Writers: Rowan Mulrooney and Zoya Nayak
What is debate?
As part of the MSHSL, MPA participates in a Debate program. Debate is a class open to 9-12 grade students and is a structured competition based on a resolution. A debate tournament will involve two sides: one in support of the resolution (affirmative) and one opposing the resolution (negative). Each year, two topics are picked, which include one main topic for the state tournament.
Who is Ms. Murr?
Ms. Murr is a teacher at MPA who works simultaneously as the school’s debate coach and history teacher. She has been teaching and coaching debate at Mounds Park Academy for 17 years. Her current debate coaching has been heavily influenced by her debating years in high school where she worked extremely hard. She initially started her coaching and teaching at Eagan High School alongside Mr. Vergin, a resident history teacher and past Mounds Park debate coach, which led her to start her coaching career at MPA. Her debate related career, whether coaching or debating herself, has lasted since high school and her immense impact through teaching and debating continues until this day.
What are the three best tips for the night-before debate?
Tournaments within debate typically occur on Saturdays, with Fridays being the night to scramble to add last minute adjustments to cases and to further the knowledge of the topic. Regarding this, we asked Ms. Murr what the three best tips are for the scrambling Friday nights before debate tournaments. The first tip she expressed was to get good sleep. Getting good sleep is imperative for debate success the next day with debate skills requiring quick and critical thinking. Being well rested is the first key to success in order to do well in debate. The second tip Ms. Murr touched on is to make sure you have properly communicated with your debate partner. Debate is not only encompassed by one’s internal reasoning and speaking skills, but the collaboration between a partner and one’s combined debate skills. Because debate requires a team effort, communication is key, and touching base between debate partners is vital to be on the same page for the tournament. The third tip Ms. Murr suggested is to make sure debaters have integrated all of the new evidence and updates regarding the topic. Evidence plays a key role within the round, whether within the constructive or within the first rebuttals, but it is especially imperative to be updated on the topic in order to have the utmost knowledge. Another reason to integrate all of the new evidence is to be able to make the best arguments during the round. Realizing after the round is over that there was perfect evidential piece for a rebuttal is not a good feeling and can be combatted by reviewing all of the evidence before hand.
What is the current topic?
The current topic revolves around AUKUS, a security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. AUKUS is United States foreign policy directed towards China, and is an important vehicle for young debaters to learn more about US foreign policy. AUKUS prompts critical thinking skills by forcing debaters to analyze how impactful and beneficial this pact is to US foreign policy and the United States interests. AUKUS also further analyzes how the US should interact with a significant global superpower like China and how the US should interact with other countries in general. This topic is especially relevant because it is currently expanding, and many evidential pieces are coming out right now. This topic furthers critical thinking skills by pondering current US foreign policy and expanding debate skills by forcing debaters to keep up with the ongoing evidence and impact of AUKUS. These are all reasons why AUKUS is an excellent topic, which explains why Ms. Murr was the mastermind behind its proposal. As a debate coach, Ms. Murr can help decide on and even propose suitable topics for the two that occur within the debate season, like she did with AUKUS. Her proposed topic has led many debaters to gain knowledge within a field many had never exhibited and allows debaters to continue to improve their skills.
Upcoming debate event: The State Tournament
Although without fans sitting in the stands and cheering, the state debate tournament functions similarly to that of a common sporting event regarding the competitive spirit, supportive team work, and the typical competitor's bracket. The state tournament this year will occur on December 3 from 4 to 9 PM and December 4 from 9 AM to, hopefully, 6:30 PM. In order to debate until 6:30 PM, it requires extreme debating skills while lasting this long typically means debaters are in the running for the state championship. The state tournament works like a bracket, where on Saturday debaters will debate until they lose to try to win the state championship title. The state tournament is like a festival because it is an open tournament for any debater to attend and compete. If placing highly, state winners are crowned in three different divisions consisting of novice, Junior Varsity, and Varsity. These divisions are meant to show the different levels of experience and recognize that becoming a good debater is a long process of dedication and hard work. In the past, MPA has won all three divisions within multiple points in time and expects to be extremely successful and competitive again this year. Ms. Murr and the debate team would appreciate support in any form and encourages debaters to take a shot at the state championship title.
Results from the State Tournament:
Novice Division:
Molly Vergin and Meiran Carlson were the runners-up in the Novice Division
Zoya Nayak and Annika Binstadt made it to the Quarterfinals
Max O'Connor and Greta Hanson made it to the Octafinals
JV Division:
Trevor Lien and Ian Frankel made it to the Semifinals
Zoe Schnell and Frances Martin made it to the Quarterfinals
Ben Murr and Akshay Somayajula made it to the Quarterfinals
Varsity Division:
Ruby Schweiger and Charlotte Bergh were the runners up in the Varsity Division
Kaija Kunze-Hoeg and Jenna Sherwood made it to the Quarterfinals