A-State Debate Team Wins First Place At Arkansas Student Congress

11/17/2025

JONESBORO - The Arkansas State University debate team recently participated in the annual Arkansas Student Congress, sweeping the competition by placing first and earning over a dozen individual awards.

The team received first place in best overall Senate delegation and earned 22 individual speaking and parliamentary awards. They also received three distinguished awards, had students elected to two offices, and saw three bills passed into the Laws of Congress.

Three bills placed first, second and third after being recommended to the Arkansas General Assembly.

Achieving first place, a bill that would prohibit the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement without a warrant to protect Arkansans and their right to privacy was written by Lesleigh Sullivan and Lynley Polsgrove.

Placing second, a bill recommended to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education would cap tuition increases at public universities. It was written by Jacqueline Berckefeldt and Kami Newman.

Placing third, a bill recommended to the Arkansas General Assembly, which would create a four-day school week for public schools in the state. It was written by Rocco Hicks and Cate Ford.

"I truly was so excited for our team to win first place and win numerous individual awards, including all three best bill awards, especially since we have been working so hard the past few weeks in practice. It also was several students' first time at ACTAA Student Congress, and seeing how successful they were was inspiring," said Sullivan.

Sullivan, a senior criminology major from Little Rock, received superior awards in caucus, committee, floor debate and parliamentary procedure. In addition to serving as Senate clerk and Committee Chair on Foreign Relations, she was recognized as the Arkansas State University Best Delegate, received the Mary Melekian Richardson Award for Highest-Scoring Delegate in the Senate, and was named Best Overall Delegate.

Rocco Hicks, a senior political science and communication studies major from Prattsville, received Excellence in Caucus and Superior in Committee awards, Superior in Floor Debate, and Superior in Parliamentary Procedure.

Samantha Hagler, a senior communication studies major from Wynne, received the Excellent in Parliamentary Procedure award, Superior in Caucus and was elected the Republican Party leader.

Kami Newman, a sophomore communication studies major from Clarksville, received the Excellence in Committee award, Superior in Floor Debate, and Superior in Parliamentary Procedure.

Allison Frazier, a freshman communication studies major from Russellville, was elected the Committee Clerk on Finance and awarded the Superior in Caucus, Excellence in Committee, Excellence in Floor Debate, and Excellence in Parliamentary Procedure.

Cate Ford, a senior communication studies major from Brookland, received the Excellent in Caucus and Excellent in Committee award.

Jacqueline Berckefeldt, a senior psychology major from Melbourne, was recognized for Excellence in Committee and Superior in Parliamentary Procedure.

Lynley Polsgrove, a senior psychology major from Brookland, placed first in the Excellence in Caucus category at the annual competition.

Abigail Mock, instructor of communication studies and debate team coach, said the team is leaving its mark while also working on legislation they feel is impactful and important to them.

"I believe this win shows A-State Debate's drive to recruit incoming students with and without debate experience to come and learn persuasion and argumentation. Not only did our students win at the collegiate level, but they were also able to connect with high schoolers all across the state over the course of the tournament. They are working to build a reputation for A-State Debate that supports all students and leads with education," said Mock.

For Sullivan, the knowledge and opportunities she found on the team helped her discover her voice. She plans to amplify her voice as she heads to law school following graduation.

"I have attended this tournament three times and I could have never expected just how successful I would be this year. This tournament was my final debate tournament as I graduate in May and winning best overall delegate really made me feel like I have made an impact on the organization and I also loved looking back to see just how much I have grown in this activity," said Sullivan.

A-State Debate Team at the Arkansas State Capitol with their awards. First row: Lesleigh Sullivan; second row: Samantha Hagler, Cate Ford; third row: Lynley Polsgrove, Jacqueline Berkefeldt; fourth row: Kami Newman, Rocco Hicks and Allison Frazier.