For generations, policy, deals, and legacies have rested on the art of debate. Debating is a way to prove a point or share a belief using evidence. It’s also a way to persuade others to be on a certain side of a topic or listen more closely to certain ideas. Debate is common among lawyers, government officials, politicians, and even in classrooms. Debate is now an official part of the Parker community. Parker already has a variety of clubs ranging from Pickle Club to Investment Club, but due to sophomores Sloane Trukenbrod and Soraya Parke, Debate Club has revived. This brings a new type of speech and art to Parker: the art of argument.
Clubs at Parker community are a way to gather people who share similar beliefs or interests. There are already Parker clubs where opinions can be shared and discussed, so why is a debate club necessary? “There are clubs where you can talk about your opinions and discuss them, but some of those clubs discourage debating. We encourage debate that is respectful,” Sloane Trukenbrod, a sophomore and co-head of Debate Club said. “I want to start a debate club because there are a lot of diverse opinions at Parker and they all deserve to be heard.” Debate Club also allows students to “be themselves and express their opinions. This club will allow students to talk about things they are passionate about and also learn how to view the other perspective,” Soraya Parke, a sophomore and co-head of Debate Club said.
Debate skills are widely used in everyday life, whether it’s debating with family over where to go for dinner or debating internally on what color shirt to wear. Debate Club is a way to “learn how to debate properly and express [one’s]perspectives respectfully,” Trukenbrod said. Trukenbrod and Parke want Debate Club “to be a space where students can debate on topics they’re interested in, while also learning how to debate the proper way,” Parke said. Students should not feel discouraged about going to Debate Club because “we are going to debate any topics our members want to debate. This can start out very simple with mini debates and then get into very controversial topics related to politics and more,” Trukenbrod said. “We will first learn how to debate and then focus on practicing using things we want to debate.” The club heads want to achieve this by “starting off smoothly with some fun things and then as the year goes on we will dig more and more into tougher topics,” Parke said.
Debating can easily become heated and emotions can escalate quickly. There have been times, even in government settings, where debates have caused physical fights, and, violence between debaters, especially regarding controversial topics. To make sure the debates stay respectful at Parker, “we will regulate the conversation and make sure students are not interrupted or interrupting their fellow students,” Parke said. Another tactic to keep the peace is to have “our faculty advisor…Mr. Bigelow…in the room in case we need any extra help,” Trukenbrod said. “The debate heads are also fully capable of keeping the members in check if they become too aggressive.”
Debate Club is an opportunity to use students’ differences to bring them together. Students may not agree on a topic but will be able to see the others point of view. This also allows students who don’t have opinions on topics to either gain an opinion, gain understating about the topic, or learn and be a mediator for both sides. “I want to start this club because debating is something I have always wanted to do,” Parke said “Debating is something I find myself good at and I wanted to bring that to Parker so other kids with the same passion can have a space to do it.”