Debaters Take First Place in Online Season

Taking first place in this debate season, the Browning Debate Team has demonstrated outstanding results throughout multiple categories due to the efforts of the team members. The strong results are a result of the hard work that all of the members have put in.

Jake H. ’22 competes in an online New York City Urban Debate League competition, Feb. 2021. This year, the Debate Team placed first overall this season!⁠ Out of 394 competitors this season, each of our debaters placed in gold, silver or bronze as well as qualified for the State Championships, which Browning will attend for the first time as a whole team on April 9-10. ⁠ (Photo: Jessica Klingbaum).

“Our Debate Team leaders run all the debate meetings, and they are given a lot of autonomy in terms of what they want to do in each meeting,” Melodie Ting, Director of Educational Technology and coach of the debate team, said. “Everyone needs to contribute something to the team for the team to run well.”

The success of the team is largely the result of the amount of effort the students put into their preparation for the tournament. By investing their time into the research of their topics, the students are able to put forward such strong standings even though they are competing with teams that are more experienced. 

Dr. Ting believes her role is to make sure the students get what they need when they need it. The debate team heavily relies on the participation of the students to move forward. 

Debate team members are self-reliant while preparing for tournaments or researching their assigned topics. Student leadership is significant as it facilitates the communication between students and ensuring that everyone is putting in their best effort. This year, there were multiple student leaders who allowed the work to be better distributed among themselves. All student leaders bring their own opinions and strengths to the table that contribute to the success of the team as a whole.

Members who are willing to dedicate their time to the debate team demonstrate the outcome of their effort through their results. 

“The amount of effort that a student puts in will be how well that student performs,” Nathaniel M. ‘22 said. “All of our members put in the effort, so we see the results.”

Even though the Debate Team is fairly recent in comparison to other teams, it has seen great success. Students are committed to the team and put in the effort to allow the team to do well. 

“My favorite part about debate is walking into the room before the round starts. When you walk into the room and the other team comes in, you do not know what is going to happen. You get this feeling of exhilaration and excitement that I don’t think you can get anywhere else.” Nathaniel M. ‘22 said.

Students are motivated to put their best effort forward to prepare for their tournaments. They believe that since their team is nearly completely student led, they are able to stay motivated about the preparation of material as the student leaders are taking charge. Due to the efforts of several team leaders, students are led by example to try their best. The debate team’s success is due to the hard work of the members of the debate team.

Now, the group will focus on trying to carry over this recent success to the State Championships in April.