and 9th overall
  • Mora won 10th overall speaker award

The 4th Annual Stories and Speeches in Sign

• Date: Thursday, October 5
• Debaters/Propositions:
• Senior Joe Cherichello: Fighting should be encouraged in school shooting situations.
• Senior Emily Nover: Electric cards do more harm than good.
• Junior Aubrie Bauer: Biden shouldn’t run again in the 2024 presidential election.
• Senior Jonathan Summers: Air travel should be banned.
• Sophomore Clark Barrett: Gun control laws do more harm than good.
• Results:
• 1st place: Aubrie Bauer
• 2nd place: Jonathan Summers
• 3rd place: Joe Cherichello
• Audience’s Favorite: Aubrie Bauer

Huber Debates at University of Vermont

• Date: Saturday, November 4 – Sunday, November 5
• Format: British Parliamentary
• Debaters: Senior Joe Cherichello and sophomore Trent Mora
• Results / Awards:
• Placed first in the rookie bracket
• Earned rookie finalist

West Coast Transatlantic Dialogues

• Date: Saturday, February 24
• Format: Civic Debate
• Proposition: What are the most significant threats of emerging forms of warfare to the militaries of Western liberal democracies? In the light of these threats, how, if at all, would Western liberal democracies benefit from changing their approaches and/or policies toward recruitment and training?
• Debaters: Junior Aubrie Bauer and junior Lorelei Becktel
• Results / Awards
• Becktel won 8th best speaker award
• Bauer won 12th best speaker award

Georgetown Philodemic Society Debate at Georgetown

• Date: Thursday, April 11
• Format: Oxford
• Proposition: Deafness should be cured.
• Debaters: Senior Joe Cherichello (affirmative keynote speaker) and sophomore Trent Mora (negation keynote speaker)
• Results: Negation won by 19-34

East Coast Transatlantic Dialogues at George Washington

• Date: Saturday, April 20
• Format: Civic Debate
• Proposition: How, if at all, should Western liberal democracies prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion to enhance unit cohesion and military readiness?
• Debaters: Junior Aubrie Bauer and junior Lorelei Becktel
• Results: Champion
• Bauer won 4th best speaker award
• Becktel won 5th best speaker award

Sierra Sustainability Summit

• Date: Sunday, April 28
• Format: Present-and-defend
• Proposition: Why and how should national, state, and local government leaders invest in balancing equitable access to public lands with environmental sustainability and conservation in the face of a changing climate?
• Debaters: Senior Jonathan Summers and sophomore Trent Mora
• Results: Champion

Final Transatlantic Dialogues

• Date: Saturday June 24
• Format: Civic Debate
• Proposition: What are the most effective approaches for militaries in Western liberal democracies (e.g. USA, France) to recruit individuals to counter emerging forms of warfare?
• Debaters: Junior Aubrie Bauer and junior Lorelei Becktel
• Results / Awards
• Becktel won 2nd best speaker award

2022-2023 Season

3rd Annual SASIS Fall 2022

• Date: September 29th
• Debaters/Propositions
• Senior Aubrey Moorman: There should be a safe space for racists.
• Senior Lexi Hill: Human euthanasia should be legalized.
• Sophomore Lorelei Becktel: Assault weapons should be banned.
• Senior Romel Thurman: Safe spaces should be abolished.
• Freshman Clark Barrett: All psychedelic drugs should be legalized for recreational use.
• Junior Thalia Guettler: Vasectomies should be mandatory for adult males.
• Results
• 1st place: Lexi Hill
• 2nd place: Thalia Guettler
• 3rd place: Romel Thurman

Vanderbilt Democracy Dialogues on Democracy and Elections at Vanderbilt 2022

• Date: Friday October 14 – Saturday October 15
• Format: Policy Proposal (present and defend)
• Theme: Fixing our democracy and election issues
• Debaters: Seniors Romel Thurman and Lexi Hill (third years), junior Franco Bippus (first year) and sophomore Lorelei Becktel (second year)
• Results: 
• Top 4 out of 10 teams

St. Ignatius Dialogues & Jesuit Cup Tournaments at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) 2022

• Date: Friday October 28 – Sunday October 30
• Format: Venn Diagrams
• Theme: Healing Justice (focusing on homelessness, spirituality and formerly incarcerated)
• Debaters: Junior Thalia Guettler and freshman Trent Mora
• Results / Awards:
• Mora’s team won the championship in the Jesuit Cup
• Guettler’s team was a Jesuit Cup finalist
• Guettler received third overall speaker 

Social Justice Fall Championships at GWU 2022

• Date: Saturday November 12 – Sunday November 13
• Format: Public Forum
• Proposition: The worker cooperative model is preferable to the traditional firm model in the United States to promote a more equitable economy.
• Debaters: Seniors Aubrey Moorman and Lexi Hill and sophomore Lorelei Becktel
• Results / Awards:
• The team won a semifinalist award
• Lorelei received first place novice speaker and fifth place overall speaker

GU vs Howard Intercollegiate Exhibition 2023

• Date: Thursday, February 2nd
• Format: Public Forum
• Proposition: The worker cooperative model is preferable to the traditional firm model in the United States to promote a more equitable economy.
• Debaters: Seniors Aubrey Moorman and Lexi Hill and sophomore Lorelei Becktel against Nadrat Amos, Julian Garcia-Szyszka and Brielle Mitchell
• Results: Won

Social Justice Debates National Championships at Morehouse 2023

• Date: Friday February 10 – Sunday February 12
• Format: Public Forum
• Proposition: The worker cooperative model is preferable to the traditional firm model in the United States to promote a more equitable economy.
• Debaters: Seniors Aubrey Moorman and Lexi Hill (third years) and sophomore Lorelei Becktel (second year)
• Results / Awards:
• Placed fourth seed in the tournament
• The team won a semifinalist award
• Lorelei received first place novice speaker and second place overall speaker

British Parliament Novice Nationals at the University of Rochester 2023

• Date: Friday, February 17 – Sunday, February 19
• Format: British Parliament
• Debaters: Senior Lexi Hill with sophomore Lorelei Becktel // Sophomore Aubrie Bauer with freshman Clark Barrett
• Results / Awards:
• GU-Becktel/Hill advanced to finals out of 46 teams.

GU and USNA Intercollegiate Exhibition 2023

• Date: Thursday, April 20
• Format: Public Forum
• Proposition: It is in the public’s best interest that Deaf people should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military.
• Debaters: Freshman Trent Mora (first year) debating the affirmative with USNA senior Jason Santiago and senior Lexi Hill (third year) debating the negative with USNA junior Roy Choi
• Results: Hill/Choi, debating the negative, won.

2021-2022 Season

2nd Annual Stories and Speeches in Sign (SASIS) Fall 2021

• Date: Thursday, November 18
• Debaters/Propositions:
• Sophomore Daniel Miers: Anti-homeless structures should be banned.
• Senior LaToya Plummer: Critical Race Theory (CRT) education should be mandatory in K-12 public schools.
• Junior Aubrey Moorman: Convicted felons should be allowed to vote in prison.
• Sophomore Sam Marchese-Ragona: Humans should colonize space.
• Freshman Lorelei Becktel: The death penalty should be abolished in the United States.
• Junior Romel Thurman: Performance-enhancing drugs in sports should be legalized.
• Sophomore Charlie Spiers: Non-political federal agencies should relocate outside of D.C.
• Junior Lexi Hill: The two-term limit for U.S. presidents should be repealed.
• Freshman Najmo Jama: Standardized testing for college admissions should be abolished.
• Results:
• 1st place: Aubrey Moorman
• 2nd place: Lexi Hill
• 3rd place: LaToya Plummer

Social Justice Debates National Championships at Morehouse 2022

• Date: Friday March 25 – Sunday March 27 2022
• Format: Public Forum
• Proposition: The adoption of a mandatory racial desegregation policy for K-12 public schools is desirable.
• Debaters: Juniors Aubrey Moorman and Lexi Hill
• Results / Awards: 
  • The team won a quarterfinalist award
  • Aubrey received 1st place novice speaker / 1st place overall speaker
  • Lexi received 3rd place novice speaker / 10th place overall speaker

2020-2021 Season

1st Annual Stories and Speeches in Sign (SASIS) Spring 2021

• Date: March 3rd, 2021
• Debaters/Propositions
• Sophomore Lexi Hill: The COVID vaccine should be compulsory in the United States.
• Freshman Claudia Smistek: Americans should be patriotic.
• Sophomore Julie Ann Shoeman: Earth is not a globe.
• Sophomore Romel Thurman: Deaf people should be allowed to serve in the US military.
• Junior Joseph Palagano: The United States federal minimum wage should be raised.
• Sophomore Aubrey Moorman: Reparations should be made to descendants of enslaved Americans.
• Freshman Thalia Guettler: People with a felony conviction on their record should be allowed to vote.

GU vs GWU Intercollegiate Exhibition 2021

• Date: Wednesday April 21
• Format: Public Forum
• Proposition: It is in the best interest of the country to grant statehood to Washington DC.
• Debaters: Sophomore Lexi Hill and freshman Thalia Guettler against junior Shawky Darwish and sophomore Rush Patel
• Results: Won