Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump aren’t the only ones taking part in a debate this year. At Hackley, senior Matt Bonanno has taken over the debate stage by storm. Matt began Debate in 8th Grade and has loved it ever since. “I was always really interested in politics and current events, and wanted to use that knowledge more outside the classroom,” said Matt. He enjoys learning “a ton about any given topic before debates.”

Matt has attended numerous debate tournaments throughout his high school career. During each tournament the debate team debates six to seven preliminary rounds and up to six elimination rounds. Each round takes around 45 minutes, and debates usually span Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Debate involves a lot of work and commitment, as Matt said, “Most nights for debates we’ll continue prepping to find any evidence or responses that we might have missed, and get to bed around midnight.”

The preparation process for debate does not only involve one night. “Each week to prepare for debates, we will do around 10-15 hours of prep work, which involves writing our own cases for each side, preparing responses which involve thinking of what other teams might say, researching to find responses to that, and working out strategies for in round,” explained Matt.

After Matt diligently prepares for his tournament, he is ready to debate. Matt’s favorite two areas to debate are international relations and economics. Amongst the many topics he has debated, his favorite topic remains to be the economic sanctions reducing the threat that Russia poses to the West. “The range of arguments kept each debate interesting, but at the same time they weren’t too broad as to lessen the educational value — it allowed each round to analyze the sanctions through a different lens,” said Matt.

After Matt and his team passionately debate, the judges announce a winner. Judging is based on whichever argument extends its importance throughout the debate rounds with examples and how the debate teams respond to their opponents’ claims and ideas.

“Not only does the Hackley team have a strong sense of community, but I have also met such an interesting group of people outside of the Hackley bubble,” Matt said.