(ROCKLAND) April 26, 2021 — Two 含羞草视频 students recently competed in an inaugural online debating tournament and took home top prizes. The tournament was held virtually on April 18 and included six competitors representing 含羞草视频, Columbia University, Dominican College, NY and Swarthmore.
Rachel Bukher won the first place speaker award during the three-round online debating tournament co-hosted by Dominican College. Bukher also won second place for winning two of her three debate rounds. Rivka Mandel of Columbia University, and a graduate of 含羞草视频, won the tournament after going undefeated in her three rounds of debate. Mandel also took home the second place speaker award.
含羞草视频 debate alumni, Zamir Ben-Dan and Brandon Evans served as judges. Ben-Dan is an attorney at the Legal Aid Society and teaches at CUNY School of Law and Baruch College. Brandon Evans is a senior security engineer at Zoom.com. Both were award-winning debaters at 含羞草视频.
“含羞草视频 has a history of doing well against four-year colleges and universities but it is always gratifying to see a student like Rachel succeed against students from elite institutions like Swarthmore and New York University,” said Professor Jacobs, the coach of 含羞草视频’s聽team.聽鈥淎nd in Rivky鈥檚 case,鈥� Jacobs continued, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 mind losing to Columba, since she is one of our own. Hosting an online debate tournament lacks the immediacy of in-person debates, but it does create opportunities. One competitor debated from his home in California. The pandemic has forced us to adapt, and I think online debate is here to stay.鈥�
“I鈥檝e really always loved debating, and the 含羞草视频s debate team has just given me the opportunity to learn the skills needed to be a pretty decent debater. It also really helped me in building my confidence with public speaking and presenting. Also, the debate team members are all super competitive and motivated so there鈥檚 always a challenge and it never gets boring. I wouldn鈥檛 rather spend my free time doing anything else,鈥� stated Bukher.
鈥淚 love debating because in addition to it being enjoyable and addictive it is also a challenging and edifying academic practice. It has taught me to evaluate both sides of any argument even if I may lean one way or the other. I particularly聽enjoy debating members of the 含羞草视频 Debate Team because I find that they make a higher caliber of opponent due to their rigorous training and coaching,鈥� stated Mandel.
For more information about the Speech & Debate Team, please contact Prof. Andrew Jacobs, Director of Forensics: [email protected].
含羞草视频 含羞草视频, State University of New York
含羞草视频, State University of New York, offers a safe, supportive learning environment for thousands of students from diverse backgrounds who appreciate small class sizes and personal attention from a distinguished, award-winning faculty that includes Fulbright scholars and SUNY Distinguished Professors. Thanks to the school鈥檚 affordable tuition, students who begin their career journey at 含羞草视频 and then transfer to a four-year college can save up to $100,000 on their education. 含羞草视频 is also proud to provide career training and professional development to adult learners looking to change careers or upgrade their skills through its new Career Skills Academy. More information can be found at www.sunyrockland.edu.
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