Debate Tourney Requires Spontaneity

20 raconteurs participated in the Debate Club’s 5th tournament of the year. The event was held at Monta Vista High School on November 7 and provided verbal sparing against other area schools, including Miramonte and Bentley high schools. There were 4 rounds for the novice, junior varsity, and varsity teams in the competition, which was formatted like a Parliamentary debate.

The debaters were provided their topics 20 minutes before each round began, though general preparation was done by most long before the date of the tournament. “You do a bunch of research and you read the news,” said freshman Xueyan Yuan.

“You have to be updated on current events… and hopefully, the topics they announce are the ones you have knowledge on,” added freshman debater Shannon Bonet.

Part of what it takes to be good at debate is spontaneity. “It really teaches you to be adaptable and flexible and after a while you don’t really worry about if you have info, it’s just like get it down and go,” said Bonet.

Some of the Campolindo participants have been involved in formal debate for several years. “It’s really fun. Especially transitioning from middle school, where you have notes, it was difficult at first but after a while, you kind of get used to it,” Yuan added.

Topics for debate included whether or not the USFG should ban the death penalty, whether or not war can be won, and the whether or not the US should invest in nuclear energy.

There were so many people at the debate and so few judges that “the rounds were double flighted,” said freshman debater Kyle Wu. “There were 2 flights in each round. People get split up into each flight and each flight prepares for their debate differently at different times,” he explained.

Though the debate event may have been shorthanded, the experience was positive for the club.  Most of the participants appreciate the connection they develop with their teammates as well as their opponents. “The camaraderie is definitely existent. Getting to know people in debate and having a commonality with them is great,” said Bonet.

“My partner Krish Visht and I won the trophy for winning 4 debate rounds and losing 0,” said sophomore debater Elena Koshkin.