Dreyfoos Debate Team Breaks to Nationals

Lexi Marcellino, Copy Editor

April 24, 2015

Members of the debate team pose with their awards.

Summer is rapidly approaching. With this comes the promise of relaxation and a break from the stress that accompanies school. Most students will have phrases including: “going to the beach” and “leaving for vacation” written on their calendar, for some they will have to replace these common phrases with “super stressful and elite debate tournament.”

The National Speech and Debate Association’s National Debate Tournament will take place June 14-19 in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the most exclusive debate events of the year, the students inducted into this competition have gone through multiple tournaments beforehand in order to reach this level.

“At the qualifying tournament we went through a process of preliminary rounds,” communications junior Emma Harris said. “In these preliminary rounds, if you were in the top half, in the round, you got what [is] called an ‘up’ and if you were in the bottom half you got a ‘down, once the fourth preliminary round was over, we went to finals. The next day, everyone found out whether or not they qualified.”

Due to the abundance of preliminary rounds and competitions, this tournament is specifically more difficult to get into, as it only takes two students per debate event. Communications dean Angela Weber is the coach of Dreyfoos’ speech and debate team and has overseen these students progress as they prepared for the rigorous tournament.

“It is one of the most difficult [tournaments] for students to get into. It certainly puts [the competitors] on a national landscape. It helps them gain recognition, and even if they did not get in, just competing in [these competitions] is a learning experience for them.” Mrs. Weber said. “I think everyone needs to know how hard these students work.”

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About the Contributor

Lexi Marcellino, Head Copy Editor

Communications senior Lexi Marcellino is a third-year staffer and the Head Copy Editor on The Muse. She has a passion for news writing and grammar, and has dedicated most of her free time and late nights to journalism. In addition to being involved in The Muse, Marcellino also has a passion for creative writing and working with Teens Against Domestic Abuse, a club she co-founded with other students. Outside of school, one can find her taking advantage of Panera’s free wifi and cradling a cup of coffee. Marcellino has spent the last two summers learning more about publishing and journalism. In 2015, she interned in the graphics department of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's office, and the following year she became an alumna of the Washington Journalism and Media Conference, where she worked with student journalists from around the world, as well as esteemed figures such as National Geographic Editor-In-Chief Susan Goldberg and Photojournalist Carol Guzy. She is also the recipient of a Scholastic Art and Writing award, as well as two Palm Beach Post awards. In the future, Marcellino hopes to pursue investigative and political journalism, and move to Washington D.C. to work on a large publication.