Ah yes, politics; something students aren’t typically supposed to be discussing during class at Apopka High School; however, our school’s very own Speech and Debate team is tackling these topics head on, student vs. student. Our school’s speech and debate team currently has around 35 members and Ms. Brown, head of the Speech and Debate team, gives us information about the club that we can share with you, the reader, in hopes of possibly spiking your interest.

“A Just Government Ought to Recognize an Unconditional Right of Workers to Strike,” is one of the many different topics that students of the Speech and Debate team discuss and argue. The students who participate in the debates have to argue for the side they’re assigned to, regardless of their personal opinion. Although it can get emotional, the debates never get particularly heated according to Ms. Brown, who also participates in debates on occasion. She teaches her students to debate and judge with discipline, focusing on ideas and not identity. To summarize: come prepared to do a lot of research and argue for something completely opposed of what you believe.

Our school’s speech and debate team is no joke; a few years ago a student named Brody Beauchamp on the speech and debate team received 1st place in nationals on an informative speech about the history of drag, which was an exciting moment for Ms. Brown and the rest of the speech and debate team. That was one of many awards our school has won at state and national competitions for speech and debate.  Ms. Brown is extremely friendly and is in room 537 (that’s the first hallway on the 3rd floor), and she’d be happy to talk to new members about speech and debate if you have any further questions. Remember, don’t come with the expectation that you’ll be arguing for a side you personally believe in; that’s not what the club is really about. As Ms. Brown says, “debate and judge with discipline; focusing on ideas, and not identity.”