Florida State University announced on Apr. 9 that two of its Forensics Program students were named worldwide champions after winning first place at the International Forensics Association tournament held March 8-12 in Athens, Greece.
The achievement highlights the university’s success in fostering debate and public speaking skills among undergraduates, offering them opportunities to compete internationally and develop valuable communication abilities.
Harleigh Demchak, a junior majoring in economics, and Zoey Rotenberry, a senior studying political science, secured the top spot at the 36th Annual International Forensics Association Speech and Debate Tournament and Conference. The team was led by Avery Henry, program director and teaching faculty II in the College of Communication and Information. “This win fills me with pride because it is evidence of the hard work and dedication the team has put in this season,” Henry said. “In addition, it affords FSU the ability to market ourselves as international debate champions. We are the best in the world at NPDA (National Parliamentary Debate Association) style debate.”
Forensics competitions focus on persuasive speech using evidence and logic to convince judges—a tradition rooted in Aristotle’s classification of rhetoric. The FSU Forensics Program allows undergraduates to join either a speech or debate team that travels nationally several weekends each semester for intercollegiate tournaments.
Demchak said: “Being part of the FSU Forensics Team has solidified my decision to pursue a career in law. Participating in critical debates and engaging with complex concepts has deepened my appreciation for argumentation and research. Overall, the experience has strengthened both my passion for the activity and my long-term academic and professional goals.”
Throughout this season, members traveled to cities including Portland, Las Vegas, Dallas, Nashville—and internationally to Greece—competing at 14 domestic and international events overall. These experiences allow students cultural exposure while engaging with peers worldwide.
Henry said: “Competitive forensics gives students the opportunity to travel all over, compete against some of the brightest minds, and gain cultural experiences that are not available when you are just learning in the classroom.”
While competing abroad this year, Demchak and Rotenberry also explored Greek landmarks such as Acropolis—the birthplace of Western speech—and participated in debates centered around Greek history or policy topics relevant to their host country.
Rotenberry said: “The actual debate tournament and topics revolved around Greek history or Greek policy so being able to go absorb culture…was pivotal…Being able to immerse myself…was a formative experience that I will be forever grateful for.”
Outside competitions members meet twice weekly preparing by researching global issues like nuclear policy or artificial intelligence—skills which have influenced participants’ academic directions. Rotenberry added: “Being a part of FSU debate team has forever changed my academic goals…After joining…I finally found direction…”
The program also won top honors recently at Florida’s state championship event bringing home trophies from both Limited Entry Sweepstakes as well as Overall Debate Sweepstakes categories.
Henry concluded: “Students…have to gain fluency understanding topic areas collecting research…and then publicly test their arguments against some of smartest students from schools all across nation or world.” The competitive season runs September through mid-April; interested students can contact Avery Henry or attend meetings held Tuesdays/Wednesdays from 4:30–6:30 p.m.
