Argue, rebut, repeat. Debate requires students to think with quick deliberation against a hastily ticking clock and the threat of a deafening gong in order to artfully sway a panel of judges and those in the audience on a given proposition.

The evening of November 7th, 2014, Hackley played host to the 18th Annual Westchester Debate Competition, where collegiate and high school students battled at the podium with passion and poise. Representatives from Princeton, Yale, and Brown Universities led the event in a heated three-way bout, followed by teams from Hackley, The Masters School, Briarcliff High School, Harrison High School, Mamaroneck High School, and Yonkers (Lincoln High School , and Palisades Preparatory School) in a more informal mini-debate. Topics spanned across the spectrum of current events, but were undisclosed to even the competitors until mere minutes before showtime.

Princeton, Yale, and Brown first tackled the complex issue of whether the US should lead military intervention to thwart the aggressions of the Islamic State (ISIS). Although a loaded question, the participants from each school seemed to formulate and defend their positions with ease. Yale was selected as the Affirmative team, Brown the Negative, and Princeton to take a moderate approach supporting limited engagement. Tony Nguyen ‘16, a major in Ethics, Policies, & Economics, and Zachary Young ‘17, a major in Economics, came out on top to bring Yale home the victory. The judges, Joseph Modica, Brown ‘80, and Judge Walter Rivera and Judge Delores Scott Brathwaite from Greenburgh Town Court in White Plains, NY, explained that the participants were evaluated on presentation, composure, diction, and grasp of the topic.

When asked about their trip up to the Hilltop, the collegiate participants expressed awe for the campus and welcoming community. “I went to Horace Mann for high school, so I’ve seen our baseball team get trounced by yours a few times here before. But this place is amazing,” Nathan Raab, Princeton ‘17 said. “It’s absolutely beautiful,” teammate Janelle Tam ‘17 added. After their three rounds, each collegiate debater coached and offered advice to the high schoolers up on deck.

The six participating high school teams paired off to make for three separate contests. Masters and Mamaroneck argued whether the voting age should be lowered to 16, Briarcliff and Yonkers whether “dropping the box” (not requesting criminal activity to be reported on job applications) should be required by law, and Hackley and Harrison whether certain types of hate speech (speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of attributes such as gender, ethnicity, religion, race, disability, or sexual orientation) should be considered illegal. From Hackley, juniors Ella Charkes and Neil Suri were chosen to take the Negative approach, concluding that hate speech is not an illegal crime.

Ella and Neil successfully won over the crowd, garnering top honors in their match and also in the overall high school competition. For their first-place finish, they received $500 from the William Nightingale (Yale ’53) Debate Fund to help sponsor Hackley’s growing program.

Richard Bradley, Yale ‘86, perhaps most well known as Editor-in-Chief of Worth Magazine, moderated the matches. A current Westchester resident, Mr. Bradley was spotted and cajoled by the event’s Co-Chair Susan Kaminsky, a friend and former classmate (also Yale ‘86) at a farmers’ market in Pleasantville to oversee the competition. “What [the students] had to do, to get up there and spontaneously and extemporaneously talk like that, when they only have the topic for ten or fifteen minutes, is really hard. It’s pretty impressive that they all did so well, and I think it’s great that so many people came out on a Friday night to support a debate,” Mr. Bradley said.

With recent achievements such as Ella and Neil’s win and The New York Times covering the Middle School program’s tournaments, Hackley is rising as a debate powerhouse. Ella is especially excited for the buzz about Hackley’s success to help boost participation in the activity. “I would say to the kids that are a little intimidated, to just go for it! I hope in the future the team can continue to grow and expand and hopefully continue to be successful!” she said.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Neil argues on the issue of hate speech.

All photos by Claire Gomba.