When one first thinks of Debate Club, what first comes to mind lacks nuance: arguments, debates, disagreements, discussions, and more. However, in Debate Club, they hold casual debates about current topics.
Debate Club is similar to Socratic seminars that students do in English, but they actually include a topic someone may be interested in and use people’s own opinions. The club makes students aware of what’s happening around the world, and the club gets to hear others’ opinions on this recent news. Being open-minded is very important to this club, as it strives to make sure nothing gets out of hand. If anything were to get out of hand, the club leaders will step in and de-escalate the situation.
“I feel like I can express my opinions in this club without feeling shut down or invalidated,” freshman Belen Novelo said.
Debate Club is a casual debate where everyone can speak their mind without feeling judged. Someone will disagree with another’s opinion, but they will not yell and say that anybody is wrong. Some of the topics will generate arguments, but they will be kept calm. Everyone is included and permitted to speak about their beliefs. Debate Club helps students feel confident about their responses and obtain evidence to support them.
“We do fun debates with each other, and I feel like I’m able to pursue my interest in debating there,” freshman Suhani Kamal said.
With five meetings complete, there is food, drinks, and topics that everyone gets to vote on. Students will get into small groups, and then talk with the entire club about the topic chosen for that lunch. Hostility is something that tends to happen when people discuss certain topics, but the club intends to move past it and turn toward disagreeing respectfully. The club feels very strongly about sharing everyone’s ideas and building confidence. This can be very helpful to people, speaking up in class, and even one’s ability to socialize. There are so many cases where people can be afraid to speak up, and this is where Debate Club comes in handy. The club can help anybody feel more confident, social, patient, and open-minded.
“Debate helps me talk to people and get different points of view on topics,” said freshman Lindsay Miller.
