by The Cowl Editor on September 27, 2018
Campus
By Malena Aylwin ’22
This past Friday, Boston University held their first debate competition of the season, Boston University Novice. Brown University, Harvard University, Boston University, Tufts University, Brandeis Univeristy, and Providence College were amongst the participants in the competition. Over 100 students came to represent their schools. The PC team consisted of just under 30 novice competitors, since the competition was held for new members.
“The more experienced debaters helped us and mentored us through the whole process and I think that helped boost our confidence,” recalled former novice Alexandra Chaparro ’22.
Because it was a novice competition, seasoned members were not allowed to participate directly, giving novice members of the PC Debate Society a taste and feel of what a public debate is all about.
“I think it was a little intimidating at first because I’d never done debate before and you could tell that there were kids that had in their schools. But what I think really helped me was knowing that at least a good amount of them had never debated before and that gave me the confidence I needed,” Chaparro said.
The competition was a great opportunity to get accustomed to the style and arrangement of the discussions, and it was also a good way to receive input from experienced debaters.
Although there might be some pre-debate jitters, Chaparro recalls that “After a while you pick it up quickly, you just have to get confident in what you are saying.”
In their first competition, four students came very close to participating in the finals round. Malik Alwani ’22 and Micaela Freeman ’20 went 3-1 at the tournament and Mallory Maryzek ’22 and Danny Strother ’22 also went 3-1, making their mark in the first of many competitions this season.
Even though the College did not make it to the finals, the team agreed that they had tripled in size and that it was a great learning experience.