About Hornet Speech & Debate
The speech and debate team at Sacramento State is campus based organization (not a student club) and is supported by the university's Instructionally Related Activities fund. This means that participation on the speech and debate team also involves classwork and is designed to provide students with training in critical thinking, research and presentational skills through competition in intercollegiate speech and debate. Sacramento State has been competing in intercollegiate speech and debate since at least the 1970's (we are still trying to find the full history!) and had success in various formats over the years.
Currently, the team is a member of the National Forensics Association (NFA) and competes at NFA Nationals. Our primary focus is Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debate - a "1 -v-1" style of evidence-based policy debate. We also compete in "limited prep" public speaking events (extemporaneous and impromptu speaking) while students have also begun exploring prepared speaking events. As a part of the Northern California Forensics Association, our regional tournaments take place all over the greater Northern California area (see our current Travel Schedule) while we also attend several out of state tournaments on the NFA circuit.
Who can join?
The team is open to all Sacramento State students! No prior experience is required and we are open to ALL class levels, as long as you are an undergraduate student. Students from all majors are welcome although we will recommend that you sign up for Communication Studies class.
To become a member of the team, you should enroll in either Communication Studies (COMS) 111, Debate Research Practicum for 3 units or Communication Studies (COMS) 110, Advanced Debate Workshop for 1 unit. There are no prerequisites for these classes. The team meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00 – 5:45. In class, students learn debate skills and theory, conduct research on the national collegiate LD debate topic, and engage in practice debates. Students on the team also plan, host, and participate in a public debate each semester.
Our debate team is committed to and has a long history of educational and competitive excellence. We strive to provide students with a challenging educational experience and expect debaters to maintain a respectable grade point average and make steady progress toward graduation. Though we strive for competitive excellence, we seek to challenge each student to make the most of their skills through hard work and a commitment to highly ethical standards of argumentation.
For more information, please contact Head Coach Jared Anderson!
Currently, the team is a member of the National Forensics Association (NFA) and competes at NFA Nationals. Our primary focus is Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debate - a "1 -v-1" style of evidence-based policy debate. We also compete in "limited prep" public speaking events (extemporaneous and impromptu speaking) while students have also begun exploring prepared speaking events. As a part of the Northern California Forensics Association, our regional tournaments take place all over the greater Northern California area (see our current Travel Schedule) while we also attend several out of state tournaments on the NFA circuit.
Who can join?
The team is open to all Sacramento State students! No prior experience is required and we are open to ALL class levels, as long as you are an undergraduate student. Students from all majors are welcome although we will recommend that you sign up for Communication Studies class.
To become a member of the team, you should enroll in either Communication Studies (COMS) 111, Debate Research Practicum for 3 units or Communication Studies (COMS) 110, Advanced Debate Workshop for 1 unit. There are no prerequisites for these classes. The team meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00 – 5:45. In class, students learn debate skills and theory, conduct research on the national collegiate LD debate topic, and engage in practice debates. Students on the team also plan, host, and participate in a public debate each semester.
Our debate team is committed to and has a long history of educational and competitive excellence. We strive to provide students with a challenging educational experience and expect debaters to maintain a respectable grade point average and make steady progress toward graduation. Though we strive for competitive excellence, we seek to challenge each student to make the most of their skills through hard work and a commitment to highly ethical standards of argumentation.
For more information, please contact Head Coach Jared Anderson!