(this is an archive story, refer to following byline for author name)
By Kialani Siavii
There are many UIL events that are unknown to the student body simply because they are not promoted. As the UIL (University Interscholastic League) academic season is officially upon us, there is one organization that is fairly new to the high school, and that organization is debate.
Brewer high school is one of the last schools in North Texas to develop a debate program that is accessible to the students. The program is only two-years old, starting during the 2020 Fall Semester. The debate class was started by and is taught by Honors English I teacher Maci Romaine.
“It was shocking to me that Brewer did not have a debate team and felt that it was something that would be incredibly beneficial for our students,” Romaine said.
The debate class consists of 18 students and the debate UIL team consists of eight students.
“I have always wanted to be on a debate team,” junior debate member Natalie Flores said. “I never actually thought they [Brewer] would have a debate class.”
The debate class helps build students into critical thinkers, excellent communicators, and passionate lifelong learners.
“Joining the debate team has been one of the best opportunities for me,” junior debate member Arien Stehling said. “Not only has it benefited me academically but it has also opened my eyes to so many different topics of discussion.”
The debate class is a comforting place that allows the students to be open with each other and speak their minds without any negative repercussions.
The students spend the majority of their time researching information about their debate topic, which is a rigorous process that takes a few days to gather the most accurate information. After they gather the information, Romaine walks them through how to use their research to start their case. Cases are the document where the students create and organise their argument and evidence.
“I have seen incredible growth in our team particularly in the areas of argumentation and questioning,” Romaine said.
The most challenging part for Romaine has been the logistics of building a program from scratch. Another part that has been a struggle is the recruitment process, there is also the need to create curriculum and content for the class itself.
“She [Romaine] has truly proven herself to be not only a committed teacher and coach but she is so extremely supportive and understanding,” Stehling said.
The UIL academic teams are preparing for the UIL competition in March. There are usually UIL invitionals that are hosted at other schools that allow the students to compete against their peers who are in the same events. The rise of COVID has made it difficult to host in-person invitationals, this resulted in most competitions being held online.
“To prepare for UIL we have been debating against each other with past UIL debate topics,” Flores said.
Many students in the debate class plan to further their education and passion for debate by attending law school. The debate class has been the perfect stepping stone for these students to develop the basics of debating.
“My goal is to be a team that regularly competes at the state and national level,” Romaine said.
The debate class has allowed many students to discover their future careers and provided them with a platform to express themselves.
“I am very thankful for the opportunity debate has given me and I can not wait to see where the rest of my time on the team will take me!” Stehling said.