Practicing an argument for a tournament, junior Shawn Han goes over his material on Oct. 11.  Photo by Thomas Peterson

By Courtney Cooper

In the debate room, there’s little argument on at least one topic: LHS has one of the best debate programs in the country.

This fall, the team received a national honor from the National Forensics League when it gained membership in the Societe de 300. This means the team has achieved enough points to place within the top 1 percent of debate teams across the nation.

“It’s really exciting that we have a lot of students that are doing that and working. It’s a lot of people doing what they need to do,” debate coach Jeff Plinsky said. “It really was a sense of accomplishment.”

The honor was in recognition for work debaters did last school year, but the team is wrapping up another successful debate season this year from freshmen to seniors.

Two debaters went undefeated for eight rounds in a row: juniors Hayley Luna and Ellie Dunlap.

“Initially I wanted to be a lawyer, and I stick with it now because I like the success,” Dunlap said. “I like how it broadens my intellectual capacity.”

Although this year’s debate team consists of many returning juniors and seniors, freshman are standing out too.

“We’ve seen really good things from a number of the freshmen,” Plinsky said. “We have another half dozen who have medaled once and could easily earn a second medal in the next couple of weeks.”

It’s hard to say what that means for the future.

“Some of my finest debaters as seniors were mediocre as freshmen,” he said. “Some of my best freshmen have flamed out and had sub-par senior years.”

Debaters also learn to overcome challenges.

“Stress and trying not to blame the failures on myself,” Dunlap said. “It’s easy to do that sometimes but you’ve just got to take it with a grain of salt.”

Before going into a round, many debaters, such as freshman Michael Braman, have rituals they go through to prepare themselves.

“I talk with other debaters, ask if they know what kind of case the other team might run,” Braman said. “I talk to the advanced debaters and maybe get some advice from them, and I listen to music.”

Even though the team has had an excellent year, there are still opportunities to stand out.

“We’ve seen so many of our second year debaters take big steps this year that it is hard to single anyone out,” Plinsky said. “I’m hoping that moving into post-season we see a few take another step.  Otherwise, picking our State team is going to be difficult.”

Beyond the medals, students learn and acquire skills that they can apply in other aspects of their lives.

“Debate teaches people to research, organize their thoughts, speak persuasively and confidently, and to think quickly on one’s feet when asked pointed questions,” Plinsky said. “These skills are highly valuable to employers after high school, as well as the key to success in postsecondary education.”