Hellenic American University Debate Team
Members of the university’s Debate Team at the Rollins College campus in Florida
Welcome to our team!
The Hellenic American University Debate Team offers Athens campus students the chance to hone their critical thinking, teamwork, and public speaking skills. Through closely coached weekly practice sessions and competitive debates with teams from other schools in Greece and the US, members improve their ability to craft sound and persuasive arguments and deliver them with confidence and clarity. The team serves as well a broader mission to help foster open dialogue and reasoned debate within the broader university community.
Recent events: The Great Debate at Rollins College, Florida (November 2024)
The 2024 Hellenic American University Debate Team earned a victory against their counterparts from Rollins College in the Great Debate that Rollins hosted at their campus in Orlando Winter Park, Florida on November 13th.
This was the team’s second appearance at the Rollins College Great Debate. Last year, team members Androniki Fili, Adriana Gounalaki and Jonathan Cacatian (BSI ’24). More...
Current team
This year’s team, who are also all founding members, is made up of
- Maro Samara (BAELL ’28)
- Angelos Varotsis (BSPSY’28)
- Adriana Gounalaki (BSPSY ’24, MSSHM ’26)
- Androniki Fili (BAELL ’25)
- Patseli Ioanna (BAELL ’25)
- Alexandros Anastasiadis Moutinho (BAELL ’25)
- Fani-Konstantina Papanastasiou (BAELL ’27)
They are co-coached by provost Dr. Kaniklidou and Stephen Bacigal, Director of Institutional Research and Assessment and adjunct faculty member.
Training and practices
The team meets, usually on-site, once a week throughout the academic year. During these practice rounds, team members receive training in argumentation, critical thinking, and research skills. They also prepare, deliver, and defend positions in peer-to-peer practice debates on a range of ethical issues, current events, and interdisciplinary topics. Team members also read and discuss a set of fundamental texts that provide an understanding of the main philosophical frameworks used in debates, such as utilitarianism, duty ethics, and social contract theory.
How to join
Participating in the Debate Team is a great way to improve your research, critical thinking, and public speaking skills and at the same time be part of a friendly, supportive group of students who share an enthusiasm for discussing important ideas.
If you are interested in joining the team or just want to find out more about what the team is all about, contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..