Up for debate: Lenape team tied for third halfway through season
When most think of high school rankings, wins and losses, sports come to mind. But a less physically competitive team is wandering around the halls of Lenape High School.
The Lenape High School debate team currently has a tied ranking for third with Moorestown and Bordentown. Eastern Regional High School is in first with an undefeated record of 8–0.
Last year, the Lenape varsity debate team won the regional championship at the South Jersey Debate League with a record of 14–2. This year, the team is halfway through the season with a record of 5–3.
According to the debate team’s co-advisor Jaime Fauver, there is a different debate topic every year. The topic, the same as the National Debate topic for the 2012–2013 season, is “the federal government should substantially increase its transportation infrastructure in the U.S.”
There are four varsity members. Two are on the affirmative team, supporting the increase of transportation in the U.S., while two members are on the negative team debating against the increase of transportation.
Fourteen junior varsity members are also on the debate team. They compete against other JV teams in the area, Fauver said.
Debate teams must have evidence supporting their argument. Finding evidence and facts can be difficult, she said.
The affirmative team’s main problem is finding evidence to support the high cost of transportation.
“A lot of it has to do with the cost of the plan. They have to justify the cost,” Fauver said, adding the students need to find ways to justify all of their debate points and back them up with facts.
According to the South Jersey Debate League’s website, judges determine the significance of the plan, if the plan can do any harm, if the present system can resolve the problem, if both sides are arguing within the “scope of the resolution” and if the affirmative plan is feasible and able to solve the problems in a reasonable amount of time. Affirmative and negative teams take turns justifying points on the issue, and each speech and cross-examination is timed.
The judges also rate each speaker for analysis, delivery and decorum.
The duties of each team and the amount of time each team has are laid out on the South Jersey Debate League’s website.
“You are kind of judged on the uniqueness of what you can come up with,” Fauver said.
Lenape’s debate team may have been champs last year, but that is only in southern New Jersey.
Fauver said no team from New Jersey has entered in the national contest. In order to compete nationally, a debate team must represent the state. But there is no competition set up between southern, central and northern debate teams.
She said after a debate competition is set up between the rest of the state, a winner can be chosen for not only the state, but that team would be able to compete on a national level.
Without the thought of competing nationally, Fauver said the varsity team is usually under a lot of pressure. A majority of varsity team members are juniors and seniors juggling multiple activities and applying for college. There is also a lot of pressure on the Lenape team since they are hosting the final debate.
“It’s an amazing group of kids that we tend to have every year. They are some of the most dedicated and interesting students,” Fauver said.
