By Maisarah Miskoon

Cambridge, MA – Two of our SMCC students, Saman Baghestani and Jason Glynn, set out to prove adversaries wrong at the Harvard Debate Costume Contest and Tournament, an event organized by the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) on the 25th to the 27th of October. Many institutions from all across the country flocked down to Harvard University to engage in scholarly debate against one another, including Rutgers and Syracuse Universities. They debated for 7 rounds and received a one “bye,” placing their official score of 2 wins out of 7.
Teams debated on the 2014-2015 CEDA/NDT (Cross Examination Debate Association/ National Debate Tournament) resolution of whether or not the United States should legalize prostitution, marijuana, organ sales, online gambling, and physician assisted suicide. Both Saman and Jason chose to research and debate on the last issue, which they debated for four rounds on the affirmative on Saturday, and another three rounds on the negative the following day.
Preparations for the debate began a month before for the duo, who independently researched the issue by watching YouTube videos, practicing debate rounds, and went through intensive coaching with Jason McDonald, a friend of Saman’s from Houston ,via Google Hangout sessions. The two-man team was indebted to Mr. McDonald for putting in the time and effort to coach them, and supported them during the competition. The team was also joined by Professor Justin Amoroso, one of our Philosophy adjunct faculty, for the trip.
According to Jason Glynn, the debate was “such an intellectually stimulating experience (and) I had gained a lot out of it, thinking quicker on my feet, and even how to speak clearer and faster…”
When asked the reason why they were willing to compete in a national event such as this, Saman Baghestani’s reply was simply this, “I decided that it would just be fun to entertain the possibility of success at one or more of the most competitive college debate tournaments in the country.

Coming from a community college, the assumption is that succeeding would be an uphill challenge, and it was.  Jason Glynn and I showed, however, that winning is possible, and win we did.”
Team Baghestani/ Glynn had achieved national exposure for SMCC, being the only community college to compete in this event. They planned to continue achieving at the 2014 Franklin R. Shirley Classic at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on November 15th to 16th, where more that 130 teams from all across the country will be competing.
We can’t wait for what the future holds for these two individuals and we wish them all the best for their future endeavours. Go Team Baghestani/ Glynn!