The debate team traveled to Bowie high school for competition Sept. 20-21.
“I am so proud of our team this year,” UIL director and speech and debate coach Judith Ann McGhee said. “We’ve already seen success even this early in the season.”
Junior Cale Wheeler made it to quarter finals in Lincoln Douglas debate and placed second in Domestic Extemp. (Extemporaneous) debate.
“I’d say a strength I have is just speaking skills, being able to think on my feet,” Wheeler said. “And then weaknesses were that this tournament was TFA (Texas Forensic Association), which is a different bracket than what we usually do. So just kind of, like, adjusting to the different ways that people do things.”
McGhee said she wants all of her students to learn something new in every round they compete in.
“Every competition teaches us something,” McGhee said. “It might be a piece that’s new, or a debate argument we haven’t used before, or anything, really.”
Each year, the debate topic rotates. Senior Phoebe Rounds said these topics are more interesting compared to other years. This year’s topics include agroecology in the United States should be prioritized over industrial agriculture and the government should improve the protection of property rights in copyrights, patents, and/or trademarks.
“In the past, we’ve had a lot of, like, really generic plain text,” Rounds said. “So this year it’s going to be a lot more specific, and I think the debate will be stronger.”
Rounds has competed in debate all of her high school career, and is eager to compete in the next event.
“CX (Cross-Examination) debate is really time intensive,” Rounds said. “It takes a lot to actually get the specific parts of it. Going into my fourth year, I have a better understanding of how the debate works.”
With each competition, students gain more experience and more knowledge, preparing them for the next.
“The more they compete, the better they become in their perspective events,” McGhee said. “Learning is more important than winning.”