U of A Speech and Debate Society Celebrates Wins, While Teaching Career Skills and Fostering Connection

University of Arkansas’ Speech and Debate Society, a registered student organization (RSO) that is focused on growing students’ skills in communication through competition and practice in competitive speech and debate, is on a winning streak.

In the current 2024-2025 competition season, the team has collectively won 88 awards. Several members have also been ranked as overall champions in their categories and the team was ranked as the first overall program in the state of Arkansas at its latest competition.

Sophie Barrentine, a junior history and international studies major, and Aubree Watkins, a sophomore communication major, have been members of the group since coming to the U of A. Barrentine, the team’s president, and Watkins, its forensics captain, shared that every year the Speech and Debate Society aims to attend around eight competitions.

Watkins said she was swept up in the team’s wave of success even from her earliest moments in the program.

“I did really well at Nationals my first year, which was kind of a surprise,” she said. “I made it all the way to semi-finals, and I managed to get championship speaker, so number one in the nation in my division.”

“I’ve had a lot of great moments on this team, and I’ve really enjoyed seeing the novices and how they do as far as their first speeches and debate tournaments,” Watkins added.

At the U of A, the Speech and Debate Society’s roots go all the way back to 1896, marking almost 129 years of excellence. The existing iteration of the team is coached by Hannah Morris, a full-time academic advisor and public speaking instructor in Fulbright College.

She took the helm in 2021 and under her guidance the team focuses on competition within the International Public Debate Association circuit, as well as competing in American Forensic Association Individual Events that include acting, public speaking, and interpretation.

Under Morris’ leadership, the team of 30-plus members has grown exponentially. In their first season together, they won 31 tournament awards and 13 national and season-long awards. By the following 2023-24 season, those numbers had skyrocketed to 122 tournament awards and 31 national and season-long awards for a total of 153.

And while winning is an amazing feeling, team president Barrentine said being part of the group has also taught her top career skills like communication, and overall positively impacted her life.

“It has done wonders for my self-confidence,” Barrentine said. “I am more than willing to talk to the public and it’s something I [now] know I do well.”

Teammate Watkins, who was homeschooled in high school, said the team had a similar impact on her.

“I decided, sure, I’m going to go ahead and do this [speech and debate],” Watkins said. “I developed a lot of my speaking ability there [and] my ability to research and reason, but more than that I made the first friends that I had really made since elementary school in that environment, so I wanted to continue that in college because it was really a transformative experience.”

Both Barrentine and Watkins said they also appreciate the impact they believe the Speech and Debate Society will have on their future careers.

Barrantine, who is considering legal-focus career options, said that being able to interact with people, talk, and connect no matter the circumstances are all skills she’s honed by being a part of the group.

“Being able to do that well and having that background to pull from, especially in the courtroom, especially when it comes to argumentation – that’s something everyone wants to do, and to have a grasp on it this early is phenomenal, and a wonderful foundation to already have,” she added.

At the U of A, Coach Morris said the Speech and Debate Society has helped its students build many skills, including logical reasoning, public speaking, research, and cohesive communication.

And as the team continues to compete, Morris extends an open invitation to students from all colleges and majors to join in. Currently, the team includes majors from engineering, history, communications, international relations, and business.

“We truly are an interdisciplinary program, and it shows that any student, no matter the major, can benefit from having speech training,” Morris said, adding that students from all backgrounds and levels of experience are welcome, whether bringing years of training to the table, or no experience at all.

In addition to seeking new members, this highly decorated organization is also seeking support for competition expenses, including travel accommodations and entrance fees.

For more information about U of A’s Speech and Debate Society, to join, or to make a donation in support of the team, visit speechanddebatesocietyatua.com.