Carlthorp Students Set Record at National Debate Championship

Palisadian Fifth-Grader Alexander Vari Was Among the Award-Winning Team Members

By MAGNOLIA LAFLEUR | Reporter

Three students from Carlthorp School, including one Palisadian, participated in the Middle School Public Debate Program National Championship 2022—a two-day tournament on April 30 and May 1.

Led by Debate Coach Jake Meany, the students participated along with 78 of the top middle school teams in the country, featuring 230 other debaters of varying ages.

“What is more impressive is that this is the first time in the 15-year history of the national championship that an entirely fifth-grade team has won the division and placed in the top 20,” Meany shared with the Palisadian-Post. “The tournament is based on competitive ‘power matching,’ so the students had to debate against almost entirely seventh- and eighth-grade teams with years of experience.”

An after-school program, the students that participated in this year’s tournament via Zoom and won an award were fifth-graders Alexander Vari, Marcus Mccanell and Teddy Chang.

“Before each tournament, we get a few weeks to prepare, and then we were recorded on Zoom,” Alexander, who lives in Pacific Palisades, shared. “With COVID it’s been much different than traditional debate, otherwise it was a great experience.”

Alexander’s father, Gabor Vari, shared that he was most proud of his son’s “effort and preparation” in readying for the debate, noting that he was up early mornings and evenings honing his craft in order to win his arguments in their home in The Huntington.

“We’ve noticed that Alexander’s ability to apply logic to varying situations has blossomed as a result of his involvement in debate,” Gabor told the Post. “When conversing with us, Alexander is able to anticipate the other side and preemptively debunk the opposition’s position.”

His mother Hillary added, “As an example of Alexander’s excitement over debate, I recall that after a full day of debating in his first tournament, Alexander asked if I would continue debating with him that afternoon.”

Topics that were debated at the tournament included whether it should be illegal to make false claims about official U.S. election results; if minors should not be tried as adults; whether the U.S. should establish a program of de-extinction for the Christmas Island rat; and if NATO does more harm than good.

Chang said that what was most exciting for him was preparing and debating in front of everyone, stating that it was a memorable public speaking experience.

“It was really a great experience debating with older kids,” Chang elaborated. “For some teams there were very polished debaters and for other teams there were debaters at our level, which made for a great debate and lots of refutations. [Debate coach Meany] is great. Before the tournaments, he always says to relax, take it easy and how he had a great feeling about us, and that really helped with my confidence.”

Excited that her son will be participating in debate next year in sixth grade, Michelle Chang shared she was happy to see how much he excelled his first year in debate.

“The fact that he’s built this camaraderie for friends to share his passion with, and be able to articulate and do the research, this has been a lot of work for these kids,” Michelle shared. “Tournaments are all weekend, all day and the kids are up, self-motivated.”

Marcus’ mother Tara Mccanell explained that while she initially signed her son up for the debate program, it was through their debate coach, Meany, that they “stirred up the fire and got them to be their best.”

“His ability to pull himself together, prepare, organize above and beyond anything he’s ever had to do before was amazing,” Tara said. “He was very motivated to debate, and know his topics and do well with his team, thanks to Jake Meany.”

The awards this year consisted of first in the fifth/sixth grade category and 18th at the tournament overall, with a 4-2 record—narrowly missing making the semi-finals and top 10 teams.

“I see competitive debate through an education lens,” Meany told the Post. “It’s about allowing debate tournaments to test students’ understanding, critical thinking, and persuasion and public speaking. I’m more interested in what they learn than what they win in awards. Debate is incredibly difficult, even for trained professionals.”

Meany explained that the students were up at 6 a.m. the day of the tournament, practicing at recess and lunch, working hard.

“It’s the sort of due-diligence I wish I had seen in debate students of all ages, including college students I’ve worked with,” he concluded. “This year’s students were exceptional in being proactive and working incredibly hard.”