Over the past week, I have asked the students that Mr. Ely (E-lee) plans to take to the state debate competition a series of commonly asked questions concerning debate and the State competition. Those attending the State Debate are Neal Green, Sam Guffey, and Nick Eppler; all three have studied under the supervision and teachings of Marcus Ely who was also the technical theatre teacher in Celina High School.

These three high schoolers have worked hard throughout the year to get to where they are now and have now reached State; hopefully, they go onto State Finals. All three students agree that the process of making it to where they are now was worth everything in the end; through the endless research, countless hours spent reciting their speeches, and even afterschool practices helped them become better speakers and more knowledgeable about modern day events. The students, overall, hope to better their “understanding of critical thinking”, “improve [their] writing abilities”, along with making it to the finals in state; they are ecstatic to have made it to state with their speeches relating to modern political events and having a voice in something like this.

One of the most common fears is public speaking; Debate has become a “safe environment to practice in” without the fear of being ridiculed; this also helps with the students’ confidence for speaking in front of groups.

The competition they are going into is the Congress Debate; this simulates a congress with the students to defend and explain a bill that they are trying to pass. “Debate,” however, “is not an argument,” but rather are “discussions of arguments” and is based “ideally upon logic” and “facts to back it up.” Many things make up a credible debate including: “facts to further your credibility,” “an opponent who understands the subject,” and the ability to make others question what the discussion as a whole.