Last week Gateway I.T.’s debate team, JD Spalding and Charles Roy, and Central Visual and Performing Arts’ debate team, Lorri Leong and Kayla Massey, competed at the second annual Chase Urban Debate National Tournament.
Held in Chicago, this tournament brought together 38 teams representing 19 other urban debate leagues from around the country to compete in 2-person cross examination policy debate. Gateway Institute of Technology’s team placed third among the First-Year League Division, while Central Visual & Performing Arts’ won the National Championship in the same division.
“I am very proud of all the students from SLPS. Both teams worked as a group to attain the same goal – to make St. Louis Debate known in the Urban Debate league. With hard work, and a great attitude, all four students accomplished their goals and won a national championship along the way,” said Zachary Matthews, teacher and debate coach from Central VPA.
Matthews also commented on the preparation involved in preparing for the national championship, “During the six weeks before the national tournament, my team had to catch up on all the research that the other squads had been doing all year long. This includes finding evidence against at least 5 different kinds of biofuels, solar cases, wind cases, cap and trade cases, nuclear energy cases, and a few more cases that we were not sure how to research. The team also learned about disadvantages to all the issues that they were to face during the national competition, including: Coral Reefs, backstopping, Russian Economy, Food Prices, CO2, Biodiversity, Global Warning, Green Bubble, and Environmental Justice. Overall my team read about 5,000 sheets of evidence.”
The national competition demanded and expected great performances from the SLPS teams; however, the rewards in the long run pay off for the students. Research has shown that students who participate in debate increase grades and test scores in the double digits. Central VPA won a total of 108 awards during this debate season, and Matthews remembered how one student felt after winning an award, “One of my students told me that she never won an award before debate, and that she was happy because it showed that she was smart and that she learned something. “
Currently the St. Louis Urban Debate League serves students in eleven SLPS high schools, with over one hundred students having completed during the league’s inaugural season. The league is housed within the St. Louis Public Schools, sponsored by the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Paula Knight, and supported by the nonprofit St. Louis Urban Debate League Board of Directors, chaired by local attorney David Harris, of Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale P.C. Questions should be directed to the St. Louis Urban Debate League’s Executive Director, Ravi Rao, (314) 691-4417 or via email: ravirao@urbandebate.org.
White House offers internship opportunity
Applications for the Fall 2009 White House Internship Program are due by Tuesday, May 26. Those selected to participate in the program will gain valuable job experience and an inside look at the life of White House staff while building leadership skills.
The 2009 Fall Internship program runs from September 8 to December 18, and the submission deadline is May 26, 2009.
Those interested in applying to the White House Internship Program must be:
• US Citizens
• Eighteen years of age on or before the first day of the internship.
• Enrolled in a college or university (2-4 year institution) or must have graduated from college in the past two years or be a
• veteran of the United States Armed forces who possesses a high school diploma or its equivalent and has served on active duty at any time over the past two years.
Applicants will be notified whether they have been accepted by the first week of July.
More information on the White House Internship Program, including application instructions, can be found at: www.whitehouse.gov/about/internships
