Malek Stafford named novice debate tournament winner

'Debate team brings home two big wins in recent tournaments' (1/2)

After competing against five opponents in five separate rounds, Malek Stafford, a senior computer science major from Tuskegee, Alabama, took home the title of Sunshine State Novice Debate tournament winner on Jan. 9, 2026. 

The debate was held virtually by the University of Central Florida.  

“It was an amazing experience,” Stafford said. “At first, I was nervous and didn’t know how well I would do. 

“However, once I got past the first two rounds, I felt a wave of relief come over me, and it helped with my confidence while speaking.” 

Stafford has only been debating for a year. The issues he debated about in the tournament covered a wide variety of topics.  

“A few topics I could remember were the billionaire wealth tax coming to California, the Olympics having lost their way and whether or not the new health guidelines set by RFK Jr. would make Americans healthy again,” Stafford said. 

Professor Michael Gray is a lecturer in the Hall School of Journalism and Communication. Gray is also the coach for the Trojan Debate team. 

Gray says he’s proud of Stafford’s performance.  

“I was impressed by his perseverance,” Gray said. “His first round was challenging, but he remained positive, demonstrating the strength of resilience needed to be successful in any competitive environment. 

“His confidence, organization and ability to quickly generate responses to opposition have all increased in the last year.” 

Gray also shared the strategy he teaches his debaters, like Stafford, to be successful. 

“We have a bag of tricks we practice regularly,” Gray said. “In the format we do, competitors get to choose from a list of five different topics each round. 

“I teach them to avoid topics that require them to ban or abolish policies, because advocating for reform usually wins. We also learn to lean on our individual research skills, trusting that even if we don't know about a topic, we know that we can learn a lot in the 30 minutes we have to prepare before a round. 

“Good research skills and good topic analysis gives us the advantage we need.” 

The debate team will compete in one to two tournaments during the month of February. In March, the team will face off in the national tournament.