BLS SPEECH & DEBATE

Welcome to the Boston Latin School Speech & Debate website! We love trying new foods in whatever locations our tournaments take us, bonding over karaoke game nights, and politely yelling at people for awards. (All jokes - we don’t bite :)) If you’re interested in improving your persuasive capacity to win over parents at the dinner table, performing in front of audiences with personalized pieces, or even just to dip your toes for a bit of public speaking experience, JOIN THE BLS DEBATE FAM NOW!

Meet The Team

COACHES

Mr. Yoruk

Club Advisor

Kaushal Balagurusamy

Assistant Coach

GENERAL

Hanna Flynn

Head Captain

Mila Matteson

Vice Captain

Sam Parsi

Communications & Recruitment Director

Hamdi Mohamed

Social Coordinator

Ikra Abbasi

Publicity

Alan Zhao

Treasurer

David Wang

hackerman

PUBLIC FORUM

Jerry Li

Captain

David Wang

Evidence Director

Lana Nguyen

Evidence Director

William Yu

Secretary

Congress

Izzi CD

Captain

Anneliese Yu

Secretary

Silas Rosenberger

Evidence Director

Mason Finn

Evidence Director

Lincoln Douglas

Savan Boxer

Captain

Rahul Bansal

Secretary

SPEECH

Aliana Kowalczyk

Captain

Bella Zhao

Secretary

Practice Whens & Wheres

Tuesday in 212 from 2:30-4pm Thursday on Zoom from 6-7:30pm and additional practice times tentative based on your event! If you sign up, please go to practice at least once a week.

Pledge To Diversity

We at Boston Latin School Speech and Debate believe that racial, ethnic, religious, gender identity and socioeconomic diversity are vital to strengthening both our team and the speech and debate community at large. As such we pride ourselves on being a club for all students from all backgrounds. The Speech and Debate Community has not always been welcoming and as the National Organization works to change that, Boston Latin must do it’s part to be a part of that change. Our status as a Public Exam School that is rapidly diversifying puts us in a unique position to teach and showcase speech and debate excellence across all backgrounds and we are committed to that goal. As teammates we respect different backgrounds, viewpoints and perspectives and work together to build cases and arguments that give voice to and respect marginalized groups. We do not engage in problematic argumentation or speeches and think carefully about the implications of our arguments and speeches before we run them. Our coaches operate an “open door” policy for any team member to reach out and address concerns about arguments, speeches, tournaments, or other issues. We take complaints seriously and encourage students to speak to us should problems arise. We, the coaching staff and officer team, want speech and debate to grow in diversity in the coming years. We are doing our part to ensure it does and expect students who are a part of this club to do the same.

Team Expectations

• We do not cheat
• We do not advance problematic speech
• We are not rude to our opponents
• We are nice to novices!!!
• We do our block assignments
• We do not steal prep
• We do share prep
• We behave at tournaments
• We have (so much) fun

Parents

Dear parents of debaters young and old, Welcome to the Boston Latin School Speech & Debate team! In order to best support our debaters, parent involvement is essential. The debate team is a great way to support your child in an activity that will build lifelong communication skills. In supporting the team, you’ll get to know the coaches, meet your child’s teammates and their parents, and become an integral part of the thrilling tournaments that your child prepares for throughout the season.

Here’s how you can help:

• Provide us with your contact information: this can be done directly or through a student. Typically, we send out a form at the beginning of the year for people to fill out with their parents’ contacts. Communication is key! (as all of us know)
• Judging at Tournaments: Parents are required to judge 2 tournaments per semester (half a school year). Beyond that, the number of times you judge also depends on how often your child competes. If you don’t have any experience judging debate, don’t worry! Parent-Judge training will be offered as well as plenty of resources to make you prepared.
• Carpooling: Most judges also serve as drivers. Local tournaments are usually one day at varying high schools in Massachusetts whereas national tournaments can be two or three days in locations all around the US!
• Help at home tournaments: Boston Latin School Speech & Debate hosts the Keith West Memorial Tournament annually. It is a rewarding challenge taking care of the ins-and-outs of managing a tournament. The team is responsible for providing food for hundreds of debaters and judges, recruiting student volunteers, and making tons of other preparations. More information will be provided as the date nears.
• Fundraising: Help us out at the bake sale, Pop-Up Popcorn Store, and more!
• JOIN THE PARENT COMMITTEE!!!