This year’s debate season kicked off Friday, October 12 at Tenafly. Juniors Rida Qureshi and Marielle Santos scored third overall and juniors Ellie Kim, Hannah Chang, and senior Mera Abdalla were nominated as the best judge.

“Placing third was a pleasant surprise for us. However, I do believe that our hard work really paid off,” Santos said.

Debate advisor Señora Magdeline Rabelo was very passionate about the impact the seniors last year made. She said, “Many of last year’s seniors are still ‘mentoring’ our current debate team – giving them advice, looking over their plans and sending them motivational messages right before a debate.” When asked what her expectations of the season’s impact on students, she explained that she wants the students “to use the skills learned in Debate to defend not only themselves but to also someday be the voice of those silenced through no fault of their own.”

Junior Natalie Buzzetti stated that the season’s expected leaders or top teams weren’t limited to just a team or two: “we have more than several very talented individuals and keeping in mind there is the whole season ahead and much time for improvement; there could be many more.”

Despite the hard work of the team, Rabelo admitted that “Our first debate of the season was one of the most competitive.”

Santos added, “ We went against towns [such as Bergen Academies, Tenafly, and NV Demarest] that really take debate seriously and dedicate as much time to it as we do.”

The results of this difficult debate gave the team confidence in a successful upcoming season. Santos said, “Now that we have our ‘first debate jitters’ out of the way, we can really focus on improving our performance.”