NHS Debate Team Attends Princeton Tournament

Sixteen students from the Newtown High School Debate Team attended the Princeton Classic Invitational High School Speech and Debate Tournament, held at Princeton University the weekend of December 1–3. All 16 students competed at either the Junior Varsity or Varsity level of Lincoln Douglas Debate.

Two of the students also competed in Public Forum Debate. The Princeton Tournament is recognized by the National Forensics League as a national tournament and draws students from all around the country.

Four Newtown students were recognized for awards at this tournament. NHS senior, and Debate Team captain, Gavin Newton-Tanzer made it to the semifinal rounds of the Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debates, placing third out of 164 students competing for this award. Gavin was also awarded the 11th place speaker of the 164 contestants.

Two high school sophomores, Biota Hung and Christine D’Alessandro, broke into the double octofinals round (top 32 debaters) by seeding fifth and 24th place, respectively, out of 144 students competing at the Junior Varsity level. Christine was also awarded 13th place speaker, and sophomore Jessica Thomas was awarded 19th place speaker, of the 144 Junior Varsity contestants.

The high school team, coached by social studies teacher Larry Saladin, attends several local, state, and national tournaments each year, competing not only in Lincoln Douglas Debate, but also in Extemporaneous Debate and Public Forum. Upcoming national tournaments include Columbia University in January, and Harvard in February.