April 28, 2003

Three members of the SFSU Speech and Debate Team were recently been named All-Americans following recent national intercollegiate tournaments in debate and individual events, placing them among the top college speakers in the United States.

Senior Juli Lu (pictured right), a geography and human environmental studies major, and senior Tony Bernacchi (center), a speech and communication studies major, were named to the All-American team in debate at the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) national tournament held last month at Arizona State University. They are among 29 intercollegiate debaters nationwide, and six from California, selected All-American by CEDA.

Senior Marina Whitchurch (left), a speech and communication studies major, was named to the All-American team in individual events at the American Forensics Association (AFA) National Individual Events tournament held April 4-7 at University of Mississippi at Oxford. She is among 16 students nationwide, and three from California, named All-American in individual events by AFA.

"While the education they acquire in forensics is the real reward, national recognition as an All-American is a wonderful bonus," said Shawn Whalen, director of forensics and the team's coach. "Through persistence and hard work they have earned their status among the nation's top speakers."

All-Americans must be seniors and are honored for their speech and debate skills, community service and scholastic achievement.

This is the second consecutive year in which SFSU students were named to an All-American team.

The SFSU Speech and Debate Team has won many debates and individual events over the years, including the 2001 National Forensics Association championship in duo oral interpretation. The team debates particularly well against prestigious universities, defeating Stanford earlier this year, Dartmouth last year, and Harvard in 2001.