Students who have elected to take Mr. Ward Abel’s first-period debate class are starting the year off by researching and debating a new set of topics in order to learn about the art of public forum. The first round of tournaments covers a wide variety of subjects ranging from this year’s political elections to the United States’ position in the United Nations.

Every student has to work together with a partner to develop their arguments. This week, they will start debating in opposition to another team. These debates usually continue among students until the end of the semester. After every debate, students have the opportunity to talk about the topic as well as both of the teams’ speaking skills. 

Sophomore Jonathan Zhang, who is taking the debate class this year but is on the debate team for his second year, said, “I’m excited about this class to further improve my debate skills and help me perform better in tournaments.”