By Katy Gagnon
Debate teams from two Queens high schools swept a prestigious citywide competition last week.
The students, from Cardozo High School in Bayside and Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows, battled teams from roughly 40 city schools, which included specialized schools like Stuyvesant High School, to claim first place in separate divisions of the Lincoln-Douglas debate competition at New York University May 27.
"Queens really dominated this year," said Cardozo teacher and debate coach Lee Karlin.
Cardozo's team finished first in the experienced level of the competition, marking the school's fourth championship since 1990 and its first win in a decade. Last year the school finished second, losing to Stuyvesant in the final round.
The Francis Lewis team, coached by teacher Madge Leone, won the inexperienced division. The school did not supply the names of the students on the team by press time.
Cardozo's team was made up of students Karamjit Singh, 17; Patrick Jordan, 16; Reema Prakash, 17; Rory Silver, 17; Jenny Yang, 18; and Joseph Arra, 15.
In the competition's final round, Karamjit, Patrick and Reema argued the affirmative side of the debate's topic: whether a government should facilitate health care access for its citizens.
Seasoned debaters Rory and Jenny served as the team's captains. Both were barred from competing in the final round of the competition because they competed last year. Joseph, a Cardozo freshman, was the team's alternate.
According to the winning Cardozo students, it takes different elements to make a successful debate team.
For instance, Patrick is a self-described "showman." His teammates say he delivers a speech as if they are lines from "Hamlet." Karamjit, who will attend Fordham University this fall, admires the competitive nature of debate. He was recruited to the team after defending his argument with a teacher. Jenny, a shy junior who loves science, calls debate "an opportunity to share things that are really inside me."
The competition, which began in 1983, is sponsored by JP Morgan Chase, the city Department of Education and the Impact Coalition, a nonprofit group that uses debate as a way to inspire students.
Even after his team's win, Karlin does not plan to coach for the contest again because of the changing nature of the competition, he said. In the past, the winning students were awarded thousands of dollars in scholarship money. This year none was given, he said.
Nonetheless, the social studies teacher plans to coach his team through a round of other debates next year.
"You don't hear too much about speech and debate teams," he said. "It matters more than sports because you have the best and the brightest."
