Debate Grows as it is "Cool" to be Nerdy

From http://www.record-eagle.com/education/local_story_302094015.html

Nerds Are Back: Debate becoming popular again with students

By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS
mdrahos@record-eagle.com
October 28, 2008 12:00 am

—

TRAVERSE CITY -- Katlyn Westmaas strode purposefully down the hall in her muted brown plaid suit, toting two large tubs of research on a hand truck behind her.

Looking a lot like a lawyer going to trial, the McBain High School senior was preparing for her first debate of the season in Traverse City Debate League competition.

"I'm nervous and excited both because this is the first debate of the year and we're kind of getting back in the swing of it," said Westmaas, part of last year's Class C state championship team.

Once considered the province of the nerdy, debate is making a comeback in some area high schools where brainy now is beautiful. The proof is in the numbers: Traverse City Central High School's debate team jumped from 42 students last year to 60 this year, making it one of the largest and fastest-growing teams in the state. After it's win, state champion McBain skyrocketed from 10 students last year to 30 this year.

"No one was more surprised than I was," said McBain Debate Coach Kathy McCauliff.

The two teams will face off in league competition this year along with Traverse City West, Cadillac, East Jordan, Elk Rapids, Gaylord, Petoskey and newcomer Inland Lakes. Competition kicked off Oct. 22 at host school Traverse City Central and continues Oct. 29, Nov. 5 and Nov. 12.

This year's national policy debate topic is one on everyone's mind: increasing alternative energy incentives in the United States.

Anna Frick took debate class in the ninth grade, when students needed a public speaking class to graduate high school, then joined the Central debate team.

"The choices at my junior high were theater or public speaking or debate so a lot of smarter people ended up taking debate," said Frick, now a third year debater on the team. "It's really fun and it definitely challenges you to know a lot of stuff and use it effectively.

"Some people like me who are really enthusiastic about it are pretty nerdy, but nerdy has become less of a bad thing," she added. "We're proud of the fact that we know a lot about things and can use it effectively."

Traverse City first gained a reputation for its debaters thanks to a local tobacconist, said Jon Fitzgerald, executive director of the 200-or-so-member Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association.

"Michael Nolan not only was an outstanding debater but a fabulous debate coach and was responsible for the early success of the Traverse City school (program) when it was a single school," Fitzgerald said. "There have been lots of talented people that have come out of Traverse City."

Though the program has waxed and waned since, "it's cool to be a debater at Central," said the school's current debate coach, Carol Roehrich, who aims to put Traverse City back on the Michigan debate map. In fact, debaters win varsity letters and get their names in announcements just like athletes.

"I've really sold them on how much of a rush it is to defeat an opponent with your mind and analysis and thinking on your feet," Roehrich said. "It's every bit as satisfying as a touchdown or making a three-pointer."

Westmaas wants to study international business in college and said her debate experience at McBain will help her achieve her goals.

"It's the research factor, because in college there's a lot of that," said Westmaas, whose debate partner also is her cousin, Rachel Westmaas. "And I'm really not afraid of speaking in front of people."

Those and other debate skills are advantages college admissions boards look favorably upon, Roehrich said.

"The competition for getting into a good school is greater than ever before and the kids know debate looks good on a transcript. Debaters are good communicators, researchers and problem solvers and they're real good indicators of what kind of student a college is getting," she said.

Better yet, debate skills are skills for life, said McCauliff, whose competition sweatshirt proclaims her philosophy: "Debate is Life. The rest is just prep time."

"It's never about winning," McCauliff said. "It's all about having fun and learning to use your brain and communicating effectively."

While Michigan has been relatively stable with regard to the number of debate teams, that may change as state mandates give schools less flexibility regarding curriculum, said Fitzgerald. For instance, debate class at Traverse City Central and West is only a trimester, making it harder for the schools to compete against others with year-long debate programs and bigger budgets.

That McBain won the state championship in its division last year is a testament to the preparation schools get through competition in the Traverse City Debate League, said league president Terri Reisig, whose Elk Rapids debate team was state runner-up in 2006-07.

"They won for all of us," she said. "They showed you can be from up north, you can be small and you can win."