The Rutgers contingent at Stanford pose in front of the Library on the Palo Alto campus. Left to right: Ashley Novak, Chris Bergman, Storey Clayton, Adam Bomeisl, and Quinn Maingi. (Not pictured: Bhargavi Sriram)

The Rutgers University Debate Union (RUDU) made its first trip ever to the west coast for the Stanford tournament, coming away with a 10th place finish for a sophomore/freshman team and two winning records for the two teams who attended.

Here are the official accomplishments:
Adam Bomeisl & Quinn Maingi – 10th Team
Quinn Maingi – 2nd Novice Speaker

The team also did some volunteer work before the tournament at Coach Clayton’s former workplace, the Glide Foundation, a social services non-profit for the poor and homeless in San Francisco. The RUDU crew helped serve a free lunch to the homeless in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood.

The west coast visit may become an annual tradition for Rutgers, who will be sending four teams to Toronto this coming weekend for the North American Championships.

The Rutgers contingent poses after its run at Dartmouth. Left to right: Deepta Janardhan, Archie Babu, Kurt Falk, Alex Jubb, Bhargavi Sriram, Ashley Novak, Storey Clayton, Kyle Bomeisl, Russell Potter, Adam Bomeisl, and Quinn Maingi.

The Rutgers University Debate Union (RUDU) continued advancing to elimination rounds in both varsity and novice divisions last weekend at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. While almost all teams composed winning records, first-time partners Ashley Novak & Kyle Bomeisl advanced to partial octofinals and dynamic novice duo Quinn Maingi and Kurt Falk won novice semifinals en route to a narrow 3-2 loss in novice finals.

Here’s the official award list:
Kyle Bomeisl & Ashley Novak – 12th Team [partial octofinalists]
Quinn Maingi & Kurt Falk – 2nd Novice Team [novice finalists]
Quinn Maingi – 3rd Novice Speaker
Kurt Falk – 8th Novice Speaker

A small contingent of the team will be flying out to Stanford University for this coming weekend’s tournament in Palo Alto. Thereafter, the North American Championships will be held in Toronto, Canada.

Meanwhile, the first official team meeting of the Spring Semester will take place tonight at 9:00 PM in Murray 210. All interested in debate are welcome!

An iconic image of the Williams College campus, where RUDU broke two teams this weekend and qualified a third debater for Nationals.

The Rutgers University Debate Union (RUDU) kicked off 2012 with its third final round appearance this season and the second straight for sophomore Ashley Novak. This time, she was paired with hybrid partner Reid Bagwell from Columbia University, with the team winning their first seven rounds before losing a 3-2 decision in finals. Meanwhile, pro-am pair Kyle Bomeisl & Quinn Maingi made quarterfinals as well in the mid-sized but competitive field at Williams College.

Here are the official results from this past weekend:
Ashley Novak & Reid Bagwell [Columbia] – 2nd Team
Kyle Bomeisl & Quinn Maingi – 8th Team
Quinn Maingi – 3rd Novice Speaker
Russell Potter – 4th Novice Speaker

The novice speaker finish puts Maingi back in 3rd place in the Novice of the Year (NOTY) rankings for the season. Kurt Falk remains 5th and Potter is one of seven total RUDU novices in the rankings, now tied with Yale for the most in the league. Novak’s performance, meanwhile, gave her sufficient individual points to qualify for the National Championships in April, to be held this year at Wesleyan University. Novak joins Maingi and Chris Bergman as Rutgers debaters qualified to attend, making this the second most qualifications RUDU has ever had for APDA Nationals, behind the five who were qualified last year. There are still fourteen weeks ahead in which RUDU debaters can compete to tie or eclipse that number of quals, and four more debaters already have points toward qualification.

Videos of Novak & Bagwell’s semifinal and final round have been posted online. You can watch them below:

Semifinals, victory over Brandeis:

Williams Semis from Denise Yu on Vimeo.

Finals, loss to Yale:

Untitled from Denise Yu on Vimeo.

Previously unreported on this page, RUDU representatives Bhargavi Sriram, Adam Bomeisl, and Ashley Novak defeated the Trenton Central High School debate team at an enormous public exhibition in Trenton on December 15, 2011. The event was written up in this article in the Times of Trenton.

RUDU will be competing in the next fifteen straight weekends to close out the 2011-2012 season, from next weekend at Dartmouth to Nationals at Wesleyan. Tournament locations are as wide-ranging as Stanford in California, the North American Championships in Toronto, the University of Virginia, and Boston University. If you’d like to get involved with the debate team, our first official meeting of the semester is Tuesday, January 17th. We will hold a demonstration round for new members and provide you all the information you need to get involved!

The Fall 2011 EBoard, here pictured as stylized into The Wizard of Oz, will be running for re-election against a full slate of challengers. Elections will be held Tuesday, December 6th at 9 PM in Murray 210. The Executive Board will be expanded from four to six members in 2012 with the addition of a Novice Mentor and Alumni Coordinator.

The Fall 2011 Executive Board of the Rutgers University Debate Union

Chris Bergman is the President of the Debate Union. A rising junior majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Bergman joined RUDU in 2009. He finished 2010-2011 as part of two teams in the top forty in the APDA rankings, ranked 17th with Ashley Novak and 36th with Farhan Ali. Between the two partnerships, he made the elimination rounds at six tournaments that year and qualified for the 2011 National Championships. He served as Tournament Director of the 2011 Rutgers tournament. Chris is undecided on his career plans after Rutgers.

Nisha Kumar is the Vice President of the Debate Union. A rising junior in the School of Arts and Sciences, Kumar joined RUDU in 2010. She finished 2010-2011 as the 65th ranked novice on APDA and finished in the top five novice teams thrice over the year, all with regular partner Adam Bomeisl. One of the few science majors on the team, she is known for bringing copious homework and textbooks to tournaments while also finding time to ruthlessly outwit opponents in all manner of card games. Nisha plans to pursue a career in medicine after graduating from Rutgers.

Ashley Novak is the Treasurer of the Debate Union. A rising sophomore in the School of Arts and Sciences, Novak started debating for Rutgers in 2010. The highest-ranking first-year woman on APDA in five years, she finished second in the prestigious 2010-2011 Novice of the Year (NOTY) rankings, the highest finish in any annual APDA ranking for a Rutgers debater in history. She was also ranked 17th as a partnership with Chris Bergman and broke to varsity out-rounds six times as a novice, qualifying for the 2011 National Championships. Ashley is undecided on her future path after Rutgers.

Stephen Yellin is the Public Relations Chair of the Debate Union. A graduate student in the School of Communications, Yellin joined the team in 2010. He won two tournament novice division championships in 2010-2011 and placed in the novice team and novice speaker rankings at several more. He has also been known to speak in a variety of accents during debate rounds and is the reigning APDA Scrabble champion. Stephen seems destined for a career in politics after completing his degree at Rutgers.

Adam Bomeisl is the Co-Tournament Director of the Debate Union’s annual tournament, to be held this year on February 17-18, 2012. A rising sophomore in the School of Arts and Sciences, Bomeisl joined RUDU in 2010. He finished in the top five novice teams at five tournaments in 2010-2011, both with regular partners Nisha Kumar and Stephen Yellin. He also won some novice speaker awards and represented Rutgers at the National Championships in 2011. He has never ever been sarcastic. Adam is undecided on his career plans after Rutgers.

Bhargavi Sriram is the Co-Tournament Director of the Debate Union’s annual tournament, to be held this year on February 17-18, 2012. A rising junior majoring in Finance, Sriram joined the Union in 2009. She made the elimination rounds for the first time in 2010-2011, finishing the year ranked on APDA with regular partner Krishna Kavi. She also received back-to-back 26.5′s at a tournament and represented Rutgers at the National Championships in 2011. Bhargavi plans to enter the business world after Rutgers, possibly to manage a franchise of her favorite restaurant, Taco Bell.

Storey Clayton is the Coach of the Debate Union. A graduate of Brandeis University in 2002, Clayton began coaching at Rutgers in 2009. During his APDA career, he won the North American Championship (2001), was the 2nd ranked speaker (2002), part of the 3rd Team at the National Championships (2001), 4th ranked novice (1999), and part of the 5th ranked team (2000). Prior to coaching debate, he worked in non-profits in the Bay Area, including the Seneca Center for Children and Families and the Glide Foundation. Since his arrival at Rutgers, the team as a whole has gone from unranked in the prior eight years to 24th in 2010 and 5th in 2011. Storey is currently coaching full-time and writing novels on the side, one of which was published in 2003 and two more of which have been completed in the last 18 months.

The six officers elected to comprise RUDU's 2012 Executive Board.

The Rutgers University Debate Union (RUDU) elected its newly shaped six-person Executive Board (E-Board) Tuesday night after completing one of the most successful competitive semesters in its history. The E-Board was expanded from four to six members to reflect the growing needs of a club that has over tripled in size since last year and sent over fifty unique individuals to American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA) tournaments in this term alone.

Junior Chris Bergman was re-elected to his position as President. Junior Bhargavi Sriram was elected to serve as Vice President. She will also be Co-Tournament Director of the 2012 Rutgers tournament next February, as decided in the spring. Sophomore Ashley Novak was re-elected Treasurer. Novice junior Henry Phipps was elected Public Relations Chair. Freshman Kurt Falk was elected to the new position of Novice Mentor. Novice sophomore Alex Jubb was elected to the new position of Alumni Coordinator.

The 2012 E-Board is the first in recent memory to be elected without the requirement of a single run-off as all winners gained a majority on the first ballot. The E-Board is also the first in RUDU’s history to be 50% (or more) female.

RUDU changed from an academic-year to calendar-year term for its E-Board to facilitate smooth transitions and the participation of second-semester novices by a vote of the Debate Union in the spring. A transitional six-month E-Board term ended just prior to this election. The new group will serve until December 2012.

The horde of Rutgers debaters at UMBC gathers for the team picture after Chris & Ashley's final round appearance. Left to right: Russell Potter, Adam Bomeisl, Thomas O'Rourke, Stephen Yellin, Nisha Kumar, Storey Clayton, Kyle Bomeisl, Chris Bergman, Kurt Falk, Ashley Novak, Daimler Vadlamuri, Bhargavi Sriram, Jason Boyle, Arbi Llaveshi, Asher Wasserman, Aditya Singh, Alex Jubb, Quinn Maingi, Dave Reiss, Sarthi Tuli, Henry Phipps, and Emmy Calloway (Brandeis).

Here’s the long list of Rutgers accomplishments at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County this weekend:
Chris Bergman & Ashley Novak – 2nd Team
Kyle Bomeisl & Adam Bomeisl – 5th Team
Arbi Llaveshi & Bhargavi Sriram – 8th Team
Kyle Bomeisl – 3rd Speaker
Arbi Llaveshi – 5th Speaker
Stephen Yellin – 9th Speaker
Chris Bergman – 10th Speaker
Nick Guida – 1st Novice Speaker
Henry Phipps – 4th Novice Speaker
Kurt Falk – 6th Novice Speaker
Alex Jubb – 10th Novice Speaker

The quarterfinals breaks were the fourth for the brothers Bomeisl as a team this year and the first as a partnership for Arbi & Bhargavi. The speaker award was also Arbi’s first ever, while Stephen joined him as a first-time speaker-award winner. Nick and Henry meanwhile both will debut in the Novice of the Year (NOTY) rankings at semester, placing a league-high seven (7) novices from Rutgers on that list, more than any other college or university on APDA.

Ashley, Kyle, Adam, Arbi, and Bhargavi now all have points toward nationals qualification, with Ashley the closest at 12 of the necessary 14 points to qualify. Chris and Quinn Maingi are currently qualified for the National Championships, to be held in April at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

RUDU remains ranked ninth overall in the nation at the end of the semester, behind the University of Chicago and ahead of the College of William and Mary. Rutgers had never finished higher than 24th in the nation before last year’s 5th overall ranking at year’s end.

File photo of Kyle Bomeisl, Kevin Parks, and Chris Bergman in a public debate held last year on campus.

The Rutgers University Debate Union (RUDU) is preparing to take on Trenton Central High School in a public debate in Trenton on Thursday, December 15, 2011. The debate will discuss whether it is morally permissible to kill one innocent person to save the lives of more innocent people.

A recent article in the Trentonian described the upcoming event, which will feature top speakers from both RUDU and the TCHS debate team. The debate will be held at 9:00 in the morning in the community room of Trenton Central High and is open to the public with no admission fee.

TCHS is ranked near the top of the Colonial Valley Conference in Policy Debate. RUDU is currently ranked ninth in the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA).

RUDU has held several public debates this year, both on the Rutgers campus and at Columbia University against rival New York-area schools. RUDU’s final competition on the APDA schedule for this semester will be held in Baltimore this weekend. The Debate Union will then have a month off before returning to competitive tournaments on January 6th.

The Fall 2011 EBoard, here pictured as stylized into The Wizard of Oz, will be running for re-election against a full slate of challengers. Elections will be held Tuesday, December 6th at 9 PM in Murray 210. The Executive Board will be expanded from four to six members in 2012 with the addition of a Novice Mentor and Alumni Coordinator.

*incumbent
Please note: drop-downs are permitted for those unelected to higher positions.

The President is the leader of the team, responsible for running meetings in conjunction with the Coach, communicating with the team and other member schools of APDA, and coordinating and submitting all registrations for tournaments in a timely fashion. The President must also attend all APDA Meetings as the voting member for RUDU, or designate someone to do so in the case of their absence. The President may have many additional duties arise over the course of their tenure in the same capacity of representing the team both within and outside of the university.

Chris Bergman (incumbent)
Hey everyone, I’m Chris, and I’d like to continue being your President. Being President of the team requires several things—being able to lead the club, serving as the club’s representative to the rest of the circuit, and working with the members of the team. I think I’ve demonstrated through the past 6 months that I am capable and successful as President.

First, I have a great deal of experience on the E-Board—I’ve been President this past year, and was our Tournament Director the year before (back when TD was still part of the E-Board). Having seen how different people run the club has helped me learn how to lead the team, especially by avoiding some of the mistakes from the past. Additionally, from high school, I was the President or Vice President for 5 clubs. Most importantly, everyone has seen how I and the rest of the E-Board have run meetings, and can see for themselves how meetings actually run on time—a first for RUDU.

Second, I am someone the entire league knows. When people from other schools need something from Rutgers, they usually text me or send me a facebook message because I’ve built friendships with people from almost every team. As President, I can use this to the club’s advantage as our representative in APDA meetings as well as talk to other teams about waiving judge requirements or hybriding with someone whose partner dropped. Most other members of our team may not have the phone numbers or friendships to make these work out.

Finally, I can work with the team. I can talk to anyone on the team, and I usually do. When it’s time to recruit more people, most of you remember me from the novice retreat where, in addition to helping out, I also was friendly and welcoming. I also try to be enthusiastic about debate to serve as an example of what debate can mean for each of us.

I think it’s clear: RUDU has expanded and been successful because the E-Board has worked, and I’d appreciate if you vote for me to keep doing what I’ve been doing.

Adam Bomeisl
My name is Adam Bomeisl and I will be running for President of the Rutgers University Debate Union. For those of you who don’t know me I am a sophomore, History/Political Science major who is in his second year of debate. I have been with the club since the beginning of my freshman year. Throughout my debate career I’ve made it a point to come to as many meetings and tournaments as possible. In fact my freshman year I only missed 3 APDA tournaments and North-Ams; also I attended Nationals. I’ve broken a few times to novice out rounds during my freshman year, gotten to multiple varsity bubble rounds, won novice speaker awards, and won the West Point novice division with Stephen Yellin as my partner. This year I have been to every tournament and every meeting except one. I broke at four tournaments and got to bubble rounds at almost all of them this semester. I’m almost always available to help people with any debate related questions: cases, rules, knowledge related to debate, etc. Also, I am never ever sarcastic under any circumstances.

I am a good leader who is unafraid to take charge and make decisions. I devote a lot of time to the club and am always looking for ways I can help the team. I also have e-board experience as this year’s Co-Tournament Director. I assure everyone that my responsibilities as Tournament Director will not interfere with my ability to be President. I am very responsible and manage my time well. As an added bonus my schedule allows me to go to bed pretty late (around 1 or 2am), be available for most of Tuesday and Thursday, and I live about 100 feet from the debate house, so I can keep the debate house open pretty late for things such as rounds and game night. However, if the team does decide that I am not presidential material, I plan to drop down to run for other e-board positions. Ultimately it is up to the club to decide collectively where they think my devotion and experience ought be utilized on the e-board. Of course if any of our team members have any questions for me feel free to message me on facebook or e-mail me at abomeisl.eden.rutgers.edu.

Bhargavi Sriram
Hi Guys!! Please vote for me. I really care about our team and I promise to be a very dedicated and efficient officer. I also promise that I will always be open to criticism and take all of your concerns and/or ideas into account. I have had plenty of leadership experience at other clubs( Treasurer of Roosevelt Institute, Busch campus representative for RUSA, Mentor at RU-Tv). Give me a chance to put all those experiences to good use. I have also been a very effective and active contributor to RUDU over the past three years and I will continue to do so in the future. Lastly, I ask you to vote for me because I will always bring a lot of enthusiasm to anything that the club requires of me and I will also always be there for you guys. Contact me with any further questions . Thank you.

The Vice President is responsible for all paperwork related to the team, in addition to taking over for the President should they be unable to serve for brief or extended periods of time and supporting the President in all their duties as needed. This person is also responsible for all internal team communication, especially bi-weekly reminders about upcoming meetings and tournaments to all members of the RUDU mailing list. Timely submission of forms each week and corresponding attention to detail are a must. This person is also be responsible for keeping attendance at each meeting.

Nisha Kumar (incumbent)
This part semester RUDU has been going through many changes. Our team has expanded greatly in size, we have acquired a house, and a much more expansive budget. In order to make sure these transitions continue smoothly second semester, it is extremely important to have someone with experience. Here are some qualities to consider

Punctuality: I am always on time and always present at meetings, and at tournaments when I can be. There has never been an occasion where I have forgotten a responsibility or failed to complete something on time, or have backed out of a responsibility at the last minute.

Time Management and commitment: I am capable of handling many responsibilities at once, something a VP must be able to do. I have even molded my crazy chem classes around debate!

Organized: VP has to be able to handle attendance and forms well. Both of these things have been done this semester.

I also have the ability to work well with all other members of the team, as well as the ability to set up good relationships with the administration. I have can handle stressful situations without getting stressed and have the ability to get things done under pressure.
That is all. =)

The Treasurer is responsible for all financial matters related to the team, including and especially registration fees for tournaments, reimbursement of team members for gas and tolls, income from tournament hosting and possibly other events as they may arise, and submitting the semesterly budget to RUSA. This position carries an immense amount of responsibility and timeliness and attention to detail are critical.

Ashley Novak (incumbent)
I’m Ashley Novak and I’m running for treasurer. I was treasurer for RUDU during the fall semester. I believe that I’ve done the job well and would love to continue doing it. As of today, no individual is owed more than $100, and no tournament competed at this year is owed any registration fees. The job requires a lot of hard work and devotion, and I have demonstrated both of these.

The Public Relations Chair is responsible for communicating the success of the team to the outside world and the internal world of the Rutgers campus. This position involves regular communication with the Targum and other media outlets and involves discussion of the team’s activities and accomplishments in an exciting and nuanced way that promotes an interest in the team. This position is also responsible for recruiting from the student body through printed materials, direct communication, and events.

Stephen Yellin (incumbent)
As your current Director of Public Relations, I am asking you to support in keeping that job. I want to remain your PR Director for 3 reasons:

1) The PR Director’s job these days is primarily to increase our visibility with the media and pursue good publicity opportunities. I have been doing this exact type of work in politics and with multiple school clubs for the last several years, as well as regularly sending out press releases on our success this semester.

2) As a member of the E-Board with Chris, Ashley and Nisha, I have worked well with them and Storey to make sure RUDU runs as smoothly as possible. I want to keep working with them to make our club as efficient as it is fun.

3) With our upcoming tournament and other great activities, I want to make sure we get the maximum positive press possible out of these events. You can count on me to actively urge the local and regional news outlets (print, TV and Internet) to cover our events, possibly in person.

As part of my commitment to RUDU, I have organized a weekly Game Night and bought bagels on Friday mornings for tournament goers (on my own dime). I love our group and would be honored to stay on as PR Director in order to put that love to good use in the year ahead!

Feel free to e-mail me at stephenyellin@yahoo.com if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks! – Stephen

Henry Phipps
Hey RUDU, it’s been a true pleasure to work and debate alongside you in the past three months, this team has given me a lot of joy and experience. It would be a true honor, with your support, to allow me to contribute something back to the team by electing me your Public Relations Chair. I believe, in the past months, I’ve demonstrated my dedication to the team and will be more than effective in bringing a dynamic voice to the Rutgers student body on behalf of RUDU. Let me start off by giving you a picture of what I would do as Public Relations Chair then talk a little about my experience.
1. I will consistently update the team on results and triumphs at tournaments along with making sure people are recognized for their personal achievements and goals being met. Because of how often I attend tournaments and check apdaweb I more than able to easily bring these results to attention to the team quickly.
2. We as a team, and a successful one at that, need to establish a rapport with the Targum. This will be one of my first priorities as Public Relations Chair. I believe this is a crucial move in order to be a larger presence in the Rutgers community. Whether it be weekly updates, or just a few a month, either way we should be recognized, and I would strive to get said recognition for your accomplishments.
3. The Targum is not the only way we can grow closer to the Rutgers community. In my experience, it is important to showcase our abilities and involve the community. I aim to plan more consistent public events for exhibition, and make ties with other clubs and organizations by coordinating events together. These events give us presence, school-wide interest and have fun while doing it.
4. Finally, I want to bring onto the table ideas from everyone on the team, come up with more innovative, dynamic ways to involve ourselves with the Rutgers community with your help, involvement, and creativity.

I’ve had my share of experiences running and organizing clubs in the past. In High School I was a senior member of an internationally ranked robotics team and helped plan public showcases with groups around the city. But more importantly, during my Freshman year at Temple we helped host multiple public debates against groups like the Temple Feminist club. I helped advertise and organize the club which grew over time. Although I may not have the most experience, between what experience I do have, and my strategies to involve everyone’s ideas to further the team’s image, I feel I can contribute greatly to the team.

At the end of the day, you’re going to have to vote for someone. I will be first to admit that there are multiple qualified candidates to choose from. And as a voter, on behalf of RUDU, you have an obligation to vote for the people who you think will best represent you. It would be an honor to be considered for the position of Public Relations, and have an opportunity to bring our team further into the Rutgers Community. I believe that I, Henry Phipps, am the best candidate for the position, and will work tirelessly as your Public Relations Chair of the Rutgers University Debate Union to make your voice heard. Thank you.

Dongyi Zhuyan
Hey there! I’m Dongyi Zhuyan and I running for the position of Public Relations Chair. Take note. I go by the name Austin or Dongles, because it flows better like a flow pad.

This Public Relations Chair is a demanding position that requires one to be mobile around campus and have connections with the media. It also requires the person to be able to advertise to the people the various accomplishments adventures the team has and most importantly what it does.

Here are some points that prove my case to you.
1. I travel a lot across the New Brunswick Campus. I’ll have class on Busch, Livingston, College Avenue and Cook/Douglass. Yes it is a hectic schedule but it allows me to be able to access bulletins every where so I can post all the info of the club anywhere.
2. I am rather open minded to new ideas and propositions. I can adapt and manipulate words enough to grab attention in press releases. I have gotten some reviews for my manipulation of some writings done back in high school. Some of these were also posted as advertisements for clubs such as Computer and Chess club. I work well with it.
3. Finally, I am a people’s person. I am able to connect with people and get info passed along by mouth. I am more of a team effort of a guy, working to help a group in the long run. Its rather my preference and combined with your input will make broadcasts and announcements through the people. In addition, being a team member brings forth a huge more amount of effort into work. It brings effort that turns into something synergetic, something even more. I listen well, able to take in a lot and get everything. I’ll be very proactive as the Public Relations Chair.
I end with a smaller note. I find RUDU to be a nice little relief my engineering major. It a nice way to get involved in the world, taking in ideas and debate too. If I become the Public Relations chair, I pay back the club with a lot more than I would if I was not on it. Choose wisely!
Dongyi “Austin” Zhuyan

The Novice Mentor is responsible for working with the Coach to maximize the involvement, excitement, participation, and improvement of the novice class. This will also involve recruiting over the summer, including participation at involvement fairs. The person in this position will spend extra time judging novice practice rounds and following-up with novices to ensure their feeling welcome on the team.

Archana Babu
Hey homies! My name is Archana, better known as Archie, and I hope to be elected as the Novice Mentor for the upcoming school year. Firstly, I’d like to thank RUDU for welcoming me into its family, and to return the gratitude, I want to contribute in a way that’s best for the club: by becoming your Novice Mentor. The position is a perfect fit for me—it requires dedication, communication skills, and leadership. Not only do I meet these standards, but I exceed them in many ways.

Dedication: To put it simply: I love RUDU. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself at every tournament I’ve attended, and I’ve made a group of eccentric, hilarious friends that all of my suitemates know about because I talk about you guys so much. I’ve attended numerous meetings and enough tournaments to be considered a varsity member next year, and I view RUDU as a way to let-loose and relieve my stress when I’m not thuggin’ on the streets. This semester, my schedule has been quite demanding, preventing me from attending Game Night and other social events, but even these sacrifices are an investment into the club. Why? This means that my workload will greatly diminish next year (boo yah!), leaving me time to completely dedicate myself to the club. Next year, not only will I be able to attend almost every tournament, but I will have time on the side to help novices and judge extra novice practice rounds, and of course, eat with the team and kick everyone’s butt during Game Night.

Communication Skills: Being a Novice Mentor requires that I am able to take direction from those that want to teach me, and to convey information in a way that’s easily accessible to others. If any of you have spoken to me, you’re already aware that I’m very outgoing and approachable. I’m always willing to help my friends succeed, and if elected, will do my best to work with novices and help them with their transition into RUDU. As a novice this year, I still remember the doubts and questions I had before my first tournament, and my questions were slowly answered over time from attending tournaments. I want to teach these things to novices earlier, so they can start at an advantage that I never had. I remember what it was like attending my first tournament—with literally no training (I had no idea what a POI was)—and I want to make this transition more comfortable for others. I’m also very patient, and with the extra time I’ll have next year, I’d be willing to work with each and every novice as much as he/she needs. With my patience, willingness to help, and outspoken nature, my communication skills make me an ideal Novice Mentor.

Leadership: When assuming any position, one must be a good leader. I’ve already had experience with this. In high school, I was an editor for my school yearbook, and was the Editor-In-Chief my senior year. I had to make deadlines, communicate with the publishing company and my school, monitor all of my staff members, and delegate tasks to others. I’m good at thinking on my feet—especially minutes before a deadline—and I am composed in stressful situations (actually, I love stressful situations!). In addition, I led my school’s tennis team and was captain of an Odyssey of the Mind team for eight years—a team in which 7 of my peers competed at the regional, state, and international level against other teams. I also led a clarinet ensemble and managed school work on the side. I can not only do my job efficiently and effectively, but I can multi-task and handle more than one thing at once in an organized fashion. Luckily, I am willing to devote 100% of my time to RUDU next year, so I can channel all of my efforts towards leading RUDU Novices toward success. Despite being a great leader, I also know when to take direction. Being in different musical ensembles, sports teams, and staffs in high school, I was able to contribute as a team member to bring the most optimal result. I’m willing to do both, contribute a part and assume leadership, to help RUDU as a whole.
Those of you that know me are already aware that I’m a baller, but if you elect me, I can be your Novice Mentor, too.

Kurt Falk
I’m running for Novice Mentor because I feel that it is the position I’m best suited for and it will give me a chance to create beneficial good for RUDU. Novice Mentor is a new position and thus if done well in its inaugural year can set a standard for the position in years to come. This is why I feel it’s important that you elect me to this position. In a surprising move, I have three reasons why I am the ideal person for Novice Mentor.

Personable: Novice Mentor is an open-face position. Every duty of Novice Mentor, from recruiting to teaching novices to giving critiques, requires someone who is personable and agreeable. If a Novice mentor is too shy or sheepish, new members will never be able to engage with the mentor in a way that’s meaningful. On the other end, if a Novice Mentor is too intimidating or outward new members will be scared away, afraid to ask for help, and never be able to view the mentor as an equal. I strike the perfect balance between the two, being able to connect with new people while talking to them in a way that doesn’t intimidate and make them quit the team forever.

“Okay, so you think you’re some kind of reincarnated Citizen Kane. Let’s say you’re not making this up and you’re as personable as you say. What’s this going to get me if after you’re elected you elope to Costa Rica, never to be seen again?”

That’s a good question, Disembodied Voice. You bring me to my second point:

Dedication: One of the primary traits that you want to see in any E-board member is dedication. My dedication to the team has been seen throughout my entire time with RUDU. I’m going to go into policy mode for a sec (forgive me) and blitz some facts: Only ever missed one meeting, have gone to nearly every tournament (even more then most varsity), been on time for every tournament, almost always stay for late rounds, still come to meetings if not going to tournament that weekend, volunteered my car, have driven people to tournaments, at the debate house nearly everyday it’s open, and most importantly of all – bought colorful bendy straws for the debate house!

My proven dedication and love of the team shows that I won’t pull a no-show when it comes to the team’s most important events and responsibilities.

“So you’re dedicated. Big fucking deal. If a 2×4 goes to every meeting, he’s just as dedicated as you. How do I know that this dedication will lead to something a little bit more important…RESULTS!”

Disembodied Voice, sometimes your questions act so well as transition mechanisms that it almost seems like I wrote them for you. You lead me to my next point, Goals.

Goals: RUDU is on the brink of a new era, one where we are the supreme team. The Novice mentor is in a unique position to affect the most long-term change out of any other member of the E-board. Through careful recruiting and nurture of the novice class the Novice Mentor can sow the seeds of greatness.

Or, they have the terrible power to screw it up.

Because of this responsibility, I want to outline a few goals that I hope to achieve as a Novice Mentor:
- Create recruiting pipelines in debate clubs throughout New Jersey high schools
Many of us did debate through High School and we need to stay in contact with these clubs to motivate their graduates to go to Rutgers. I have seen this work with my high school Model UN club, whereas almost every person from that club who went to Rutgers then became involved in Rutgers Model UN through some form or another. I even went to their introduction meeting at the beginning of the semester, simply because I knew they existed via my high school experience.
- Create Debate Clubs in high schools that do not have one
Not only will this help for the same reasons outlined in the first point, it’s also an effective form of community service. We all enjoy debate and we should take up the responsibility to get as many people involved in the activity as we can.
- Holding a Novice workshop at the Debate House at least once a week
Those who got to go to the Novice Workshops over the summer got a great introduction to debate. But many people joined after the fact, midway (end of 750-word limit)

Arbi Llaveshi
Hey Everyone, I’m going to keep this short and to the point since I personally dislike long, drawn out campaign statements.
I’m currently running for the Novice Mentor position within the team. I desire this position because it represents the fundamental future of our team. In my mind the success or RUDU is not just entrenched in the present but also in future prospects. So when I think about it, being the novice mentor is extremely important; the mentor is essentially responsible for the team’s current and future growth and if the team’s quality stagnates or recedes then the Mentor can be held responsible for this.
In my mind, RUDU is still in its formative years, and I want to help shape a team which consistently maintains a great image and legacy within the community. I want to help new recruits succeed in any way I can, and I believe that the novice mentor position puts me into an excellent place to shape the future of our team for the better.
So inevitably the question you’re asking yourself becomes simple. Why pick Arbi? Well to start off, currently I have five years of experience in debate. I think I am well versed in discriminating between good and bad arguments, determining the quality of a newbie’s speaking, and extremely dedicated to this activity. I also have connections to coaches within the High School speaking community, many of my High school friends are now coaches for different teams, and this allows me to help the team find “diamonds in the rough” which could be prospective SOTY or TOTY contenders.
At the end of the day I believe these factors and my overall positive attitude towards the team and the novices we bring in prove that I am the best candidate for this position. I hope to receive your vote in the near future!
-The Arbiter

Quinn Maingi
Hi everyone, I’m Quinn, and I’m running for the position of novice mentor. Being a novice mentor requires several important skills: dedication, experience, and perspective. Here’s why I’m good at all three:

Dedication: Dedication is an attribute that is required of a novice mentor because it requires a great deal of time investment over the summer and at times when others may or may not be willing to work, as well as simply investing time in preparation of novices for tournaments. This is the most essential facet for any novice mentor to be successful at either recruitment or instruction, as a lack of invested time signifies that responsibilities will not be fulfilled. I’m probably the only person in the debate union who can legitimately claim to have never missed a tournament, and to have almost always been on time to meetings. I plan to continue this precedent through the spring semester, and thus will be able to invest necessary time to be a successful novice mentor.

Experience: A novice mentor requires a different kind of experience than simply being good at debate: it requires experience and an understanding of how to instruct novices in skills and in basic skills of debate. Although I am also a novice, I have a great deal of experience in this field from high school during which I held several positions of comparable stature. These positions led me to understand methods of teaching that can work for different learning styles in such a way that will allow for me to be successful. As an example to illustrate my success in this field, I often prepared freshmen well enough for competitions that they were able to actually win a 1st or 2nd place award commonly, which really did not happen more than once or twice in all of my clubs from high school during the 3 years before I took these leadership positions.

Perspective: It’s important for a novice mentor to be able to understand the problems that novices will have, as well as an ability to understand. I have faced just about every single technical mistake that a debater can commit, and almost immediately afterwards figured out why it was a mistake. Furthermore, I can understand the biggest problems that novices will mistake as I commonly make them as well, which allows for me to preempt these mistakes such that they will further aid novices in participation. Finally, I can bring a unique perspective to the E-Board as I am closer to the novice class, and can thus provide a fresh perspective at all meetings of the E-board.

The Alumni Coordinator is responsible for maintaining a working relationship and contact with former members of the Debate Union. This will involve relaying the success of the Union to those interested in hearing about it, involving alumni in the tournament each year, and generally developing ways to get alumni involved in the current life and events of RUDU.

Jason Boyle
I wish to carry out the duties of the Alumni Coordinator for RUDU by proving my ability to succeed in such a responsible position and to keep the graduated Rutgers debaters in touch with the team they dedicated so much of their time to. Therefore, I give you three reasons for why I should be the Alumni Coordinator.

1. Experience: I spent two years as an active member of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society for two-year colleges at Salem Community College. During my time in the honor society, I was elected as Vice President of Leadership, I ran two successful car wash fundraisers and two study group meetings, and my activity within the chapter earned me a 2011 Phi Pheta Kappa Middle States Region Distinguished Chapter Officer award. I actively participated in the emerging Student Government Association at my community college and ran the Earth Day events committee, which ran a successful campus wide Earth Day event with involvement by both students and faculty. All of these experiences have enhanced my ability to work a leadership position and to approach such a position with the responsible mindset needed to get things done.

2. Enthusiasm: My enthusiasm and positive approach to everything I do and everyone I meet leaves a lasting impression. I feel this position requires someone who gets along well with others in order to keep strong connections with RUDU alumni and to work with them to foster their involved with tournaments and keep them informed of current events. I have always been an optimist and have brought a positive atmosphere to any groups and organizations I have been a part of. My enthusiasm ensures my commitment to working this position and keeping a positive outlook toward making successful relationships with alumni.

3. Dedication: I always have and always will dedicate my time and energy on achieving my goals. I take pride in everything I do, no matter how small it might seem, which gives me strong concentration and organization when working on any given task. I take myself and my responsibilities seriously and I always maintain a strong commitment to anything I start until I have completed it. If elected to this position, I will dedicate myself fully to working with the other E-Board members, the Coach, and RUDU alumni in order to keep former RUDU debaters connected and involved with the current activities of the team, whatever they may be.

If elected as the Alumni Coordinator, I can assure you that I will be successful and I will complete the duties of the position with maturity, responsibility, and professionalism.

Alex Jubb
Hey everyone! For those of you who don’t know, my name is Alex and I’m a novice on the team. I’ve been to every meeting and almost every tournament this year. I’m running for an e-board position because I really care about the team and love debate in general. I’m well organized, punctual, and enjoy planning things. I’m a good fit for the alumni coordinator position because I enjoy reaching out to people and I think it will be awesome to have past debaters more involved in RUDU. I get along really well with everyone on the team and am a pretty regular figure at the debate house and other team functions. So yeah, go RUDU!

Keating Hall, Fordham University's iconic building, hosts the annual debate tournament.

The Rutgers University Debate Union (RUDU) maintained its 9th place national ranking with a flurry of winning finishes at Fordham University this weekend, including three of the top ten novice speaker awards at the large tournament. NOTY contenders Kurt Falk & Quinn Maingi were joined by first-time novice-award-winner Deepta Janardhan, who became the seventh Rutgers novice to win a novice speaker award this year.

Unfortunately a tabulation error appears to have kept Maingi & Falk out of the novice semifinal rounds, where their 3-2 record and high speaking should have made them the third seed. They dropped a varsity bubble round, making them one of four Rutgers teams who made it to varsity bubble rounds this weekend, despite the ultimate lack of varsity breaks.

Here’s the official results, including that possible mistab:
Quinn Maingi & Kurt Falk – Incorrectly Denied Novice Semifinal Break by Tabulation Error
Quinn Maingi – 7th Novice Speaker
Kurt Falk – 8th Novice Speaker
Deepta Janardhan – 10th Novice Speaker

RUDU is taking a break for Thanksgiving along with the rest of the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA), but will be back in action for the first weekend in December before closing the first half of the season. A public debate with Trenton Central High School in Trenton is also scheduled for December 15th.

Many Rutgers debaters attending GW stayed over in DC on Sunday for some sightseeing. They're seen here with the Jefferson Memorial in the background. Left to right: Kyle Bomeisl, Quinn Maingi, Kurt Falk, Jasmeet Bawa, Alex Jubb, Adam Bomeisl, Storey Clayton, and Bhargavi Sriram. (Not pictured: Alex Gristina, Arbi Llaveshi, Ashley Novak, Chris Bergman, Dave Reiss, Henna Nain, Henry Phipps, Jalal Ansari, Meet Patel, Ryan Tashima, Stephen Yellin, Taaj Robinson, Thomas O'Rourke, and Tina Dukandar.)

The Rutgers University Debate Union (RUDU) broke two teams each to varsity octofinals and novice semifinals this weekend while dominating the novice speaker rankings at the unopposed 84-team tournament. Four was a good number for RUDU this weekend, as the four breaks were matched by four novice speakers in the top ten and now also the Novice of the Year (NOTY) ranking for first-year Kurt Falk.

Here are the myriad accomplishments of RUDU at GW’s Fall 2011 tournament:
Kyle Bomeisl & Adam Bomeisl – 10th Team
Chris Bergman & Ashley Novak – 14th Team
Kurt Falk & Quinn Maingi – 3rd Novice Team
Alex Jubb & Henry Phipps – 4th Novice Team
Kurt Falk – 1st Novice Speaker
Quinn Maingi – 2nd Novice Speaker
Alex Jubb – 8th Novice Speaker
Henry Phipps – 10th Novice Speaker

The top novice speaker award for Kurt was the first for RUDU this year. RUDU won four top novice speaker awards at tournaments last year, all won by last season’s second NOTY, Ashley. Currently, Quinn is tied for 2nd NOTY while Kurt is 4th. While a great deal of the season remains, this surge in first-year talent bodes extremely well for RUDU’s future, especially since a team-record and APDA-high five novices are on the NOTY Board for Rutgers. RUDU will be graduating only one senior from APDA eligibility at the end of this year.

Four was also the number of teams who bubbled for the varsity break this week, as both Kurt/Quinn and Alex/Henry faced varsity break teams fifth round in 3-1 contests for a shot at the varsity octofinals. While both fell short in those contests, the speaker finishes for all four debaters in those rounds were phenomenal, leaving those teams outspeaking their next-closest novice team competitors by 8 points (Kurt/Quinn) or 4 points (Alex/Henry).

RUDU will travel to New York City for the Fordham tournament this weekend before taking a break for Thanksgiving. Rutgers remains ranked 9th in the country overall as the midway point in the season approaches.