Playing for pride: Speech and Debate Council continues to thrive in third year at MSU

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Winning tournaments and seeing students ranked among the top in the nation, ��Ƶ’s Speech and Debate Council is concluding its 2017-18 season as one of the country’s top debate programs.

The International Public Debate Association’s season standings recognize junior biological engineering/biomedical engineering major Luke Acuff of Columbia, Tennessee, and MSU’s professional debate squad among the best in the nation. Acuff is a sixth-place speaker in the IPDA Novice division, and MSU’s professional debate squad is listed in fifth place.

“It’s nice that our group has gained a lot of respect this year, and we want to continue in that direction by going to more tournaments,” said Brett Harvey, the council’s third-year debate coach who also serves as MSU’s director of Title IX and equal opportunity programs.

“We won the Mardi Gras Classic at LSU in February, which was a big accomplishment because there were a lot of good, full scholarship programs like Alabama, TCU and George Mason competing,” added the former high school and college debater and Harvard Law School graduate.

Cheryl Chambers, a communication department instructor, serves as the council’s adviser and head coach. A 2006 summa cum laude MSU communication graduate, she also holds a master’s degree in communication studies from the University of Alabama.

Chambers said she is honored to work with such bright young students, including Maggie Bridges, who will be presenting a persuasive speech at the 2018 American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament April 7-9 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“This is the most prestigious speech competition in the nation, and this is the first time anyone from MSU has been invited to this tournament,” Chambers said.

Harvey said MSU has a long and proud history of competitive speech and debate, dating back to the 1960s. Since being revived in 2015, the Speech and Debate Council has experienced great success.

“We have a fun, eclectic team with members of different ages, backgrounds and majors,” he said. “Logically breaking down information, making sound arguments, being able to pitch your own ideas and genuinely understanding others’ ideas are skills members can learn that apply across disciplines.”

In addition to competing in tournaments, Speech and Debate Council members promote public speaking and debate through sponsorship of such campus activities as the Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Contest, mock presidential debates and Student Association debates. In early March, the group hosted its second Cowbell Classic tournament, which drew students from 25 high schools in three states.

“The next big thing for our group is to ramp up our work with local high school teams to help them improve,” Harvey said. “Along with being able to send them to the national competition, we’d like to show appreciation to our members by providing some small scholarships as well.”

Speech and Debate Council membership is open to all MSU 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.

Senior business economics major Athena E. Kavanagh from Gurley, Alabama, has served as Speech and Debate Council president for the past three years. Through interactions with fellow council members and coaches, she has strengthened her verbal communication skills and become more educated on current events and issues.

“I’ve learned so much and have met interesting students who are really ambitious, outgoing and active on campus,” she said. “Brett and Cheryl are so knowledgeable and active in our organization. They are two of the best coaches you could possibly want for speech and debate.”

“It’s been fun seeing our group have a lot of success,” she said, adding with a laugh, “I’m glad we were able to get a trophy case because the medals, plaques, certificates and other awards we’ve won were taking over Cheryl’s office.”

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.

The team also expressed gratitude for 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 bachelor’s graduate, joined the MSU Debate Team (now the MSU Speech and Debate Council) as a freshman.

To make a tax-deductible donation to the Speech and Debate Council via the MSU Foundation, visit or contact Sara Frederic at 662-325-3240 or sfrederic@foundation.msstate.edu.

For more information about MSU’s Speech and Debate Council, visit or contact Chambers at CChambers@comm.msstate.edu or Harvey at brett.harvey@msstate.edu.

Follow the group on Facebook and Twitter @msuspeechdebate, as well as Instagram @msu_speechanddebate.

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