Debate Captains for 2017-2018 Announced

The long-awaited decisions for the 2017-2018 Daniel Webster Debate Society (DWDS) Board turnover were announced late Monday night: Uppers Grace Huang and Sagar Rao will take over as the new Captains of Curriculum, upper Daniel Li and lower Mark Blekherman will serve as the Captains of DWDS tournaments and uppers Emily Green and Harrison Lian will act as Captains of Daily Operations.After completing a rigorous and competitive application process, the new board members expressed excitement for the results and the prospect of their new responsibilities. Li recalled that he was practicing violin when he received the news. “I couldn’t shout in my practice room, but I was really happy. I had worked hard and had put my ideas out there during my time in the club,” he said. “I was excited by the prospect of everything I could continue to do and expand upon as a board member.” Lian was in the dining hall when he got the call from former debate board member and senior Bokyoung Kim. “I just thanked [Kim] for the amazing opportunity,” he said.The application consisted of three parts: a written application, a speech given in front of the entirety of the debate club and an interview with the former debate board members. The written application asked questions regarding the level of experience that the applicants had with DWDS, what the applicants valued about DWDS, why the applicants wanted to be on the board and improvements they would enact. Applicants submitted the application to the outgoing board and DWDS advisors for review.

“I think cohesion, communication, and a willingness to listen and be open to new opinions is what makes a truly good debate board.”

Then, applicants presented their three-minute speeches in front of the entire team, and each team member selected their top six choices. “This vote is not binding but helps the board in assessing candidates,” former board member and senior Matthew Robbins explained. Following this, applicants were interviewed by the entire board. “Picking the new debate board is truly a very arduous process; we had to go through many hours of debate—ironically—and discussion this year to choose the new board,” Kim said.Former board member and senior Emily Robb added, “We take a lot into account, but some of the main factors are attendance, speech vote total, interviews, application responses and commitment to the club.” Finally, board members made their decisions, and the faculty advisors vetted these selections.Kim expressed great pleasure with the results, saying, “There were only a few spots for many qualified candidates, but I am certain that this upcoming board will do an absolutely amazing job at maintaining the club and helping it grow.”The former board members explained that they were looking for applicants who had certain skills and who would work well together as a unit. According to Robb, the departing board discussed deeply how each applicant could fit into the different roles on the board. “We also consider the team dynamic,” she said. “I think cohesion, communication, and a willingness to listen and be open to new opinions is what makes a truly good debate board.” Robbins agreed with Robb and added that the board was looking “for members who are eclectic, dedicated, good at managerial skills and good debaters.”Many of these new board members will bring fresh and innovative ideas to the club, and have already begun planning. Lian described one of his priorities as a board member as training judges more extensively so that they will critique logic, analysis, rhetoric and organization in addition to knowledge. “With this training, judges could better teach novices all the necessary concepts in small groups,” he said. In addition, Lian expressed his ambition for the team to participate in NSDA tournaments, which use a style of debate different from that of DWDS’s traditional styles. He went on, explaining the benefits of practicing various debate styles. “It teaches a different set of skills,” he said. “NSDA is more evidenced based, meaning to be a successful debater, one needs depth and breadth in the topic.”Li’s primary goal is to foster a closer, community within DWDS, he explained. “My hope is to have all of the debaters approach debate with a friendly diligence that allows for debating to be fun and instructive,” he explained. “You see, practicing debate is not just limited to the club meetings; rather, it hones a type of critical thinking that can be applied to all conversations.”He continued, explaining that he wants novices to feel comfortable talking and debating with debaters with more experience, which would help them discover their strengths and weaknesses. He hopes to tailor his own interactions with club members to the unique strengths and weaknesses of debaters. “I want to involve myself in this development,” he said. “I think that the board should know all of the novices by name.”According to old and new members of DWDS, there are many skills one can learn from being on the DWDS board, and apply to daily life. “You learn how to run a tournament, how to teach and how to interact with people in a professional way,” Robbins said. “It is a very fun job, you learn a lot about yourself and other. It has been great seeing novices grow into top quality debaters.”Robb echoed this sentiment, adding that debaters also learn how to lead and execute a tournament, and that as the year went on the board learned “how to communicate and delegate more efficiently.” Lian agreed and went on, saying that he has learned and improved significantly in terms of “argumentation, rhetoric and overall confidence.”Li added that the club has given him the opportunity to meet new people with common interests. “I also found myself making many new friends united by our common love of debating,” Li said. “This motivated me to learn and practice in order to become better.”The former debate board expressed their final hopes for the club they are passing over. “I think a good debate board is one that educates and cares for debaters in a way which they can be global citizens who have a good grasp of the world, philosophy, and rhetoric, along with the skills of proper and civil discourse,” Robbins said. Kim, who expressed great pleasure with the makeup of the new board, agreed, saying, “I am so proud of what DWDS has come to be and I am confident that this is just the beginning of another very successful year.”