As experienced debaters prepare to start their season, new novice debaters observe

On Friday, Aug, 23, the novice debaters witnessed a mock debate round. According to Freshman Lillie Chatman, it helped the novices understand the order of a debate round. 

“I think it was really helpful for the other novices and I,” Chatman said. “It showed us that it’s not actually as scary as most of us thought.”

Along with Chatman, freshman Ben Shawn found the round to be informative and a good experience. 

“We got to [be a] part of the action when we got to cross-examine the experienced debaters.”

Cross-examination takes place after a debate speech when a member from the other team has a three-minute window to ask questions. 

As novice debaters learn the basic rules of debate and are trained under experienced debaters, they look ahead eager for their first tournament at Chanute High School on Sep. 21. 

The mock debate helped the novice debaters get a feel of an actual round, readying them to dive into their own.

 “All in all I think it made everything easier to understand,” Chatman said. “I’m super excited for the on-coming season.”