STEAM for All hosted its first online Speech & Debate “Mini” Tournament on August 8th, 2020, which drew close to 40 participants! The event was serviced and run by 30 dedicated SfA volunteers who helped judge and facilitate the debate rounds. The event itself was created in an effort to expose students to an activity centered around public speaking, argumentation, and research skill—topics which aren’t conventionally covered in school. The event consisted of two separate debate rounds, each of which was structured in a modified format to make the event accessible to a greater number of participants. In both rounds, participants were tasked with debating the resolution, Resolved: On balance, the benefits of homework outweigh the harms. Debaters had the opportunity to debate both the PRO & CON stances of the resolution. At the end of the event, an award ceremony was held to honor the top debaters and speakers. Great job to everyone who attended the event and we look forward to holding another Speech & Debate event in the future. 

 

Top Debaters:

Manish Mungi 

David Wong 

Hana Cho 

Shaun Ikeuchi 

Kaitlynn Farkas 

Ishan Vannadil 

Jenna Ke

Maya Desai 

Hemkesh Chenupati 

Audrey Huang 

Namon Nguyen 

Saketh Tamirasa 

Minna Nguyen 

Quan Tran 

Ruishan Zhang

Suraj Shah 

Marissa Huang 

Max Pen 

Hannah Ke 

Audrey Kim 

Darin N. 

Jia Kim

 

Top Speakers:

Hana Cho 

Maya Desai 

Minna Nguyen 

Suraj Shah