Sutton Caba-Bodie ’24
EE Student Activities Reporter
Are you someone interested in learning more about debate or an experienced debate member? Or maybe someone looking to develop their argument/synthesis skills? Well then, you’ll definitely like the Debate Club, Trumbull High’s newest student activity.
When a student reached out to Ms. Moriello, a teacher here at Trumbull High, about starting up a debate club, Ms. Moriello took charge. She spoke with previous advisors for debate and learned how much students had previously enjoyed it and the topics they explored.
“Debate is a really invigorating way to think about things”, said current member of the Ethical Debate Club, senior Ayushi Singh. “I’ve found myself becoming much more aware of the issues in the world and becoming more understanding of different viewpoints, and I think that’s incredibly important in the age we live in today”.
While similar to the Ethical Debate club in the fact they both debate, there are some fundamental differences. For example, while the ethical debate club covers real life ethical issues and a need to choose a side that they think is correct and argue it accordingly, the debate club covers a wide range of topics, such as current news, and argues both the positive and negative oppositions of a topic. In addition, in debate tournaments, students are provided with specific resources to create their arguments.
Ms. Moriello states that the overall goal of the Debate Club will be to “improve our abilities to create an argument supported with logical thinking and also develop our public speaking skills”.
Meetings occur weekly/biweekly on Thursdays in A26 and always start with an activity that tests speaking and/or listening skills in order to strengthen the ability to speak with confidence and listen effectively.
In addition, Ms. Moriello highlights how these skills also serve as a way to get to know others and work on public speaking. After the initial activity, the rest of each meeting differs – topics have ranged from debate, parliamentary format, and tournament days. The next few meetings will focus on reviewing previous debate tournament topics, practicing formatting arguments, and working towards a guided debate and then a real debate to simulate tournament day.
Ms. Moriello hopes to bring the Debate Club back to Trumbull High School for those that have previous debate experience and also for new members that want to join! She recommends that if you feel unsure about joining, attend at least one meeting and feel free to bring a friend. There are over 30 students with varying degrees of debate experience, creating an environment where everyone can learn something new.