Seawolf Debate Team hosts high school tournament

On April 17 and 18, 34 high school students from seven Southcentral Alaska high schools took part in a debate tournament conducted in the world universities style of debating. Over the course of the weekend, students engaged each other on such controversial topics as whether bailouts are an appropriate response to economic crisis and whether the Bush Administration should be prosecuted for war crimes. At the conclusion of four preliminary rounds, the top four teams advanced to the final round of competition.

In the championship round, the debaters from Chugiak, Homer and South Anchorage High Schools discussed whether the United States should occupy Somalia to solve the piracy problem. The opening government team, from Homer High School (Kelsey Waldorf, senior and Bailey Richards, junior) discussed the economic consequences of piracy and proposed that the United States send military troops into Somalia while also engaging the government diplomatically. The opening opposition team, from South Anchorage High School (Austin Heyroth and Kenneth Hubbell, sophomores) argued that the threat of piracy is overblown and that a military occupation would have enormous economic costs, and would ultimately be a quagmire. The closing government team, from Homer High School (Emerson Quarton and Ben Blue, juniors) continued to stress the importance of piracy and began to build the case that American occupation was a necessity. The closing government team, a hybrid from Chugiak High School (Esther Smith, junior) and South Anchorage High School (Jesse Lehman, sophomore) focused on the turmoil a U.S. occupation would bring about while also stressing how it would harm the Somali people, as well.

Ultimately, the five-member adjudication panel, comprised of current and former Seawolf debaters, determined that the closing government team from Chugiak/South High Schools did the superior job of debating and named them the tournament champions. Both members of the championship team will receive a $250 merit-based scholarship for academic achievement in debating. In addition, the tournament's top speaker also earned a $250 scholarship. This year, a member of the championship team won that award: Esther Smith.

For more information on the Seawolf Debate Team, please contact Steve Johnson (907) 786-4391) or Shawn Briscoe (907) 786-4354). You may also visit the team's Web site for more details.