By Rena Keyes

With all of the controversial issues going on right now in the world, now seems like a better time than ever to talk about The Debate Club here at San Marcos High School. The club welcomes all students and allows them to debate an assigned point of view on real world topics backed up by evidence.

The community is described as “supportive and welcoming” and the “judgment free zone” may even help members progress in their academics outside of the class. The current president of the club, Sofia Nawaz, tells us she has been running Debate Club since sophomore year when she noticed a lack of support for it. They meet weekly and “debate over current political, social, economic, and environmental issues.” 

The positions are assigned in order for students to understand everyone’s point of view; they learn how to back up their claims with facts rather than opinions. Assigning sides also seem to help the members in their other classes on campus. It helps member Britney Chen with her “critical thinking” skills and allows her to “evaluate class assignments through multiple perspectives.” Arya Forutanpour —a freshman and member of the club— says it allows her to “understand others and their ways of reasoning.” 

The clubs environment and leaders let students feel welcomed and push them to take that same energy into their other classes. Britney Chen has been a member of the club for two years and being in the club “allows her to step out of her comfort zone,” especially in presentations and group projects. She states that since joining the club she is “a lot less timid” and even “enjoys big presentations.” 

The Debate Club may not talk about the traditional math, science or english classes, but it still seems to help members progress academically. They have new topics triweekly and meet on their discord channel to debate. If you want to step out of your comfort zone this year and become a more active student in all your classes, consider joining The Debate Club to help you take the first step.