Grace Kessler, Washburn Rural '20, September 25, 2019
Q1: What inspired you to first join the debate team at your school?
A: I joined the debate team at my school after learning about the program from my partner, Raina. Her older sister had been involved in the activity and really enjoyed it. I didn’t know at the time how much I would come to love the activity, but it did seem like something I would be interested in since I participated in other similar activities in middle school like Model UN and National History Day.
Q2: What is your favorite argument in debate and what are your pro-tips to debating that argument?
A: That’s tough. My favorite argument in debate is probably topicality. I enjoy debating what the topic should look like and what evidence should dictate how we interpret words in the resolution. Some tips for debating the argument when you are negative is to have a persuasive case list of what affs the other team justifies, compelling reasons why limits/ground is most important and turns the aff teams predictability/aff ground/overlimits offense, and reasons why your interpretation is predictable enough. Both sides should offer a clear vision for what the topic would like under their interpretation, and be adamant about why their offense is most important at the beginning of their final rebuttals.
Q3: What is the most important lesson policy debate has taught you?
A: Though pretty cliche, policy debate has taught me how to have confidence in myself. Regardless of whether you are on the side of “truth” in the debate, you must steadfastly defend your position. Further, debate taught me that you can’t find confidence in winning, but from how you feel about yourself. It took time for me to understand that if you derive your self-worth from the amount of rounds you win you will never be satisfied. Aside from those realizations, debate has made me such a diligent researcher and more effective advocate. It truly has transformed every part of my life.
Q4: If you could ensure all novice debaters knew two things going into their first tournament, what would they be?
A:
First: Everything is a learning opportunity. You will make so many mistakes! At the time, when you make a mistake that loses you a debate, it can be crushing. It helps to try and frame those mistakes in a positive way, because it’s likely you won’t repeat them! The debate community is filled with the most brilliant minds I have ever met, and there is just so much to learn.
Second: It takes time. When I reflect on the last few years of debating, I realize that the more you have debated the better you become. It seems intuitive, but I think I would have been comforted to know that as a younger debater you don’t have to be as good as the older debaters or have as much work done for the topic as they do, because some of the skills you need to win competitive debates just come with time.