Poly students Samantha Rustia and CJ Salapare competed in the Southern California Debate League Fall Debate competition on November 23 at Alhambra High School. The pair participated in Congressional Debate, an event more colloquially known as Congress, where students compete in simulated congressional houses and argue over proposed pieces of legislation.
This competition had students debating over the ethics of harvesting shark fins and whether additional funds should be allocated to bee colony research in California, to name a few. Congress is often regarded as an amalgam of both speech and debate— competitors are required to deliver several three-minute speeches on the given topic, as well as face a barrage of instigating questions concerning the validity and clarity of their speech in the cross-examination period.
Its status as a fairly new event in the debate category is shown through its small, but steadily growing pool of competitors. This Fall Debate competition hosted over hundreds of students from all over Southern California.
“The competition itself is quite cutthroat. The caliber of the students I competed against in terms of their argumentative abilities are unparalleled. I loved being able give them a run for their money,” said junior Rustia.
Rustia and Salapare both placed highly in the competition. Rustia was placed eighteenth, while team captain Salapare qualified for finals and placed seventh.
“Placing was definitely a pleasant surprise. I am looking forward to improving and hopefully making it to State this year,” said sophomore Salapare.
The next competition for the Poly speech team is Fall Varsity on December 14. Members are currently preparing for State Qualifiers in early March.
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