The Los Medanos College Debate Team took 3rd place at the National Parliamentary Debate Association Championship Tournament in Flagstaff, Arizona at Northern Arizona University over spring break.

Assistant Professor of Communications Kasey Gardner said, “I’m very proud of our short but very successful history at LMC Debate. Over the three years the program has existed, we’ve taken 3rd, 2nd and 3rd again respectively at nationals in our community college division. Truly great work from our students and coaching staff including Dr. Dave Zimny and Professor Marie Arcidiacono.”

The debate teams were issued their topics 20 minutes before the competition. LMC had 4 wins and 4 losses. The LMC Debate Team included eight students total, each of whom were paired with a partner.

Debate Team Member Miguel Mauricio said, “During a debate, I remember me and my partner, Kevin Orozco, were up against a university team. There is this term called spreading where a team speaks their point really fast. My partner and I had to say ‘clear’ several times which makes the other team slow down and clarify their speech. At this point we knew we lost so we decided to go out with a bang and when it was my partner’s turn to speak he spoke his speech in Spanish. Everyone just stopped writing.”

He added, “In a way, it solidified us as a team because it showed we had good strategies too, despite coming from a community college. Our win was a collective effort from all involved, our coaches, the team members and the prep work everyone put into it.”

Assistant Debate Coach Marie Arcidiacono said, “The 2014 National Parliamentary Debate Association Championship Tournament was a memorable experience for all involved. I could not be more proud of the Nationals Team. Their hard work, dedication to excellence and tenacity, not just at the National Tournament, but all season long has been amazing. It was an extremely proud coaching moment for me to hear our college being called as the 3rd place team for Community Colleges at the national tournament. ”

For more information about LMC’s Debate Team, visit www.losmedanos.edu/debate or contact Kasey Gardner at 439-2181 ext. 3689.