With the school year being over a month underway, debate season has officially begun. The debate team has been working at each competition to qualify for advancement.

“Debate has allowed me to be in a competitive environment and talk about issues that really matter,” senior Marghi Jani said. “We normally talk about politics, the environment and the economy.”

Team members prepare all year for tournaments that occur periodically. They attend tournaments at the State level and National level.

“We have a set practice every Tuesday and Thursday from 4:30 until 6:00, and then we are supposed to do practice speeches at home sometimes,” junior Apporva Kakkllaya said. “Most of the time we have a competition every weekend, but we can pick which ones to go to.”

Next February, they will even be going on a trip to Harvard University for a large tournament.

“I’m looking forward to the trip to Harvard,” congressional debate captain and senior Chandler Trosclair said. “I’ve never been there, and it’ll be a really exciting experience.”

While the team travels together, they all work for individual results as well.

“Everyone’s goal is to State qualify, so you go to tournaments until you qualify for State,” Kakkllaya said.

Despite the individual aspect, debate members work together so their peers can succeed. It’s a team effort and everyone does what they can to help each other.

“We want to see almost a 95 percent qualification rate for the State tournament,” Trosclair said. “That’s an ‘all hands on deck’ kind of thing.”

Debate helps students become better at interacting with others.

“Everyone wants to have their own things and you have to work with them, so you need good people skills,” Trosclair said.

However, cooperation is not just a necessity. Members make memories with each other along the way.

“Towards the end of the tournament at the University of California Berkeley last year, we all came together and gave each other little trinkets and gifts that would help us remember each other when all the seniors left,” Jani said.

Debate brings the team members together, but their friendships are not limited to their common activity.

“Most of my debate friends are real friends outside of debate,” Jani said. “It’s a very connected and supportive environment.”

Debate helps students to develop skills that will help them in the real world. Not only can it lead to connections, but also character traits.

“Debate has helped me in that it’s given me a lot of connections into colleges,” Jani said. “It’s allowed me to gain a lot of self confidence.”

These connections are not limited to the professional sense, and can also include relationships.

“My favorite thing about debate is the people,” Trosclair said. ”I now have friends in California, Florida and New York.”

Overall, debate is a team experience at its core. The students all grow as people, but they do it together.

“I know this is cheesy, but we’re literally a family,” Jani said. “We’re always there to help each other, and not only in debate.”