The West Ottawa High School Debate team, which competes in the Grand Rapids Metro League, won its third league championship in four seasons last month.

Because league rules permit the entry of multiple teams, West Ottawa entered two four-person varsity teams, with the result after eight rounds of competition that West Ottawa’s Team 6 finished with a 14-2 record that earned them the first place trophy.

Each four-person unit is composed of two affirmative debaters who support the nationally selected topic, and two members who are labeled negatives, who argue against changes their opponents offer.

West Ottawa’s Team 6 affirmatives, Ruth Van Tuinen and Imagine Rodriguez, completed the season undefeated at 8-0, with Van Tuinen and Rodriguez also winning the second- and third-place trophies awarded to top speakers.

Team 6’s negative team, Jacob Anagnostopoulos and Robert Alfaro, finished 6-2, with Anagnostopoulos earning the league's Top Speaker award.

West Ottawa’s second varsity team, designated Team 2 by the league, consisted of affirmatives Boston Wilkinson and Alondra Senti, and negatives Stella Foster and Nic Armstead. Team 2 finished 8-8, but with a record strong enough to gain the league’s third place varsity trophy. Senti and Armstead also won the fifth and sixth top speakers’ trophies, respectively.

The teams are coached by Chris Norton of the West Ottawa English Department and Al Ver Schure, retired Hamilton High School teacher and Debate coach.

In the months following the completion of their league season, the West Ottawa debaters and coaches take on an initiative that goes beyond preparing for and winning matches, that being making contact with other area high schools with the goal of encouraging them to start new Debate programs or restart ones that have shut down.  

The coaches and debaters know the value of learning to think more critically, research evidence more thoroughly and speak more confidently and believe these skills are enhanced by Debate. Although Debate programs once were prevalent in most Lake Michigan lakeshore high schools, there are now no debate teams outside the greater Grand Rapids area other than West Ottawa.

As recently as the early 2000s, Holland High School, Holland Christian, Zeeland, Hamilton and Hudsonville Unity Christian all had competitive Debate programs, and the Holland area was home to the Holland Area Debate League (HADL) which met at Holland High, and the OK Gold Debate League that met at Zeeland East.

West Ottawa’s debaters and coaches will be reaching out to administrators at these schools as well as to the Saugatuck and Black River high schools in order to get an opportunity to talk with students at these schools about the benefits of getting a Debate program up and running.

Both Norton and Ver Schure believe better thinkers are needed to keep a vibrant democracy and more Debate programs are a step in the right direction.

— Submitted by Al Ver Schure. Click here to submit an article.