Sequoia Debate Team Goes Undefeated

“Debaters, do you believe the U.S. should make China re-evaluate its currency?”

Twenty minutes elapse.

DEBATE.

That’s pretty much the scenario that 's Parliamentary debaters faced Sunday at the Fall Coast Forensic League's Super Debate Tournament at Milpitas High School. Forced to draw upon their knowledge of current events, these debaters must keep their cool, gather their thoughts, and rely on their debating skills to formulate a convincing, articulated argument.

And these high schoolers definitely know how to play it cool. At the podium, they sound more like foreign policy experts than high schoolers given just 20 minutes to create a seven minute or less argument, for or against the topic.

Logan Billman went undefeated in four rounds of Junior Varsity Lincoln Douglas debate, and the teams of Julia Nash and Ellie Singer, and Aaron Jacobson and Evan Hart were undefeated in Junior Varsity Parliamentary, quite an accomplishment for a 15-member team that is just one-year-old.

Sequoia had to compete against teams that were well established, some with over 100 members.

“They did amazingly well,” said Coach Kelley O’Hern. “This is a huge accomplishment for Sequoia.”

Launching the School’s Speech and Debate Team

Amir Amerian, now a sophomore and founder of the club, entered Sequoia High seeking debate opportunities, but finding none. He said he had enjoyed his 7^th grade debates at North Star Academy and wanted to continue honing his skills in high school.

With the many budget cuts, speech and debate cuts weren’t spared the ax. So Amerian took it upon himself to spearhead a club and began recruiting members at Freshman Orientation Day and spreading the word about the club.

 “I realized debate is my passion,” he said. “I want to be on the college team, practice law after getting my degree and someday run for office.”

This dedication and pure determination is similar in many of the debaters.

Julia Neish also a sophomore, said she was first reluctant to join the team, unsure of how well she’d do. But because of her interest in becoming a lawyer and her awareness of building up a solid resume for college, Neish gave the team a try.

And after four debates with her partner Ellie Singer, she and Singer went undefeated in the Parliamentary debates at their second tournament ever.

“I just realized how fun debating could be,” Neish said.

This humble attitude is emblematic of the young team, that is primarily student run, with Amerian as the “Team Mom,” Neish laughed.

“We’re not exactly laidback, but we don’t take it too seriously to a point where it’s only about winning,” Neish said.

The team meets twice a week, once at lunch to discuss technique and fundamentals, and more one time after school for debate practice.

“We want a whole range of students to have the ability to participate,” Amerian said. “Including those who do sports as well.”

Channeling Lincoln and Douglas

Amerian was nonchalant about the difficulty of his particular debating category: the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

These debaters take an often-discussed topic like animal rights and approach it in a non-conventional angle.

“The whole point is to address a common debate and look at it through multiple lenses,” he said.

He went on to eloquently explain how animals do not have rights, drawing upon arguments from philosophers during the Enlightenment.

“Because they don’t create a social contract with each other, they don’t have rights that we can recognize,” he argued. He added another point based on the idea of natural selection.

“No species looks out for another species because it inhibits our [humans’] own survival,” he said.

He was then able to turn on a dime and argue the affirmative, that animals should have the same rights as humans.

“The idea of justice is not blinded by race, gender, age, or any factor,” he argued. “Humans create our justice system to make up for our flaws that we have as individuals so we don’t prey upon the weak.”

The invaluable skill of being able to argue both sides has kept these students open-minded in a heated political climate in which politicians are often polarized.

“In debate, you’re always listening, trying to modify and better your argument based on what your opponent is saying,” Amerian said. “It really teaches you to be a better listener.”

Neish agreed, giving an example of one of her debate topics in which she had to argue for the side that she disagreed with.

She and Singer had to present the argument that teacher tenure does more good than harm.

But after the tournaments are over, the Sequoia students can slip out of their composed demeanor and return to being themselves: high schoolers, who munched on cupcakes after Sunday’s victory.

After establishing their debate prowess, Sequoia will be hosting the Spring Coast Forensic League's Policy and Lincoln Douglas Debate Tournament on Saturday Feb. 25, 2012, with almost 500 students participating.