Can high school debate teams unite communities? This Plainfield teacher thinks so.

PLAINFIELD — A local teacher is hoping to foster community unity through vigorous - but civil - student debate.

Kevin Mariano, a veteran Plainfield High School social studies teacher and the school’s debate team advisor, is spearheading the inaugural Plainfield Regional Debate Tournament event in which seven area high schools will face off Thursday in a bracketed parliamentary debate forum.

The school's debate team formed in 2008 as a club of two students and, as more kids joined, evolved enough to field teams that competed in tournaments across the region.

Then COVID-19 hit.

“It destroyed everything,” said Mariano, who also serves as the school’s theater director. “Kids lost so much during that year-and-a-half. So I worked to resuscitate the program and, starting in October, reached out to several other schools to try and get a debate tournament going. I emailed superintendents and looked up which schools actually had debate clubs. It was a straight Hail Mary.”

It was a long-shot that succeeded.

“I had faith teams were out there and this could bring communities together and there was no other comparable event that could give so many students, from various schools, this type of platform, in a one-night event,” Mariano said. “It’s an event that can show parents that their kids are paying attention to the world around them, that they're not just on their phones.”

The tournament will feature eight teams of four students each from seven schools – Plainfield will field two teams - including Colchester's Bacon Academy, Woodstock Academy, Norwich Free Academy, Stonington's Wheeler High School, Stonington High School and Storrs' E. O. Smith High School.

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Many of the teams converging on Plainfield High this week are new to the formal regional debate concept, said Mark Kulos, advisor to Norwich Free Academy’s debate club for the last six years.

“None that I know have competed before, so we’re all starting at zero,” he said.

It’s a rebuilding time for NFA’s debate club with the bulk of last year’s group – mostly seniors – having graduated.

“It’s a whole new crop of kids,” Kulos said. “We kept going through COVID with intramural competitions and some remote meetings, but this is the first regional competition we’ve been part of since the fall of 2019.”

Kulos said he got Mariano’s email blast about the tournament in October and, luckily, the format adheres to one familiar to most club advisors.

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“The kids are scared and excited,” he said. “There’s about 20-22 minutes of talking per team that includes making statements and asking questions and I did have them write a paper first covering what they’ll say.”

But even a preparatory document only goes so far, said Kulos, a patent attorney who knows the power of poise and presentation.

“It takes a little bit of bravery to stand up there in front of people and start speaking,” he said.

Like Mariano, Kulos said such regional debates have the ability to bond participants, regardless of school district boundaries.

“It can develop school pride, but there’s also a sense of camaraderie between students all in the same arena,” he said.

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High school teams will debate ranked choice voting

The teams will debate one question across multiple rounds: Whether the Connecticut General Assembly should ratify Bill 6153 and adopt ranked-choice voting for all state and federal elections. Mariano, a 2022 Connecticut Teacher of the Year semifinalist, said he sought a debate question, that while timely and important, didn’t come freighted with the baggage of a “red vs. blue state” query.

“We wanted the parents watching to actually see what’s happening in academia and that at the end of the day people with opposing viewpoints can shake hands," Mariano said. "It's a reminder to adults that they are the role models and should act with civility to each other."

Teams will consist of four members: Two “constructive” speakers, or those that rally the team’s affirmative or opposing position, and two rebuttal members who are tasked with tearing down a rival team’s argument, though the borders between the two pairs’ jobs can overlap.

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Zachary Robbins, a 16-year-old Plainfield High student, and his teammate, 17-year-old Jayme Homen, have spent months preparing for this week’s tournament. The two juniors are both members of the school’s theater program and aren’t strangers to the public spotlight.

“(The debate preparation) has helped me in school; it’s easier to pick up on points easier and gather evidence better,” Robbins said. “I’ll be speaking first for our team and that meant writing an essay on our position and really learning about the merits of our argument.”

Homen said formal debating was a tad out of his comfort zone and his job as second constructive speaker means he’ll be buttressing Robbins’ points while laying the groundwork for counter-arguments.

“You kind of have to do that on the fly as you listen to the other team’s speaker,” Homen said. “There’s no script, but you try and figure out ahead of time what another team will be arguing.”

Mariano said each team will take part in two rounds of debate with 13 judges – none from Plainfield – adjudicating the three-round event. In keeping the communal flavor of the tournament, other school representatives, including choir and honor society members and faculty, will serve in various event roles. Trophies will be awarded to the top two teams, as well as the top five overall speakers. All teams will be recognized with awards.

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“I wanted several things to happen when planning this debate,” Mariano said. “First, get the kids front and center and allow them to show off their academic acumen. I also wanted to build bridges between schools while reminding adults that kids are always listening and paying attention. And, while building morale is important, I want people to leave the event understanding that it’s okay to disagree.”

If you go

What: Plainfield Regional Debate Tournament

When: 2:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Dec. 8

Where: Plainfield High School, 105 Putnam Road, Central Village, CT 06332

Cost: Free, with suggested $5 donation requested

John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Plainfield regional debate tournament to promote civility Dec. 5