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Second annual HUDL Summer Debate Institute kicks off new season

Over 100 HISD students tackle questions of poverty in week-long program
August 08, 2009
HISD students review their evidence at the HUDL Summer Debate Institute.
HISD students review their evidence at the HUDL Summer Debate Institute.
Students from the Houston Academy for International Studies debate poverty in one of many ad hoc rounds the night before the big tournament.
Students from the Houston Academy for International Studies debate poverty in one of many ad hoc rounds the night before the big tournament.

For one week in early August, 111 students from 16 Houston ISD schools took part in the second annual Houston Urban Debate League Summer Institute at the University of Houston.  Over the course of the institute, students learned the basics of debate and argument theory from some of the top competitors and coaches in the nation, culminating the experience with a two day camp tournament.  

The institute, sponsored jointly by the Texas Bar Foundation and Houston Urban Debate League, expanded this year to include both a commuter and overnight division in order to better serve student needs.  In each division, however, students received countless hours of hands on training and developed life skills that transfer to the workplace just as easily as to the classroom.

In addition to the educational experience, the summer program was also the beginning of the 2009-2010 national debate season, a multi-tournament, nine month marathon to crown city, state and national champions in policy debate.  Like other schools around the country, Houston students researched, discussed and wrote about ways to solve poverty in the United States, this year's debate topic.  Unlike many others, though, HISD students spent the entire week immersed in a college experience at the University of Houston, often working late into the night in their UH dorm rooms.

"It's amazing to see the dedication and desire of a group of high school students when they have the will and means to succeed," HUDL Director Bryan Weber said, commenting on an all-night mock debate that students organized in preparation for the institute tournament.  Indeed, HUDL students often took their work outside of the classroom at the institute, finding picnic tables, empty rooms and quiet hallways to fine tune their cases.  

At the institute tournament, the students' hard work paid off when HUDL crowned its first champions of the year in three different divisions: varsity, junior varsity and commuter.  The top competitors in each division are as follows:

Varsity Co-champions:

Angel Garcia and Benjamin Brooks (Houston Academy for International Studies)

Ty Wilson and Sirevlon Todd (Madison High School)

Top Speaker: DeQuan Sam (Washington High School)

Junior Varsity:

Champions: Alexis Morales and Jorge Vargas (Reagan High School)

Runners Up: Montse Olmos and Angelica Herrera (Austin High School)

Top Speaker: Montse Olmos (Austin High School)

Commuter:

Champions: Gabriel Pena and David Mondragon (Houston Academy for International Studies)

Runners Up: Mariel Flores and Nancy Reese (Houston Academy for International Studies)

Top Speaker: Jose Joya (East Early College High School)

With the summer winding down, Houston Urban Debate League students now begin the regular season.  The first HUDL tournament will take place at Reagan High School, October 2-3, 2009.