Ryan Hollis and Jason Wayne prepare for the upcoming debate.

This weekend our school’s debate team will be competing in the IHSFA State Debate in Kokomo, Indiana after over a semester of build up.

“Debate requires a lot of research.” said student Arjun Ramani, who has been participating in debate for three years, after his sister participated and encouraged him to do so as well. “You can get a more objective perspective when you are forced to clash views.”

This debate will not be like the others that the debate team participates in, as there are more judges and more competition. The debate team is working hard to solidify and polish the arguments and defense they have in the last week leading into the debate. Many members of the team have been relentlessly preparing after school so that their team is better equipped to compete come Saturday.

Sparring against teammates, critiquing each others study and arguments, and extra research are just a few ways the team is preparing for the debate.

“The state debate, in my opinion is one of the biggest (debate) events of the year, said Ramani. “If you win you get a really nice trophy and you add points to your team.” Arjun enjoys working on debate because he finds it intellectually stimulating. “I like doing in depth research and finding something that no one has before.”