After a rocky start getting involved in the cut-throat atmosphere of high school debate as a student-led club, the Debate team is stepping into a new chapter this year with big goals, new leaders and the hope to bring a competitive environment to many eager students.
Sophomore and club president Nico Less has made some changes, including a stronger focus on debate by removing the speech portion of the club and becoming a member of the National Speech and Debate Association instead of the Golden Gate Speech Association.
“We realized we were spreading ourselves too thin and wanted to focus on getting really good at one thing,” Less said. “We learned a lot as a group, and it definitely prepared us for this year.”
Less also shared how they are focusing on public forum debate, which is regarded as simpler and easier to get into rather than impromptu debate. Every few months, a new topic is released for upcoming competitions, giving the teams time to research and study. The current topic is about private information in the name of national safety.
Club treasurer and junior Ben Burgstone enjoys many topics, but feels particularly passionate about this one.
“Currently, our topic is related to whether the government [should] have access to encrypted communications, and I think that’s my favorite topic we’ve ever done,” Burgstone said. “There are really strong arguments for either side, and it’s not really something I’ve ever thought about before.”
Public forum debate requires lots of teamwork and preparation as well.
“We have to do pretty much all our own research. The only thing we don’t know going into a competition is what side we’re gonna be, so we have to prepare to argue for the supporting argument and the opposing argument,” Less said.
Burgstone and Less mentioned how the club functions by working together.
“It’s helpful to be in a club with other students so they can work together on gathering good information, and it’s fun working as a team,” she said
Burgstone explained how one of his favorite aspects of Redwood’s debate club is the community, as well as debating with the club’s members.
“My favorite part is hearing other people’s ideas and arguments and kind of learning from that, and learning from all the different sets of ideas. I find it beneficial but also very interesting and fun,” Burgstone said.
Less also mentioned how studying public forum debate has helped her beyond just debate.
“I think it’s good to learn to argue both sides to learn both perspectives, and it definitely translates well in the real world,” Less said.
Less and Burgstone both emphasized the club’s interest in competitions, something that wasn’t a focus in previous years. She pointed out that Redwood often gets compared to other schools, especially private schools, and the students and staff are committed to staying competitive by enriching the school’s opportunities
“I won’t lie, it was a really difficult start,” Less said. “It’s really hard to get into competing, especially when you don’t have an adult around who knows what they’re doing and is able to guide you through it.”
However, she also noted how she is optimistic about this year, especially with there being a lot of new interested students joining.
“Now we’re trying to expand the club, get more people involved, and a key component of that is competitions,” Burgstone said.
Less said that the interest in college is also a significant reason students get interested in debate.
“Speech and debate is a really good extracurricular to have,” Less said. “Especially at a time when there’s political polarization and division among people. Being able to argue and see both sides of an issue is really important.”
She also emphasized the importance of “debating, not arguing,” where, instead of fighting, people can have a professional and respectful conversation using logic.
“[Opinions] are interesting to navigate because anyone joining a debate club has strong opinions. Having different opinions is really helpful because it allows you to see both sides of an issue,” Less said.
According to Less and Burgstone, debate has given them many important skills that have helped them during and outside of school.
“I’m taking the AP Seminar class, and in that, we have to do a lot of information processing. Debate has helped me learn how to structure my thoughts in order to make a cohesive argument,” Burgstone said.
He reported that the club overall has a diverse group of people, thoughts and ideas.
“I feel like the club has a sense of community to some degree, [and] personally, it’s expanded my diversity of thought,” Burgstone said.
The club meets every Friday in room 205. Each meeting, they participate in activities to practice and learn debating skills like structured presentations, debate videos and practice debates.
