Greenhills Debate Program Off to a Strong Start

As a complement to its traditionally strong forensics program, Greenhills is once again offering students the opportunity to debate.  

For many years, Greenhills fielded successful debate teams, and the school re-entered the world of debate last year at the middle school level, where it won a state championship.  The goal now is to enshrine strong programs in both the upper and middle school that will allow students the opportunity to further develop their public speaking and argumentation skills while having a great deal of fun.

The school has chosen to compete in the style of debate known as public forum.  The students participate in teams of two on topics of current interest chosen on a bimonthly basis. Each debate lasts approximately 45 minutes and there are opportunities for affirmative case statements, rebuttals, and cross-examination questioning.  Public forum debate places an emphasis on clear advocacy and the ability to think on one’s feet.

The upper school team is off to a strong start. Approximately 20 students are expecting to compete in various tournaments throughout the year.

On September 27, the school had two teams compete at a Michigan Interscholastic Forensics Association (MIFA) tournament at West Bloomfield high school.  Freshmen Harry Bagenstos and Evan Fortson captured second place, while Bonnie Liu and Elaina Karpenko also fared very well in their rounds.

The Bagenstos-Fortson team then competed in a Detroit Catholic Forensics League (DCFL) tournament at Notre Dame Prep on October 8, where they went 2-1.    In the upcoming weeks a host of teams will compete in various tournaments culminating in the MIFA state championships in December.

More than 20 students have turned out for the middle school program and are hard at work preparing for competitions later this fall.

Anyone with questions about the upper school program should feel free to contact coaches Sam Bagenstos and Riyaz Kanji.   Questions about the middle school program should be directed to coaches Jennifer Visscher and Anthony Pariano.