Spring 2009 Potomac Term - Potomac School

News On Campus
Potomac Debate Team
Defends State Title
To win the Virginia State Debate Championship in
their first year of competition was an amazing feat
for The Potomac School team. But to win it two
years in a row was nothing short of extraordinary.
Junior Esfandyar “Yar” Batmanghelidj, who
was state champion last year, and Senior Adam
Gerchick, third last year, closed out the final round
in February’s tournament at the University of
Virginia, choosing to share the title rather than
compete against each other. Varsity team members
James McElwain (12th grade) and Madhu
Ramankutty (10th grade) also won rounds at the
tournament for Potomac.
Volunteer coach Tom Rollins, Potomac parent
of Lower Schoolers Kay and Tommy, challenges
his team to excel in Lincoln-Douglas debate,
which pits students one-on-one with changing
topics. Some of the issues the team has debated
this year included: under what circumstances it is
permissible to kill an innocent person in order to
save the lives of more innocent people; whether
felons ought to retain the right to vote; and
whether or not the U.S. should join the International
Criminal Court.
Next year the team will engage in policy debate,
which requires two-person teams to debate
the same issue for an entire year. The policy issue
will be whether or not the Federal government
should substantially increase social services
for the poor. “Policy debate requires so much
research and study that these kids will remain
fluent in this subject for the rest of their lives,”
says Rollins.
The team has competed in Connecticut, North
Carolina, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York
over the last year, pitting their skills against some
very sharp opponents. Potomac easily captured
the “Jefferson Award for Excellence” as the best
Lincoln-Douglas debate school at the National
Forensic League’s Virginia Tournament. Potomac
also won the “Dogwood Cup” for outstanding
mid-sized school. By virtue of their victories at
the Virginia tournament, Batmanghelidj and
Gerchick will compete at the National Forensic
League’s national championship tournament in
Birmingham, Alabama, in June.
Volunteer coach Tom Rollins works with debaters
McKenzie Klein (9th grade) and Madhu Ramankutty
(10th grade).
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