Students choose debate for many different reasons. Some do it to try it out, and some simply because they enjoy the atmosphere.
Sophomore Jade Holt explains her motivation for joining Debate.
“I like talking about topics I can actually debate about,” Holt said. “This counts as my speech credit.”
The most challenging part of the elective is Roundtable.
“We get all the students in a big circle and talk about four topics we research the night before,” Holt said.
Junior Dylan Watson talked about what was most challenging to him as well.
“The most challenging part of debate is for sure the prep work. A certain amount of prep [needs to] go into it, which includes brainstorming, researching, writing, and practicing an argument for both sides of a topic,” Watson said. “It is very thought-intensive. However, that’s not to say I don’t enjoy it, because I very much do.”
Debate continues to be a fairly popular elective and one that students love. It enhances students’ researching abilities and encourages them to see things from alternate perspectives.
“I chose debate because I like to see opposing viewpoints on a topic. While some might think that debate teaches you to only be able to see one side of an argument, what it actually does is increase your horizons,” Watson said. “It has allowed me to contemplate different perspectives on topics that I didn’t even know existed, which is probably the best part of debate.”