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10 | April & May | College News This year’s event featured seven speakers discussing various subjects surrounding the theme legacy , exploring the legislation’s impact on higher education, the limitless possibilities within edu- cation, and the promising future of education. Zach Thomas: “How Mistakes Help Students Learn ” Judy Oskam: “Why You Should Take Action - Then Figure it Out” Aitiana Sanchez-Garciaguirre: “The Legacy of Resilience” Sergio Carvajal-Leoni: “What Will your Digital Legacy Look Like? ” Omar Lopez: “Reaffirming Higher Education’s Public Purpose in STEM” Andy Bell: “Education Revolution: How AI and Joy Will Trans- form Learning” LBJ Debate Society Roars Through Spring Competition The LBJ Debate Society and the Elton Abernathy Forensics Soci- ety posted an impressive set of accomplishments and tournament victories during the Spring 2025 semester. The teams are some of the oldest student organizations on campus dating back to the Chautauqua Literary Society in 1903. Lyndon Baines Johnson competed on the team while he was a student and the team is named in his honor and that of Dr. Elton Abernathy, a former chair and director of Forensics. [12] In February, the Bobcats took First Place Overall Sweepstakes at the Texas Intercollegiate Forensics Association (TIFA) Championship , held at the University of North Texas. Texas State bested 15 Texas colleges and universities including Texas, SMU, Texas Tech and others to win the sweepstakes award. The Bobcats also won first place Debate Sweepstakes and third place Individual Events Sweepstakes. Outstanding performances came from Santiago Malpica Calleja , who finished first in Impromptu Speaking; Luke Sides and RJ Jasso , who finished first in National Parliamentary Debate Association (NPDA) debate; and Taylor Tate , who finished first in National Forensics Association-Lincoln Douglas (NFA-LD) debate. Josh Lockaby and Taylor Tate were also named to the TIFA All-State Forensics Squad. The Bobcats' first true national competition came with compet- ing in the National Online Forensics National Champion- ship . Texas State finished second in the invitational tournament featuring eighteen schools from across the nation. Texas State had a clean sweep in Prose Interpretation, with Josh Lockaby , Robert Davis , and Carlos Castro taking gold, silver, and bronze in the event. Robert Davis took gold in Poetry Interpretation, and Josh Lockaby took the gold in Program Oral Interpretation. Silver medals were awarded to Josh Lockaby in Dramatic Interpretation and Robert Davis in Program Oral Interpretation. Jakob Sals- giver and Josh Lockaby received the bronze medal in Persuasive 13 14 LBJ team with Beto O’Rourke: L to R: Wayne Kraemer, Valerie Reyes, Ashton Rios, Stephanie Burgar, Santiago Malpica Calleja, Josh Lockaby L to R: Carlos Castro, Josh Lockaby, Robert Davis, Santiago Malpica Calleja, and Jakob Salsgiver at the AFA- NST hosted by the University of North Carolina-Charlotte Luke Sides holds the second place in the nation plaque at the International Public Debate Association National Tournament 12