Monmouth University Debate Hawks co-captain Aiden Fornicola won a fifth place speaker award at the Northeast Regional Debate Championship hosted by the Suffolk Law School in Boston over the weekend of February 20–22. Monmouth had six teams (12 students) compete at the regional championship including: 1) Kym Davis and Aiden Fornicola; Summer Billich and Sophie Schaub (co-captains); Viktoria Stojceski and Michael Judge; Ilyana Balaj and Emma Levinson; Luciana Molina and Leslie Rosario; and Giana Mirta and Gurvind Dehar.
The debate tournament included debate teams from approximately 15 other colleges including Cornell University, West Point Military Academy, NYU, Boston College, Harvard, and several other universities from the Northeast region of the United States. The 2025–26 American Debate Associate topic this year is: “Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially strengthen collective bargaining rights for workers in the United States.” The Monmouth team ran an original team-researched case calling for the expansion of the National Labor Relations Act (1935) to include domestic workers.
A special thanks to Debate Hawks alumni Mariami Ramirez, Mike Makfinsky, and Patrick Carbone, who worked hard helping the team prepare for the tournament and by judging at the tournament. The team will next compete at the American Debate Association National Championship in Atlanta Georgie (Emory University) on the weekend of March 6–8. Please reach out to Joe Patten if interested in learning more about the team. No experience is necessary. Debate teaches skills that last a lifetime and debate is a great way to make life-long friendships. Go Debate Hawks!
