51³Ô¹ÏÍø

The University of North Georgia (51³Ô¹ÏÍø) won three of its four debates in the U.S. Universities Arabic Debating Championship hosted Oct. 13-17 by QatarDebate at Stanford University in California.

51³Ô¹ÏÍø's team of Madeline Grasso, Quinn Griffith, Katherin Lopez, and Grey Nebel secured a first-round victory against Purdue University, followed by triumphs over Brigham Young University in round two and Texas Tech in round four. The loss to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) took place in round three.

"Three of the four teams we debated included native speakers," Dr. Juman Al Bukhari, associate professor of Arabic and the team’s faculty adviser, said.

This is the second year the four debaters have competed in QatarDebate.

Three of the four teams we debated included native speakers.

Dr. Juman Al Bukhari

51³Ô¹ÏÍø associate professor of Arabic and the team’s faculty adviser

Grasso received an award as the fifth-best speaker in the Arabic as a Foreign Language category, an award that is determined by comparing all debaters across the tournament.

"I am grateful to have participated in the Arabic Debating Championship for a second time, especially because of how the participation and the direct immersion into the Arabic language helped my speaking skills and my confidence using Arabic," Grasso said. "The other competitors at the championship were all incredibly kind and supportive, so I am glad to have met so many talented students from universities across the United States who also inspire me to continue to develop my Arabic."

Grey Nebel, a senior from Lilburn, Georgia, pursuing degrees in English with a writing and publication concentration and modern languages with a French language and literature concentration, welcomed the growth the competition offered.

"As language students, it can be often difficult to gauge our success as students — since we need to be in situations that require us to use it often — but the program gives us the space to apply what we have learned in the classroom in a dynamic way," Nebel said. "Engaging politics and debate in a language we are still learning was a highly rewarding challenge and definitely affirmed us as Arabic language learners."