Debate? More Like De-Great

12 February 2014Toby CH, Photos by Jackson H

The tracks of second term have been laid down and the train that is Brentwood’s debate program has already had a terrific time chugging through various tournaments and contests. With the help of the effervescent Mrs. Steele-MacInnis and the spirited Mr. Bryant, Brentwood’s debate students began to build new partnerships, adapt their researching style, and augment their decorum to prepare for upcoming debate tournaments. At the Glenlyon Norfolk School pizza debate tournament the world was about to experience fiery Brentwood duos such as the ever charismatic Nick M, Ellis ‘15 & Sarah T, Mack ‘15 (who was recently named “Smartest Redhead in Cobble Hill”). Like angry woolly mammoths, Glenlyon’s school gates loomed oppressively, the penitentiary-like walls casting dark and portentous shadows on our once cheery faces. Stepping onto their campus was like someone was stepping on our lungs, squeezing out whatever clean air we had left. The rooms were dark and dank, like a forgotten South Sudanese Rebel Detention Center, and the very atmosphere seemed to be tainted with some kind of rodent blood. With the ringing of an inauspicious bell, the debate tournament was signaled to begin. With impromptu topics ranging from “The United States of America is More of a Hero than a Villain” to “Knowledge is More Important Than Wisdom” debaters were forced to come up with arguments in the blink of an eye, twisting definitions and distorting facts in their favour, without this overrated thing called “research.” With cutthroat rhetoric and well hidden fallacies, Brentwood’s teams debated their pants off. Figuratively. Literally would be generally frowned upon. Although there was no “winner” per se, due to his waterfallesque hairstyle, it seems that junior debater Will M, Privett ‘14 was appointed silently as king, an imaginary yet honorable crown placed upon his Daintree River-like flow. We Brentwood debaters would like to thank Mr. Bryant and Mrs. MacInnis for this educational and ultimately exciting opportunity at Glenlyon, and are stoked like Stoker to go back there for regionals! It is for these reasons and many others that the blog before us today must and will stop. Thank you. Toby CH, Privett ‘14

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