<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><item href="/news/2026/march/debate-team-awards.html" dsn="news"><featured>true</featured><story>news-slider</story><pubDate>03/17/2026</pubDate><title>Forensics Team Crowned State Champion</title><caption>Students celebrated a strong team performance, earning over 20 trophies.</caption><description>COD's Forensics speech and debate team was named State Champion in Community College Debate at the 2026 Illinois Intercollegiate State Speech &amp; Debate Tournament.</description><author>Jesus Cortez</author><quote/><image><img src="https://cod.edu/news/img/2026/debate-team-900x600.jpg" alt="Forensics Team students holding several of the awards they won at the 2026 Illinois Intercollegiate State Speech &amp; Debate Tournament."/></image><video/><tags><tag>Academics</tag><tag>Community</tag></tags></item>