Thomas Jefferson’s Speech and Debate team argued their point at the Aspen Competition on November 13th-14th.
Photo by Rebecca Holt
On the weekend of November 13-14th, the Thomas Jefferson Speech and Debate team headed to Aspen for one of its first out-of-league competitions, and came out with optimism.
“This competition really opened up opportunities for us to compete out of state,” said Team Sponsor Wauneta Vann. From its early beginnings last year to the start of this year, the team has had an enormous amount of success. “Last year was a phenomenal year for the team,” said Vann. “We were the city champs and went to Chicago to compete nationally.”
The Speech and Debate team was founded last year and gives students the ability to improve their public speaking skills and the confidence to argue a good point at the same time. “The students get a subject on a proposed idea for the government to take action on, and they get to debate a side,” said Vann. “They can either argue that enough is being done on the issue, or they can propose a new plan for the government and how they can approach the issue.”
This year at the Aspen competition, two teams were brought up to compete against the Aspen leagues. One of the TJ groups from the team came close to entering the finals. The team consists of returning member Leii Johnson and new addition Yvonne Boateng, who portrayed the potential that TJ students have to offer through their debate. “We were very successful. We were in three rounds and won two. If we had won three, we would have continued on to the finals,” said Boateng. “Leii and I didn’t come out of the competition disappointed though. This competition taught us a lot and we now know what to expect from the higher level of competition and where we need to be in terms of skill. We’re really looking forward to future competitions.”
Even with the impressive performance given by the team, there is always room for improvement. “We’ve had great success so far,” said Vann. “The team is a lot smaller than last year, though, so we need more members to join so we can return to our dominance.”
If any students wish to be a part of the Speech and Debate team’s continuing success, they can go see Vann in the Shield (Room 4), or they can attend one of the team practices which take place Mondays from 3:30-4:30 pm or Wednesdays from 3:00-4:30 pm.
