Lincoln-Douglas Debater Takes First Prize at State Championship

• Name: Deep Dheri, 16
• School: Junior at Montville Township High School.
• Award: Won the state championship in the Junior Varsity division of Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Dheri bested over twenty contestants to take home the top trophy in his division. According to Dheri, the topic up for debate this year was “Private military firms and whether they should be used abroad by the United States to pursue our military objectives.” The MTHS team was provided with the topic one month prior to the March 3^rd and 4^th competition, giving them an opportunity to research all sides of the issue. To win the championship, Dheri had to debate both sides of the resolution through five preliminary rounds, several quarter and semi-final rounds, and a final debate. “I was just utterly shocked,” said Dheri about learning he had won. “Because I just didn’t expect to win states seeing how…I didn’t have that much time to prepare because I was busy studying for mid-terms, and tests, and stuff along those lines. So, I didn’t really feel I was as prepared as everyone else would be going into the tournament…. It was just a surprise.” Dheri’s win helped the Montville Township High School Forensics team to place second overall in the state.
• Forensics: “Forensics is just, I think, the best activity one can do in high school simply because it’s right for anybody,” said Dheri. He pointed out there are forensic activities in acting, poetry, extemporaneous speaking, mock congress, two on two debate, and “one on one debate, like Lincoln-Douglas…. Anyone, all types of people, can do forensics so you really get a chance to meet all the different people in your grade and other grades.”
• Mentor:  Dheri joined the forensics team as a sophomore. “Initially, I played football in the fall and did wrestling in the winter,” he explained.  “But, football was, just simply, I was not getting enough out of it for the time I was putting in. So, I asked my friend what I could do, and he told me that I should join the forensics team. So, I joined and, initially, I fell in love with it. I actually stopped wrestling to pursue forensics.” Though it is not required, Dheri practices after school every day and attends every competition in order to be the best he can be at debate. He also mentors other forensic team members. “I think the upperclassmen, when I first started to learn debate, they just explained it to me so well, that I could further my learning on debate on my own,” he said. “They taught it to me so well that I am able to have the success that I am having now.”
• Favorite Thing about Forensics: “Just conversing with the people.” said Dheri.  “And then, debating is a very fun activity.”
• Pressure: “There can be a lot of pressure in forensics…but, I kinda like that pressure part, unlike most people, because it actually makes you better as a person, in that you learn how to deal with pressure. So, it makes you better developed for life.”
• Activities:  Dheri is a volunteer at St. Clare’s Medical Center. He also participates in the Academic Decathlon, taking ten different types of competitive tests on subjects ranging from arts, to math, to chemistry. Additionally he is an active member of the Future Business Leaders of America and the Key Club service organization. In the spring he runs track.
• Favorite Subjects: “I love chemistry and economics,” said Dheri.
• Possible Career: “I am leaning towards a business undergrad. Something along the lines of finance, banking, or economics,” he explained. “And then, for graduate school I am most likely going to go law.”
• Philosophy: “Try as hard as you can in any activity you are involved in, because, if you are not trying as hard as you can, then that activity simply is not worth doing.”

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