The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

Debate Captains Take Backseat for Underclassmen

With the first quarter of school over, the WJ Debate team has set its sights on the start of this year’s competition. Led by senior captains Leah Kraft, Catherine Liu and Omar Agha, the team looks forward to a great season. The captains are especially strong this year, after Liu finished last year with a perfect record of 10 wins and zero losses. Agha also finished the 2009-2010 season undefeated.

Not only are the captains star debaters, but the entire WJ Debate team has dominated competitions in Montgomery County for over a decade. The team has been recognized as county champions for nine years, since the 2003 season.

However, the captains agree that the life skills and assets learned from debating are more important than winning competitions.

“Many people do not understand that debate is actually art and equipment for life,” said Agha. “Winning does not matter as much as teaching [younger students on the debate team] the critical skills of debating.”

Story continues below advertisement

The other captains also agreed with Agha’s statement and believe that helping students hone their debate skills is an important part of being a captain. Solidifying this idea, both Liu and Agha did not participate in WJ Debate’s first competition this year, so as to give younger debaters a chance to practice debate in a competitive environment.

In past years, every person on the team could participate in debate competitions, so Liu and Agha would not have had to let others take their places in the debate. This year, a new rule was implemented, stating that only 16 debaters from each team could compete. After many schools protested, Montgomery County decided to reverse certain aspects of the new rule. However, the county debate league decided to still set a limit on the number of debaters in each competition.

All three captains believe that the rule was detrimental to the team.

“You should be maximizing opportunities for kids in Montgomery County to debate, not taking them away,” said Liu. “The rule was absurd.”

The new limit on team size would also have been especially problematic for WJ Debate, because WJ has the largest debate team in the county.

“[The rule] was so frustrating,” said Kraft. “We have the biggest team in the county, so it would not be fair to all the hardworking kids on the team that could not debate.”

Though most parts of the original rule have been repealed, the team believes that the rest of the policy also needs to be dismissed.

Even though the captains have no qualms about debating in front of large audiences and speaking out now, both Agha and Liu had extreme fears of speaking publicly when they were younger.

“I had a fear of speaking in middle school, and it impacted my social life,” said Liu. “However, I participated in a Socratic Seminar at school and I loved it, so I joined debate to repeat that success.”

Agha had a similar story.

“In middle school, I did not know how to speak publicly,” he said. “The debate team helped me hone my speaking skills and boosted my confidence.”

The captains want new debaters on the team to echo their success stories, and gain confidence from debating. With good morals, a star studded line up of debaters and a great coach, WJ Debate looks like they are heading for another Montgomery County championship.

0
0
Leave a Comment
Donate to The Pitch
$775
$1000
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Walter Johnson High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The Pitch
$775
$1000
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All The Pitch Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *