ASU forensics debate team brings home Pacific Championship

Arizona State University junior Bren Ram and freshman partner Ryan Ferdowsian, of ASU's forensics debate team, snagged the title of Pacific Champions this past weekend, in a policy debate competition held at the University of Southern California.

Ram and Ferdowsian did not lose a single ballot (12 in all) en route to collecting the title in the Varsity division. Earlier in the week, Pacific region coaches selected Ram and Ferdowsian as representatives to this year's National Debate Tournament, where 78 teams will compete for the national policy championship March 24-27 at the University of Kansas. Ram also placed 4th in the individual speaker awards at the tournament.

First year students Kayla Green and Nicole Figueroa also flexed their debating muscles in the novice division of the Pacific Championships, placing 3rd overall while collecting 3rd (Figueroa) and 5th (Green) place speaker awards. Novice division is reserved for students with minimal experience in policy debate.

This is Figueroa's and Green's first year of competition in the event. The tournament represents a strong showing by both teams, as the team now prepares for nationals at the end of the season.

The forensics team is part of the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication.

By Adam Symonds, director of forensics