The Debate Team is teaching a style of debate, public forum debate, to new debaters in room 251 weekly on Thursday through informational presentations before competition season starts.
Debate Team is a club dedicated to teaching, learning and improving at a style of debate called public forum debate, or PF for short. They meet in room 251 to team build, discuss strategies, create and improve arguments and perform mock debates to enhance all who participate. “[Debate Team is] a lot of fun, the students enjoy learning and teach[ing] each other,” club sponsor Catherine Boswell said.
Public forum is a competitive style of debate where teams of two, composed of a first and second speaker, go toe to toe on an issue chosen by the National Speech and Debate Association. Debaters use reasoning skills and logic to analyze complex topics, create arguments and debate them in front of judges of varying debate experience, from lay parents to long time debaters, and seek votes for their assigned side, either the affirmative or the negation.
Debating can also help people improve academically outside of debate since, not only are debaters learning facts about topics ranging from militarizing the arctic to student loan forgiveness, it can greatly improve one’s ability to critically think and analyze important issues and information. The core of debate is looking at an article or argument and picking out bits of information in support of or against your position, which can help in any class that requires large amounts of research. “[In debate,] students have to analyze complex topics and it really helps their critical thinking skills,” Boswell said.
The Debate Team involves itself with debate tournaments held inside the county to outside the county, encouraging students to sign up and participate in these competitions. The Debate Team, in the past, has sent teams representing the school to interstate tournaments such as Harvard and to intrastate competitions where they face off against other high schools within the county. “[The Debate Team] competes on the county circuit monthly and also offers opportunities to compete at national tournaments including at Harvard,” Debate Team President Aaron Tian said.
The club’s first few meetings are dedicated to teaching new members the rules of debate, helping them learn the time limits of each speech, how to conduct each speech and what the roles of the first and second speaker are. Novice debaters will learn to debate while more experienced junior varsity or varsity debaters will get a chance to review important information and refine skills. “[It’s] interesting to get an introduction to debate since it was my first time getting into it,” new Debate Team Member and freshman Abhirath Aggasanakoppa said.
The club’s current goal is to get more members and new debaters for the club through exposing their club to possible new members. They have attended the club exposition on transition day, a day where freshmen can explore and get used to the school, and they have attended the club fair on Oct. 8th with a small booth near room 251.
