Politics

The Monmouth University Debate Team won 8 team and individual awards at the Western National Debate Championship at Sacramento State University in California on the weekend of March 12-14, 2016.  Four of the six Monmouth teams competing in the tournament made it into the playoff rounds.  The MU team of Matthew Toto and Prachi Patel made it to the semi-final round (final four) and the teams of James Hawke and Sabrina Saenger with a record of 5-1 and Gregory Harpe and Emily Mastocola with a record of 4-2 made it into the quarterfinal (final 8).  Team captain Danielle Doud and Victoria Borges made it into the quarter-final round in the experienced division before losing a close decision to a University of Washington team.

President Barack Obama created history on March 20, by visiting Cuba for the first time any president has in over nine decades. He arrived with First lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters Malia and Sasha.

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie, two years removed from being selected chairman of the Republican Governors’ Association by his peers, suspended his once-promising presidential campaign and endorsed his party’s frontrunner, Donald Trump, for the 2016 presidential nomination in quick succession last month.

July 6,1921-March 6,2016

Monmouth University had the honor of hosting a meet-and-greet with Deborah Poritz, the former Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, on Feb. 21. Justice Poritz is the Public Servant in Residence at the University and was asked to give a lecture for the Political Science department.

President Obama has made a nomination for a lifetime government position— not for a Supreme Court Justice— but for the Librarian of Congress. The New York Times reported that President Obama nominated Dr. Carla Hayden on Feb. 24. According to Nicholas Fandos of The New York Times, not only would she be the fourteenth person in America’s history to hold the position, but also the first woman and African American to be the Librarian of Congress.

Republicans

March 1- Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia

Ten Monmouth debaters— who in addition to preparing for college debate tournaments— have been busy coaching Asbury Park high school students every Thursday after school and accompanying them to debate tournaments affiliated with the Urban Debate League.  On the weekend of February 8th, the MU debaters coached the Asbury debaters at a tournament at the Institute for Collaborative Education in the South Bronx and February 12th to the 14th. MU debaters took the students to a tournament at Harvard University.  The team won several individual speaking awards at both tournaments.  The Asbury debaters met with the 2015 New York City Policy debate champion Dante de Blasio, son of the city’s Mayor, Bill de Blasio.