CHS held the 12th annual schoolwide debates on March 14, arguing over topics ranging from body positivity to the value of grades.
The CHS debates are annual debates hosted by the College in High School argument class, which is offered at Bellwood through the University of Pittsburgh. Each year Pitt provides a theme to organize debates, which is settled upon by those who teach the class. This year’s theme was whether it is more important to focus on emotional well being than risk discomfort.
One of the debaters, Janiyah Jackson, said overall it was a fun experience.
“I did it last year, so I had an idea on what to expect, but it’s a lot of fun seeing how everyone presents their case and how the audience will react to it,” she said
While the debates were being held, Bellwood-Antis students attended each period. At the end of the day, all the debaters answered audience questions during the Question and Answer session during 8th period.
Mr. Naylor couldn’t be any prouder how the students performed.
“Their growth as arguers this year had been amazing. They represented their class and their abilities to the student body very well,” he said
Senior Tanner Swogger found out the debates weren’t as nerve-racking as he thought.
“It was a very interesting experience. It’s something I’m glad I have done, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to step outside of their comfort zone,” Tanner said.
This year’s topics were:
- “In high school, intellectual growth is more important than working for a grade”
- “Gentle parenting is the most beneficial style of parenting”
- “It is important to limit exposure to social media platforms for mental health”
- “An ideal society focusing on mental health fosters resilience”
- “Emotional validation in self-help culture promotes genuine personal growth”
- “Medicinal marijuana should be used to help treat anxiety”
After a decade of doing to debates, Mr. Naylor is still proud of all the students that have participated
“I think it’s amazing we’ve had the platform to do this for so long, and we should all be grateful,” he said. “I truly appreciate our relationship with the University of Pittsburgh, and I’m thankful to work in a district where the administration sees enough value in argument that they would let us have a whole day to debate in front of the school. And I’m thankful we’ve had kids ready to step up to the challenge and have their voice heard. Each class stands on the shoulders of giants. I think back to when we started this in front of the school more than 10 years ago and those kids were some brave guinea pigs, kids like Set and Cam Worthing, Noah Davis, Kristen Davis and Abby Bouslough. If it weren’t for them hitting it out of the park that first time, we might not have this event today.”
