Lafayette’s campus was at its liveliest this weekend with the Inauguration of the new president, the Homecoming football game, and theLafayette College (Ocho) Debate Tournament. Teams representing universities from across the country travelled to Lafayette to compete in the two four-round tournaments.

The Ocho was the first tournament in which the entire Lafayette team competed including four novice debaters. Following preliminary rounds, eight debaters advanced to the quarterfinal rounds, including Lafayette’s Zoe Staum ‘14. Advancing to quarterfinals also qualified Zoe for NFA’s National Tournament in the spring.

At the closing of the first day of competition, Emma Collins (Western Kentucky University) finished 1st Place in Open Debate after winning the final round. Lafayette’s Ryan Monahan ‘15 earned 5th Place Speaker.
Four Lafayette debaters competed in the Novice Division of their very first tournament. Rachel Elias ‘17 advanced to the finals, qualifying her for NFA’s National Tournament. She earned 2nd Place in the Novice Division.

The second day of the tournament consisted of four more preliminary rounds of debate, and top debaters broke into quarterfinals. Zoe Staum, again, earned a spot in the quarterfinals. The Open Division was closed out on the second day by Western Kentucky University debaters. Zoe also earned a 2nd Place Speaker Award on Sunday. Another Lafayette novice debater, Raman Hundal ‘17, broke into the final round of the Novice Division on Sunday afternoon, earning him a qualification for the NFA National Tournament as well. He earned 2nd Place in the Novice Division.

After a long and busy weekend, the debaters will now prepare for the upcoming tournament on October 20th and 21st at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Full Results:
Zoe Staum – Quarterfinalist in Open Debate on Saturday, Quarterfinalist in Open Debate on Sunday, 2nd Place Speaker on Sunday
Ryan Monahan – 5th Place Speaker on Saturday
Rachel Elias – 2nd Place in Novice Debate on Saturday
Raman Hundal – 2nd Place in Novice Debate on Sunday

–Vanessa Milan ’16