From Regionals to Nationals to Internationals, it’s been an exciting year for SMUS debate and public speaking.
Debate
An enthusiastic cohort of our SMUS Debate Club rode up to Brentwood on a Saturday in mid-January for the annual Island Regional Debate Tournament — the first competitive debate for many of our students. Debate Club leaders Ivanna Wu, Arjun Pathak, Aidan MacKay and Finley Rolfe joined as judges. Roseline Tang distinguished herself by finishing second in the Junior category. Two teams, Saanvi Katireddy and Jessica Lei, and Roseline Tang and Cindy Chen, qualified for the provincial championships.
The provincial debating competition, called the Law Foundation Cup, was held online in February. The junior team of Cindy and Roseline weighed the pros and cons of B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunals against B.C.’s Small Claims Court, their prepared topic. Cindy was awarded a medal for her excellent individual performance and as a team Roseline and Cindy qualified for Junior Nationals, in Toronto.
Hosted by the University of Toronto Schools (UTS), the National Junior Debate competition ran from May 12-14. For their prepared round, Roseline and Cindy researched whether the UN Security Council should continue to have permanent seats and veto power. After five debates, and in a pool of 120 keen debaters, Roseline finished 26th overall, a result that puts her in the top 25% of all Canadian junior debaters, and 9th in BC.
Acknowledging that “the wit and eloquence” of the national-level debaters forced her to raise her own game, Roseline describes each debate as “a battle of ideas, a test of rhetorical prowess, and a chance to showcase our research and analytical skills.” Despite the high level of competition, she stresses that the discourse remained respectful at all times. She calls her Toronto experience both “exhilarating and rewarding.”
“Toronto was on a whole new level,” agrees Cindy. She embraced the “great sense of community” she found at the UTS tournament and was impressed by how the competitors were able to brush aside rivalries and eat breakfast together. “Everyone was so talented, but so humble and generous.”
Public Speaking
The International Independent Schools’ Public Speaking Competition in Deerfield, Massachusetts launched three keen SMUS public speakers, Beatrice Sharpe, Benjamin Kuzminski-Parry, and Larisse Zhao onto the world stage.
Beatrice
“This experience completely changed me,” says Beatrice. Undaunted by the intense level of competition, she won a medal in one of the trickiest events in the competition: Radio Broadcast. How did she stay calm? Mindfulness meditation, the subject of her persuasive speech. “When was the last time you stopped?” she asked her audience. “Not as in pausing physically, like sleeping or sitting. Stopping to take a deep breath, slow down your bombarding thoughts, and acknowledge your place in the grand scheme of the world. In the present, most of us do not know what our minds are doing. Sometimes we are not even aware of the things we do. Something happens, and we react.”
To illustrate her point, she went back to the early days of the Pandemic. “An NBC headline told us that the global death toll topped 200,000. There was NO Covid Vaccine. We were in lockdown, in bubbles, afraid of everyone outside of them. Remember the stress? The anxiety? The FEAR. In British Columbia, Doctor Bonnie Henry told us to "Be kind. Be calm. Keep safe." But staying calm is not easy when a virus is ravaging the world. Or is it? I am here today to tell you about a solution to the stress of the pandemic and your entire life: meditation.”
Ben
Ben won’t forget how a young competitor fell asleep during his first speech. Fighting nerves on his first day and projecting what he hoped was poise and confidence, Ben launched into his persuasive speech, only to see a young woman in the audience put her head on the table and fall fast asleep. He didn’t take it personally, though: she’d just flown in from India and was very jet-lagged. They laughed about it afterwards and became friends. For that speech, Ben was excited about cutting-edge research into NAD boosters, an innovation that could slow the physical deterioration that comes with aging. “Every one of us has at least one elderly relative we worry about,” he emphasized as he went on to consider the physical, economic, and emotional costs of aging. “In Canada, 85% of hospital beds in Canada go to those over 65. Picture a hospital with ten floors. The first 8 ½ floors are already full of senior citizens.” Ben challenged the status quo, proposing solutions that would save costs while transforming the health of our seniors as well as their quality of life.
Larisse
From visiting historic Deerfield to touring famous schools, Larisse will always remember her experience in Massachusetts. “I especially enjoyed meeting new friends at the competition and taking in the gorgeous fall views!” With her light satirical touch, Larisse had everyone laughing (and listening) to her speech titled, “The Great Green Wash (Why Sustainable IS Debatable!)”
“Do you remember the first time you heard about climate change?” she asked. “Well I don’t. Everyone is constantly talking about it! Sustainability this, sustainability that.” She went on to suggest that “some things in our lives aren’t as sustainable as you think,” and offered advice on how to avoid being green washed. “Let’s use Starbucks as an example. In 2018, this go-to coffee place released a straw-less lid to confront their contributions to plastic waste, but this lid contained more plastic than the old lid and straw combined! Is Starbucks greenwashing us with their iced green tea matcha latte?!!” she asked, “Why drink your iced coffee with a straw at all, when you’ve got a cup and a mouth! Combine those two things together, add a dash of gravity, and there you go!” You’ve convinced us, Larisse!
An additional congratulations to the SMUS students selected this spring by an arms-length panel to participate in a national competition on the topic, “Making Canada Stronger”: Cindy Chen, Mira Wirk, Saanvi Katireddy, Caitlin Kirkpatrick, Matthew deGoey, Beatrice Sharpe, Larisse Zhao, and Ben Kuzminski-Parry.
