Duquesne Debating Society

Announcing Our Stretch Goal!

Shortly a week after launching our campaign, we made it to our initial goal of $2,000! Thank you to all of our generous donors who have made it possible for senior and Duquesne Debating Society President Janae Staicer and sophomore Mary Halyama to compete at the National Championship this March in Fullerton, CA!

While our crowdfunding page still lists our goal of $2,000, we now have a stretch goal of $4,000. This would help pay for an additional team – two more students (freshmen Noah Martens and Chloe Mortenson) – to compete at the National Championship AND defray costs associated with bringing a coach to the tournament. Coaches are an essential component of tournament travel providing insights to debaters as they revise their arguments in response to the realities of competition. Coaches also provide a service to the tournament by judging debates.

Please consider making a donation today and help send another team to represent Duquesne in California.

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What is the Duquesne Debating Society?

The Duquesne Debating Society is a student organization housed within the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies. The society’s advisor, Dr. John J. Rief, assistant coaches Nancy Parish and Tim Michaels, and president, senior Janae Staicer, coordinate a number of activities open to all Duquesne undergraduate students.

In the past two years, the Duquesne Debating Society has seen a resurgence on campus because of our passionate advisors and student-leaders. Over 20 students have participated in our events over the last year (2015), many of which took place in front of large audiences of Duquesne students, faculty and staff. 13 students are currently signed up for events this semester!

Why Are We Crowdfunding?

Due to both the growth of our organization and the added cost of this year's competition being in California, we needed $2,000 to send our top team of debaters to compete at the National Educational Debate Association (NEDA) 2016 National Championship in Fullerton, CA on March 11-12. In a little over a week, we reached our $2,000 goal to send one team (two students per team) to this prestigious competition. We have now stretched our goal to $4,000 in hopes to send a second team and help defray the cost for our coach. These funds help to cover registration, transportation, room and food costs. This would enrich the educational experience of these four students and allow them to represent Duquesne on the national stage.

Join Us for the Adventure!

All donors to our campaign will be provided with updates as we journey to Fullerton, CA for this national debate. We will keep you informed about our experience in California and the results of our competition.

Help us Continue to Build Our Program's Winning Momentum

Members of the Duquesne Debating Society are well regarded in the NEDA community. They are respected competitors who have put in countless hours to achieve many awards over the last year.

Just last semester, the Society competed in three tournaments and received one First Place Team award, two Second Place Team awards and many others. Further, at all three NEDA tournaments last semester, a member of the Duquesne Debating Society took home the award for First Place Speaker in their division!

Over the last two years, the Duquesne Debating Society has been very successful at the National Championship. Last year, the competing teams took 4th place in both the varsity crossfire and novice traditional divisions, with one member scoring the highest speaker points in her division. In 2014, a team from the Society won the National Championship!

Connecting with Duquesne's Mission

The mission of the Duquesne Debating Society is to promote the practice of debate as a mode of deliberation, dialogue, and interpersonal discovery. We root this mission in the Catholic intellectual tradition. This tradition inspires us to pursue ethical insight while promoting social justice as we work to enhance opportunities for debate education and participation throughout the Duquesne University community.

Questions? We Love to Talk so Contact Us!

If you have questions about this campaign or the Duquesne Debating Society, please contact organization President and Duquesne senior Janae Staicer or advisor Dr. John Rief.

Donate Today and Share! Share! Share!

A successful crowdfunding campaign would put an exclamation point on the momentum we have created in recent years to take the Duquesne Debating Society to a new level. Please donate today! Even a gift of $10 will make a big difference. Also, please help spread the word of this campaign by sharing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! Don't forget to use the hashtag. #DUQDebate16

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND SUPPORT!