Resolution Affirmed: Debate Team Off to a Strong Start

“I love watching students develop skills, often to their own surprise and gain confidence in the process,” coach Chuck McNamee said. “There’s nothing better as a coach than seeing varsity leaders jump in to mentor junior varsity and novice debaters, and I strongly believe that’s how true leaders are created. ‘See one, do one, teach one’ is a quote that I always liked and applies to our curious and engaged group of young leaders.”

It’s been a busy fall for the debaters. The National Speech and Debate Association solicits topic suggestions from the debate community and selects final resolutions on a two-month rotation. “Resolved: The United Kingdom should rejoin the European Union” served as the September-October topic, and “Resolved: The United States federal government should require technology companies to provide lawful access to encrypted communications” is the topic for November-December.

“For each topic, our entire team grapples with the preparation and creates arguments for and against,” McNamee explained. “While not everyone will go to a particular tournament, this preparation helps everyone develop the skills of debate and challenge each other’s arguments in advance of the event, while also ensuring that the team is prepared. We prepare together, and we win together.”

Bella Danahy-Levine ’26 joined the team three years ago “to improve my research and argumentative public speaking skills.” She is now a team captain, along with Julia Panos ’27 and Nathalie Jansky ’26. Danahy-Levine said she enjoys “learning more about current events and problems facing our world through preparing for debate topics.” She appreciates “leading the team, particularly by teaching lessons and watching the team's skills collectively improve.”

At the Yale Invitational in September, Danahy-Levine placed 33rd and Panos 45th out of 162 varsity competitors, finishing with a 3–3 record against some of the nation’s strongest debate programs. In JV, Siena Versaci ’27 and Sophie Ricks ’27 placed 35th and 38th, respectively, in a field of 64 competitors, also posting a strong 3-3 record. 

Danahy-Levine credits her success in that competition to “communication with my partner (Julia Panos), managing the limited prep time, and practicing evidence-based ethics by using accurate and honest evidence from trustworthy sources.”

The team is coming off five wins at the recent Mini-Bronx Debate Tournament, facing what McNamee described as “some of the biggest powerhouse programs in debate.” He is proud of his students’ performance: “Judges consistently praised our team's preparation, speaking skills and composure throughout the day, which is fantastic to see.”

Josh Malkin ’27 and Macy McElfresh ’29 finished 1–2 with a win against Byram Hills and were recognized for their clear preparation and “excellent rebuttals.” Ninth graders Ash Davis and Gianna Ficalora also went 1–2 and earned their first tournament win against Riverdale. Jansky and Panos went 1-2 with a win against Bronx Science and received praise for their clarity and leadership. Juniors Sophie Ricks and April Wang had one of the day’s standout performances, finishing 2–1 with wins over both Riverdale and Bronx Science. 

At the recent Scarsdale Invitational, Malkin and McElfresh went 2–2 with wins over Bronx Science and Grace Church, earning top speaker scores of 29.9 and 29.8, while first-time competitors Ficalora and Davis impressed judges with their clarity and focus. 

Upcoming competitions include the Newark Invitational as well as events at Columbia and Harvard. Danahy-Levine has already set a new goal: “I would like to ‘break’ (advance) at a debate tournament and hopefully make it to the quarterfinals! For the entire group, my goal is for multiple teams to break at a tournament.”