NAU, ASU and UofA students share heartfelt stories, debate current issues at Regents Cup competition in Flagstaff

Editor’s note: Click on links to see video clips from the event.

By AmigosNAZ

FLAGSTAFF — In one classroom, an emotional roller coaster with students in the space of 10 minutes baring their souls and sharing the highs and lows of their personal experiences to total strangers.

In another room, students debated on the efficiency of having the U.S. education system controlled by officials in Washington, D.C, versus an educational system guided by state officials who understand the unique cultural, economic, financial and social challenges facing their local students

So went the first two sessions of Regents’ Cup 2025, a competition pitting students from Northern Arizona University, Arizona State and the University of Arizona, held on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at NAU.

The Regents’ Cup 2025, presented by the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR), rotates annually among the three universities, features 48 students who compete to win scholarships ($15,000 first place, $12,000 second place and $5,000 third place).

“The annual event celebrates free speech and civil discourse,” event officials said. “Students spend several months preparing for the event and earn course credit at their university for their work.”

Prior to the competition, NAU President José Luis Cruz Rivera welcomed participants to the event via a video message. Students also shared their preparation for the event in a video.

In Round 1 of the storytelling session (with the theme “Experiencing the Social Contract), one student from the University of Arizona talked about how she became a victim of circumstance during a criminal investigation of her fellow law enforcement officers who were involved with a fight with civilians outside a bar in Tucson. The fight happened unbeknownst to her when she had left the room and the officers had gone outside. Even after she was driven away from the bar, her fellow officer didn’t tell her about the fight. After questioning by detectives, the officers faced lower level charges for the fight (six months in jail time). However, she was charged with a Class 3 Felony, hindering prosecution and time in prison. After two years in the judicial system, which included a night in jail, all charges against her were eventually dropped.

Another student from Arizona State University talked about first learning about the Social Contract theory at school and how it related to her family at home. She also talked about how her parents expected their daughter to get married. However, that plan took an unexpected turn when she announced to the family that she fell in love with another student — a female. What followed was initial heartache, confusion and eventual reconciliation.

The final storyteller in the opening session talked about facing often life-threatening obstacles as he attempted to leave is homeland in Nigeria to eventually become a student at NAU. As a high school teacher, he was stopped by the government’s Anti Robbery Squad, physically assaulted, had his laptop smashed with all his college coursework, and finally, fearing for his life, he eventually was forced to turn out bank account password, losing money he was saving for a college education in America. However, he found a way to preserve and attend NAU.

Following the storytelling presentation, a panel of judges chose the winner of the session, a final decision they said was very challenging.

One of the judges, Steve Vargas of W.L. Gore Associates Inc., said this was his first time judging the event.

“I knew the stories would be amazing, but they were powerful and unexpected actually, even though I anticipated the emotions. What an experience. Incredible stories.”

State Rep. Cesar Aguilar, representing central west Phoenix, was also a judge for the storytelling event.

“It was very difficult (to judge). I think they all had really great stories, very powerful stories, a little emotional in some of them.”

Prerana Sannappanavar, the higher education reporter for the Tucson Daily Star, said “…The storytelling was so powerful and the students are really confident.”

Students also took part in an Oxford-style debate with former Coconino County Manager Steve Peru serving as moderator. In the second round, students discussed the merits of federal versus state control of the nation’s education system in the session “States have too much authority in education.”

Students in the affirmative   position and the opposition   position to the statement then spent the session making their case.

District 2 Supervisor Jeronimo Vasquez, who served as a judge in the earlier round 1 debate, said judging “…was a challenge because they both had great skills and great passion and so it was a back and forth and it really came down to little things like, the opportunities that were missed that I thought they should have taken.”

More than 50 judges from Arizona and nationwide participated in the competition.

“The judges represent a diverse range of backgrounds and professions, including the business community, policymakers, academics, elected and appointed officials, and media professionals,” said event officials who stressed the importance of free speech on the campuses.

“Arizona’s public universities are recognized as leaders in free speech and expression by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE),” they said. “This past fall, the three state universities ranked among the top 30 nationwide in the 2025 College Free Speech Rankings.”

Following the event, NAU reported it had its best finish ever at the sixth annual event with Courtney Hoffman and Karli VanderMeersch winning the Oxford debate competition and Hayder Alainizi taking third place in storytelling. 

See the entire story here:

The NAU Review:

• NAU Team has best-ever-finish at Regents’ Cup

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Local Latino leaders meet with Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR)

FLAGSTAFF — Prior to Regents’ Cup 2025, local Latino leaders were invited to attend a meeting in Flagstaff with members of the Arizona Board of Regents.

Those leaders were able to sit at tables with individual regents to share information on the financial and social challenges facing local Latino students, the impact Northern Arizona University is having on the local community and the challenges these Hispanic Serving Institutions are facing during a time when universities nationwide are being directed to eliminate diversity and inclusion programs or face federal funding cuts.

ABOR officials said they will compile report based on the meeting and plan to have ongoing communications with local leaders on these and other issues.

“As we move forward, we are committed to continuing the conversation and exploring innovative solutions to drive meaningful change. We are eager to share the outcomes of our discussion with the broader community and look forward to your continued involvement,” Cecilia Mata, Chair Arizona Board of Regents and Chad Sampson, Executive Director Arizona Board of Regents, said in a statement.

“In the coming week, we will follow up on the action items discussed at our dinners in Tucson, Phoenix and Flagstaff. These include strengthening partnerships and communication between the university system, community colleges and K-12 schools; exploring innovative financial aid and savings programs; and leveraging community leaders and resources to better serve Hispanic and Latino students and their families. We remain dedicated to addressing these challenges and building upon the strong foundation of support that exists across our state.”