Speaking one’s mind can be hard, but being challenged by opinions other than your own can be even harder. The debate team takes these challenges head on and recently argued their way to success at district after placing at several UIL practice meets. Team members freshman Darby Watson, and sophomore Chaz Hill placed fourth, while sophomore Akhil Tejani and junior Aman Tejani placed first at the district competition. 

“I enjoy that debate really gets you thinking,” Watson said. “You have to be quick on your feet.”

Speakers in CX are in pairs and refute other teams’ opinions, while relying on news sources and other evidence to support their own arguments. Other debate events the team competes in include LD, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Congress. For Hill, Extemporaneous Speaking is his favorite.

“In ‘Extemp’ they give you 30 minutes to write a speech and it’s really fun,” Hill said. “It’s nice not having to rely on a partner for this one.”

In order to succeed in debate, one must master many factors. These competitors are able to speak confidently, think quickly, and according to Akhil, a set of relevant current events as their resources is needed. Aman said he practices every day in order to achieve a certain level of success. 

“I start in the summer by going to debate camps with Akhil,” Aman said. “Whenever I have time off I mainly just focus on debate or something pertaining to it.”

Another skill these speakers must perfect is the challenge opposing speakers bring. In CX Debate, other teams are not afraid to question certain arguments, or even try to hustle their competitors. 

“Between the first four speeches in the event there is a ‘CX Period,’ and that’s when you get to question your opponent,” debate team member sophomore Nyah Patel said. “You have three minutes to ask them anything you want, which is basically just trying to get them to mess up.”

Even though the group has already performed well in their season, all members hope to advance to the State UIL meet. Aman also hopes that the team gains new members that appreciates the event as much as he does.

“Debate is such a good thing, and not many people in our district do it,” Aman said. “Debate gives you really good scholarships and opportunities to do things. If you work hard and practice, you could get a full ride to college.”

It is clear that these debaters have a passion for expressing their beliefs, which is a quality that seems highly valued in today’s world. According to Aman, if one practices enough, they can achieve greatness in this intellectual activity.

“You don’t need to have a natural talent for it,” Aman said. “The more effort you put in the greater you’ll be.”