When UCLA students first began its debate team, a rival coach told the group they would not last two months.
Three years later, the team is more successful than it has ever been.
This year, the team more than doubled in size and began competing in individual speech competitions, as well as other debate competitions, in which students compete with a partner.
Over 10 years ago, UCLA had a formal speech and debate team. With a yearly budget of $30,000 and a professional coach, the team was very successful; its trophies are still on display on the shelves of Rolfe Hall. But the team eventually dismantled.
In 2005, members of two different debate groups decided to merge into a unified UCLA debate team. Since adding the speech component this year, the UCLA Speech and Debate team has been officially reborn.
But the team is not without its hardships.
It receives little funding from the school and is the only student-run team on the West Coast. All the coaches are UCLA students.
The team receives base funding from Undergraduate Students Association Council and pays for tournament fees though USAC contingency funds and fundraising, but leaders said they are worried these will not cover all fees as the team expands.
Not having a professional coach has put more pressure on the students, but Will Kolkey, president of the team, said being a student-run team also has its advantages.
“I’m proud to be on a student-run team. I think because we’re student run, we’re a more progressive and competitive team,” he said.
Lindsay Johnson, a third-year political science student and member of the speech team, said she thinks having a professional coach would be beneficial because he or she would be more authoritative, but the students have done a great job on their own.
All the coaches have participated in speech and debate competitions for several years in college and some even competed in high school. Many have been former national champions.
This year, the team has focused on setting the groundwork for the future.
Rodrigo Vicuna, a coach for the speech team and a five-time national speech and debate champion, said he told the group at the beginning they were not going to win nationals this year. Instead, this year would be a building year.
But despite being a new team, several students qualified for the national competition in Tennessee in April.
“I can’t take much credit for the team’s success,” Vicuna said. “It really goes to the people on the team. They knew it was gong to be hard, but they wanted to be part of a program that we all believe can be truly great.”
The speech and debate teams each have a general meeting once a week and have mini retreats on the weekends to prepare for tournaments.
This year, they attended a tournament every two to three weeks beginning fall quarter until mid-spring, Kolkey said.
The team has already gained respect from other established teams.
“Other schools now recognize that UCLA is back on the scene,” said Amir Goodarzi-Panah, next year’s president. “They see that we’re going to be strong competition.”
Kolkey said he thinks one of the team’s strengths is that it has a number of South Campus students.
“It’s close to 50-50,” he said. “I think the diversity of backgrounds makes the team much more effective. In events in which you have little time to prepare, many of our debaters have much more prior knowledge that gives them a huge advantage.”
Kolkey and other team members also credit their success to their camaraderie.
“We have a lot of hardworking, dedicated students on the team. That’s really all you need,” he said. “Everyone is dedicated to every aspect of the team.”
Many team members credit Zakir Khan, a speech team coach, for the success of the team. He recruited many people to the team, including Vicuna, whom he met at community college. Khan helped convince Vicuna to transfer to UCLA and join the team.
But Khan credits the team as a whole, not the coaches, for its success.
“People are committed to the dream of putting UCLA back on the map. No matter the long hours, people are always willing to put in the time,” he said.
Goodarzi-Panah said he hopes next year to integrate the speech and debate teams more, step up recruitment efforts, work more closely with professors to improve skill level and secure more funding.
“I hope we can work with political science and communication (studies) professors on principles of negotiation and public speaking,” he said. “I want to increase our visibility on campus.”
He added that the club is open to anyone. There is no audition process, and as long as people show dedication and interest they are welcome to join.
Swati Srivastava, a debate coach, said she hopes the team will gain more legitimacy at UCLA and that she thinks it is going in the right direction.
She said she hopes the team tries new forms of debate and is planning to work more closely with groups such as the Mock Trial team and Model United Nations to form a debate coalition.
“Speech and debate helps people engage with their surroundings since we debate about what is going on in the world,” she said. “It’s very beneficial to anyone, no matter what their major is.”
Kolkey said he believes speech and debate is vital in learning how to best represent oneself.
“Speech and debate teaches you to articulate your ideas and think quickly on your feet, which are two skills critical for success,” he said.
The team is extremely optimistic about the future.
“If we keep going like this, I can’t imagine how successful we could be,” Johnson said.
“What we pulled off this year was nothing short of incredible.”