Debaters from six area schools participated in the tournament lively debating the topic: Marijuana Legalization for Recreational Use in New Jersey.

Representing Rutgers were students: Lauren Abruzzese, Jeffrey Manley, Andrew Lado, Brianna Chrzanowski, Kaitlin Sell, Brenna Stone, Lance Booker, and Thomas Swaymgin. Under the direction of Dr. Caputo, these students participated in two rounds of public policy debates with students from other schools. Adding to the tasks of public speaking and persuasive argument, students did not know which side of the issue they would defend until five minutes before the start of each round. Students prepared to argue both sides of the issue bringing into the debates scholarly literature, statistics, and other resources as they debated in front of an audience of students, faculty, criminal justice workers, and judges.

The Rutgers-Camden Criminal Justice Debate Team took home top school for the second consecutive year, first place team score (Brenna Stone and Lance Booker), and second place individual score (Kaitlin Sell).