The 'Eagle Times' Student Newspaper

Members of the debate squad will travel to Seaman High School for their fourth week of competition. (Photo by MB Rader)

Debate squad focuses on new season

By Abby Cunningham

October 05, 2004

Weapons of mass destruction, mental illnesses, ocean policies. These are the topics that members of the high school debate squad have argued about the past three years. As the new season starts up, the 11 debaters will add the topic of United Nations peacekeeping efforts to their already broad list.

The squad, led by coach Gail Naylor, started their season on Sept. 17 with a tournament at Washburn Rural High School. Two novice teams traveled to the tournament and ended with a combined record of three wins and seven losses.

Naylor said that the novices, which consist of two freshmen and two sophomores, are doing well despite their lack of experience.

"So far, all records indicate an average performance that we're building on to achieve excellence. All of the novices have been very open to learning debate theory and the current events of the topic all at once," Naylor said.

Emy Ladner, who is one of the novices out for debate, has many expectations for this year.

"My goals for this season are to have fun, learn as much as possible, try my hardest, and win a negative round, " Ladner stated.

Besides the four novices, there are also six second-year debaters and one senior who has been on the squad all four years, Shelley McClelland.

McClelland said that she can't wait for the opportunity to advance to state this year.

"I think we have a good chance to have success (at state) because the majority of our squad is experienced debaters," McClelland said.

She also said she is looking forward to debating this year's topic because of the relevance it has to life right now.

"I think this year's resolution is more connected to what we all face every day. Last year we debated an ocean policy that we couldn't completely relate to. This year, we are focusing on the United Nations peacekeeping operations, and everyone can see the effects it has on our nation," she said.

According to Naylor, the resolution, which states: "Resolved: That the United States federal government should establish a foreign policy substantially increasing its support of United Nations peacekeeping operations," is an appropriate topic for this time of the year.

"This is a very timely, global topic at real-world issues, which makes it extremely educational and broadens the scope of learning for each student. It may be a bit overwhelming for the novices, but we're learning about places like East Timor and the Sudan, although the research requires nearly daily updates and requires us to change strategies constantly," Naylor said.

This weekend, however, the squad won't be arguing the resolution due to the fact that they are hosting their tournament. Next week the entire squad will travel to Seaman High School for their fourth week of competition.

Debaters include McClelland, juniors Alex Oyler and Colin Wilstead, sophomores Courtney Brokaw, Christina Carter, Ashley Hanson, Donnie Hanson and Nick Miller, and freshmen Ladner, Logan Pegram and Marshall Wetta.