This year, Debate Club joined the list of Terra Linda High School’s clubs, giving students the opportunity to research, structure, and deliver arguments on various topics beyond the classroom. 

The TL Debate Club was started by freshman Mila Marcussen, who saw the club missing among Terra Linda’s many student-run organizations. “I did debate all throughout middle school, and I really liked it,” Marcussen said. “When I heard that Terra Linda didn’t have a debate team I knew I definitely wanted to start one.” 

Although starting a club at TL is fairly simple, the process of building a debate team that participates in local competitions was more involved than Marcussen had expected. “It was really hard for a few months because the debate team needed to be a part of GGSA, the Golden Gate Speech Association,” said Marcussen. “So on top of getting all the forms filled out for the school, I also had to go through the process of applying to GGSA.”

Despite the initial difficulties creating the Debate Club, the team has since found its footing and has begun to participate in competitions. 

In Debate Club, students participate in both lunch and after-school meetings. While the weekly lunchtime meetings are more focused on debate games, after-school time is dedicated to learning how to debate and developing arguments for competitions. 

Typically, competitions center around oral arguments focused on a particular current and controversial topic, such as U.S. policies or international politics. Marcussen has found that recent debate resolutions have been centered around current policies being put forth by the Trump Administration. Once a resolution is announced, schools will have around a month to prepare both a pro and a con piece for each team of two to argue at competition. “You have to understand the topic enough to argue both sides,” said Marcussen. 

These competitions are a highlight for the team, according to Debate Club member Sammy Bradley ‘28. “[My favorite part] is debate competitions,” said Bradley. “I enjoy debate, so being able to do that in person is really fun.” Marcussen added, “ I always have a lot of fun at competitions, and sometimes wish they could last longer.” 

Though the team was created just this year, Terra Linda’s Debate Club performed well at their first competition in January. “I think TL made a good first impression,” said Marcussen. Arguing on the topic of China’s international extraction, the team of Marcussen and Bradley won every debate they participated in. 

As the competition season comes to a close, Marcussen has high hopes for future years. “I’m hoping to get some more students involved,” she said. “This year was kind of rocky at first, so I think we lost a lot of initial interest, but next year I hope that we will have more people.” 

Debate Club is a chance for students to use their academic and argumentative skills beyond the classroom, a place for them to make friends and improve public speaking skills. “I think it’s a really interactive club,” Bradley shares. “I found it really entertaining to put skills that aren’t athletic to use in something besides school.” While the team cannot compete in the state competition, as January was their first time participating in a high school competition, the future looks bright for TL Debate.