Finals | Civics Education

Ten SPC students will be brushing up on the First Amendment over the next three weeks to become experts on the free speech clause of that amendment. That’s because they finished at or near the top In the preliminary competition of the Great Debate last week at SPC, qualifying them for the finals next month where free speech is the topic.

Some 34 students participated in the preliminary competition held at St. Petersburg Gibbs, Downtown/Midtown, Tarpon Springs, Clearwater and Seminole campuses. The debates drew a total attendance of more than 200, including fellow students and relatives of the debaters.

On Nov. 15 at the Seminole campus, first- and second-place finishers from each campus will face off in five eight-minute rounds debating the topic, Suppression of Free Speech Has Gone Too Far, Especially on College Campuses. It will be from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. in the Digitorium at Seminole, 9200 113th St. N.

Serving as judges will be Dr. Joe Leopold, Dean of Communication; Dr. Susan Demers, Dean of the College of Policy, Ethics and Legal Studies, and Dr. Joseph Smiley, Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

The Great Debate is sponsored by the Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions and presented in partnership with the Student Life and Leadership council and implemented by recruitment and coaching teams on each of the five campuses. Now in its third year since being revived after a two-year hiatus, the Great Debate fulfills three of the college’s Strategic Initiatives: Student Success, College Experience, and Out-of-Classroom Learning.

And it provides significant monetary incentives for students to risk stage fright and take on extra research/writing obligations, not to mention after-hours rehearsals. First place winner takes home a $500 gift card to Barnes & Noble along with an iPad mini. Second place receives a $500 gift card, third $250, and so on, with each competitor receiving something.

Congrats to the 2016 Great Debate Preliminary Competition Week Finalists:

St. Pete/Gibbs Campus
Topic: Use of Marijuana for Debilitating Medical Conditions. Vote for or Vote Against?
Campus Coordinator: Maribeth Beekman
• First Place: Max Johnson
• Second Place: Jade Jackson

Downtown/Midtown Centers
Topic: Body-Worn Video Cameras Should Be Mandatory for Police Officers. Agree or Disagree?
Campus Coordinator: Frank Jurkovic
• First Place: Michael Jones
• Second Place: William Triplett

Clearwater Campus
Topic: Body-Worn Video Cameras Should Be Mandatory for Police Officers. Agree or Disagree?
Campus Coordinator: Dr. Michael Culligan
• First Place: Ashana Patterson
• Second Place: Alexis Deveaux

Seminole Campus
Topic: Congress should devise a path to citizenship for undocumented residents with no criminal record. Agree or Disagree?
Campus Coordinator: Dr. Bledar Prifti
• First Place: Aiden Sherman
• Second Place: Kristina Keller

Tarpon Springs
Topic: Who Is Best Qualified to Be Our Next President, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?
Campus Coordinator: Anthony Nappi
• First Place: Christina Chatfield
• Second Place: Justin Ferrell

For photos and videos from the 2016 Great Debate Preliminary Competition week and for more information on the Final Competition, please visit the event page.

David Klement
Executive Director
Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions
St. Petersburg College
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The top debater at St. Petersburg College will be decided next Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the final competition of the 2016 Great Debate. It will be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at the Seminole Campus Digitorium (UP-160), 9200 113^th St. N.

Ten finalists from the preliminary competition held at five SPC campuses the week of Oct. 10 will compete for over $2,400 worth of prizes, with the winner taking home a $500 gift card and an iPad mini. Given three-minute presentations and one-minute rebuttals each, they will debate the pros and cons of this statement: Suppression of Free Speech Has Gone Too Far, Especially on College Campuses. The positions they take will be assigned randomly just before the debate, so each student must be prepared to argue both sides of the statement.

About the Great Debate

The Great Debate is a competitive academic event that invites students at SPC’s five primary learning centers to engage in debate of topical issues outside the classroom. The debate allows the student debaters to develop their communication skills on stage, before an audience of peers and faculty, practicing the elements that make for effective public speaking.

The Great Debate, sponsored by SPC’s Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions and the Student Life and Leadership Council, promotes critical thinking, effective communication, independent research and teamwork. In the process, it also promotes civic engagement and builds esprit de corps.

For students who attend, it presents an opportunity to be inspired by debate, to gain knowledge about the policy issues assigned, and to evaluate both sides of an issue. And for the student body as a whole, competitive events among campuses enhance the college experience by fostering friendly rivalry and building student connections within the greater SPC community.

The Judges

Serving as judges of the finals will be Dr. Joe Leopold, Dean of Communications; Dr. Susan Demers, Dean of the College of Public Policy and Legal Studies, and Dr. Joseph Smiley, Dean of Social and Behavioral Science.

Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend the debate competition and cheer their campus’ champion debater to victory.

The Finalists

First- and second-place winners representing the five campuses are:

Clearwater: Ashana Patterson and Alexis Deveaux.