Hillcrest High School debate team
Editor’s note: This is the first post in a new series, spotlighting the work of Hillcrest High School journalism students. All content was created and submitted by the students themselves and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Advocate. Preston Hollow editor Elizabeth Barbee reviews the pieces and occasionally edits them for clarity. Contact her at ebarbee@advocatemag.com.
Hillcrest debate swells in size and confidence
By Jake Steele, editor-in-chief of Hillcrest High School’s student paper
After years of disbanding and reforming sporadically, it seems that the debate team has returned to stay under the direction of Christina Adebowale, who teaches special education math inclusion and coaches debate on the side. This is her second year at the helm, and the team has a promising number of new members who have joined this year to try their hand at a debate competition. The team is split up into pairs of two for the competition, and each pair will be matched with another pair from around the district based on skill level.
“This year, we actually had quite a few pairs,” Adebowale said. “They are still teaming up, but it looks like we are going to have roughly 10 to 12 teams if everyone participates, and that’s huge because last year we only had three pairs. I’m really excited about where this is going.”
Adebowale is aided in her efforts by new assistant coach Maxwell Miller, who coached debate for a year and mock trial for two years at his previous school in Jackson, MS. Together, they have already begun preparing the teams for the format of competition, which consists of each pair being assigned a stance on the theme of the competition before each round, either affirmative or negative. The pair must then use the evidence, which is independently researched at the varsity level and provided to teams at the JV level, to compile a speech asserting their position, and then must give a rebuttal to cast doubt upon the opponents stance. Parts of the rounds allow the pair to work together, but other portions force them to debate on their own. This year’s theme is “The United States Government should substantially curtail domestic surveillance.”
“We will be doing policy debate or CX for short,” Miller said. “It is the most grueling form of competitive debate. Policy is very evidence driven and you have to be not just able to think on your feet but quick to locate and present evidence that backs up your side.”
The team is led by its only two returning seniors, president Gregory Aguinaga and vice-president Jose Garcia. As the more experienced members of the team, they have moved into leadership positions in order to help teach the less experienced pairs the ropes. The subjectivity of the competitions can be intimidating, as pairs will not know if they are arguing in the negative or the affirmative until about 15 minutes before they begin debating.
“What I enjoy about debate is that there is no real right or wrong answer to a case,” said Garcia, a senior. “Rather it is more about how prepared and knowledgeable one is about the topic they are presenting that typically wins the debate.”
The team is still accepting new members and encourages anyone who is interested to stop by a meeting and give debate a chance. They plan on attending about six competitions this year, and the more pairs representing our school, they say, the better. They will soon begin the process of scrimmaging other schools and, until then, the pairs will practice their arguments against one another. In addition to honing their arguments about government surveillance, the debaters are simultaneously sharpening their own abilities.
“It helps you develop into someone who can see any side of an issue,” Miller said. “It will make you sound impressive. Not just to colleges, and employers, but just in general people will notice that you speak well. You are really challenged to thinking critically and be creative in taking any angle possible.”
