Project Soapbox Results

Today the Speech & Debate Colloquium held its first Project Soapbox public speaking contest, sponsored by Mikva Challenge. The theme for the contest was, "What is the greatest injustice facing young people today?" There were many, many excellent speeches and the top three were:

1st Place - Joseph Raya
2nd Place - Christine Davis
3rd Place - Chloe Jackson

Honorable mentions go to Miranda Ploss, Madinah Patterson, Akeem Forbes, and Anoribe Nwannewuihe. Our top three speakers will be competing in the 1st Annual Justice Anne Burke Invitational Public Speaking competition in March.



Joseph Raya - 1st Place


Joseph Raya & Christine Davis
(Chloe went early to the pep rally)

Scenes from Tournament I

Looks like Madinah didn't get enough sleep after her birthday party!




Last minute Core File review



You would not believe what this girl said in that last round!




So then, I totally pulled out my disad and completely killed her case!




If this is what our competition is going to be like, this is going to be too much fun!

Grade Checks and Eligibility

At the end of the month, report cards will be coming out. This means that all debaters must submit their report cards for eligibility. There are two minimum requirements to remain eligible for debate.

1. Minimum unweighted GPA of 2.0
2. Failing no more than 1 course

Any student failing to meet these requirements will be ineligible to compete for the entire 2nd trimester. 2nd Trimester report cards will be evaluated to determine eligibilty for the third trimester, including the City Championship and State tournaments. Grade check forms are being distributed to debaters to check on grades now. Students failing any classes must discuss that grade with his/her teacher to determine if there is any work that can be made up to improve the course grade.

Academics is and will always take priority over debate.

Lincoln-Douglas Topic for November & December

The National Forensic League recently released the November-December topic for Lincoln-Douglas debate.

Resolved: In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote.

“Nationally, an estimated 5.3 million Americans are denied the right to vote because of laws that prohibit voting by people with felony convictions. This fundamental obstacle to participation in democratic life is exacerbated by racial disparities in the criminal justice system, resulting in an estimated 13% of Black men unable to vote.” This information comes from an organization called The Sentencing Project. The fundamental question of this debate is, "do felons give up all of their civil liberties when they have been convicted of a felony?"

This does not mean only those who are in jail for a felony. In many states, once a person has been convicted of a felony they lose their right to vote in that state as long as they reside in that state. Does a convicted felon lose a fundamental civil liberty even if he has served his debt to society.

This promises to be a "law and order" kind of justice debate. We will be debating this resolution at the Kelly High School Bustamante Classic on December 5th & 6th.

New bulletin board

The debate team has taken ownership of the red bulletin board right outside Room 220. This will be used to post important dates, upcoming seminars and events, and other information such as current top team and top speaker. Debaters should make a point of checking the board in case they missed anything via e-mail.

Tournament II - In the Nest

Now that the opening tournament is completed, its time to focus on Tournament II, the 10th annual Lindblom Convocational. This is a very important tournament since the debaters will be looking to qualify for the Conference and City Championship tournaments. This will also be the first Lindblom tournament to host both Policy and Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Practice sessions for the remainder of this month will involve researching and writing new case elements and mock debates.

One last note about Tournament I. The team would like to thank Mr DeBruin and Mr Woods for volunteering their time to be judges. Your support of the team is greatly appreciated.

National Forensic League points

After the first tournament, our debaters began earning points towards membership and degrees in the National Forensic League (NFL). Here are the point totals for our team so far.

Joe Raya - 24 pts
Madinah Patterson - 24 pts
Fatimah Muhammad - 24 pts
Mariah Dixon - 24 pts
Olivia Weathers - 21 pts
Brianna Frison - 21 pts
Reggie Benton - 18 pts
Taylor Wills - 18 pts

In all likelihood, all of these debaters will earn their first degrees, the Degree of Merit at the Lindblom Tournament. Good luck and great job!

Tournament I Results

With our first tournament completed, the Lindblom Debate Team is off to a great start. Collectively, our team finished 13-3 and received numerous awards.

Team Awards
Joseph Raya and Madinah Patterson
3rd Place Team, 4-0

Fatimah Muhammad and Mariah Dixon
4th Place Team, 4-0

Brianna Frison and Olivia Weathers
5th Place Team 3-1

Individual Awards
Brianna Frison - 3rd Place Speaker
Taylor Wills - 8th Place Speaker
Olivia Weathers - 10th Place Speaker
Reggie Benton - 11th Place Speaker
Joe Raya - 12th Place Speaker

This was an exceptional performance by the team. Now they are looking forward to the Lindblom home tournament on October 31st and November 1st.