Debate Club

By Eric Hsu '25 and Tim Chen '25

Article from the Winter Carnival 2024 Hearth Issue

The Debate Club is a fantastic opportunity for students to develop their debate and public speaking skills. We usually meet every two weeks over the weekend and engage in various activities designed to help students become better speakers. One of our favorite games is called Taboo, where players try to convey certain ideas to their teammates while avoiding certain words. This game helps develop quick thinking, creativity, and effective communication skills. We also frequently have practice debates, where our members are paired up and faced against another team. Other members waiting their turn will have a chance to judge their peers, allowing them to see new insights. Any flaws or potential feedback is pointed out by our coach Mrs. Pleasant so that we can learn from past mistakes and exceed next time. The motions are usually kept simple so everyone has a thorough understanding of the topic and does not need to prepare ahead of time. Our club focuses on the debate style of Parliamentary Extemporaneous. In this form of debate, debaters are paired into duos. Each team will give a total of four speeches. The partners alternate in giving speeches, with crossfires between rounds. 

For experienced debaters, the club tries to offer one monthly tournament against other schools. Our tournaments are an opportunity for our debaters to test their skills against others and enhance their abilities. For example, in October, we competed in the Tim Averill Tournament, with brackets for both novice and varsity. In one of our upcoming meetings, we are hosting a school-wide debate tournament, which is split into different brackets based on each team's skill level. This way, all participants can enjoy the experience and compete at a level that suits them.

No matter your level, the Debate Club is a perfect place to improve your speaking and debating abilities. Beginners are quickly immersed in the vast world of debate, learning all the fundamentals to become seasoned debaters. Advanced debaters are challenged with a variety of tournaments, where they will be put head-to-head with the top debaters of other schools. If you are interested, the Debate Club is still open for anyone that wants to join. Email Ms. Pleasant or talk to one of the club leaders if you are interested.