Communication Studies

The UM Debate team hosted and moderated a UChat event in Spanish on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 on a topic that is close to the members of the team and many students on campus. The Uchat titled “Practicas Ilegales de Gobiernos Latinoamericanos” which translates to “Illegal Practices of Latin American governments” initiated a discourse on the corruption of Latin America and the source of why so many people flee these countries.   This chat provided a safe space for students to discuss the exploitation they have witnessed firsthand in their [...]

Julia Lynch and Zachary Homeijer from the UM Debate Team achieved a milestone by advancing into the elimination rounds in a national level varsity policy debate tournament at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia on Oct. 12-14.  “Advancing into the elimination rounds was extremely exciting for our team. We have spent the past year working to improve our skills so that we can be competitive at the highest level and we are so happy to finally reach this milestone,” said Lynch. For Lynch and Homeijer, who began their [...]

Of the many qualities that make a person a leader, Dewayne (DJ) Washington, a senior at the University of Miami, possesses all of them. Washington comes from Raleigh, NC, with a passion for football and numbers. While in high school, he wanted to combine his two loves to grow into someone worth noticing. One night while watching ESPN, he came across UM on ESPN’s 30 for 30. One campus tour later, Washington made the decision to attend The U.  Washington came in as business and finance law major, noting "I always [...]

Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. There are more than 16,000 chapters of Toastmasters worldwide. One of the most unique chapters is in the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, Oregon. Since 2004, inmates in this maximum-security prison have developed speaking and critical thinking skills through their participation in the organization. Their activities include debate training from the debate coach at Lewis & Clark College and participation in competitive debate. The penitentiary also hosts the only intercollegiate/institutional [...]

A language barrier can prevent someone from understanding you in the simplest of situations leaving you frustrated, anxious, and sometimes even ready to give up. For Melody Li, a sophomore who moved to the U.S. from China to pursue a bachelor’s in Marine Science and Biology at the University of Miami, learning English as a second language gave her the opportunity to attend a college outside of her country, but left her feeling nervous conversing with peers.  "It was an easy choice,” Li said of selecting to attend UM. “It's [...]

Tianyi Xu traveled across the globe to exercise her passion for meaningful research. She found her perfect fit at the University of Miami School of Communication. Now completing her last semester, graduation marks the next step in advancing her passion for family and computer-mediated communication research. Xu’s interest in bettering communication within families undergoing difficult circumstances grew from personal experience. “I started wondering if family communication patterns acted as a buffer or something that could worsen people’s conditions during stressful events, for example, serious illness,” said Xu. “Specifically, I know [...]

Twenty-three years after experiencing a brutal civil war which led to a genocide that took the lives of a million innocent people in a period of 100 days, the nation of Rwanda is a new country, rebuilding itself with a remarkable story of overcoming its past. In order to help raise awareness about the genocide, to celebrate the importance of civil discourse through its practice, and to create a cross-cultural experience enabling American students and those from Rwanda to build understanding and networks of empathy and friendship, the young people [...]

The UM Debate Team traveled west this weekend, with the British parliamentary team competing at the University of Denver and the policy team competing at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.   The Parliamentary team finished out of the award rounds, but competed well against outstanding competition including the University of Alaska, Loyola University Chicago, the US Air Force Academy, and Clemson University. Anna Heinzen competed in her first intercollegiate debate tournament with partner Kerra Masso, and Evan Aldo and Artem Sviridov also represented the U. The policy team had [...]