Nikita Datta, 11, did not know what to expect when she headed to San Antonio late last month for the 2009 Middle School National Debate Championship.

Sure she had practiced for hours each week since September, and she knew that she had a passion for debate – especially the rebuttal – but she was still slightly intimidated by the competition.

Datta, a rising seventh-grader at Lime Kiln Middle, and her partner, Viveka Advani, who just completed eighth grade at Burleigh Manor Middle, quickly got over their initial anxiety and became the first Howard County students to win the competition in its 10-year existence.

The duo won the Public Forum Debate category beating the reigning national champions from Lanier Middle School in Houston to win the title.

"It was exciting. When I went there, I didn't expect to win anything. It was intense. The other team almost knew they were going to win. It was tough to go up against a team that thought they were going to win. But we did our best in the debate."— Nikita Datta

In addition to the championship team, Howard County students also excelled in the Policy Debate category. Srinidhi Muppalla of Burleigh Manor and Niran Lakhanpal of Clarksville Middle tied for third place with Madeleine Houck of Folly Quarter Middle and Vivian Wang of Burleigh Manor. All just completed eighth grade.

Muppalla was named Top Speaker in the Nation, which was also a first for Howard County. He scored 149 out of a possible 150 points to win the title. Wang finished second; Lakhanpal finished fourth; and Houck finished fifth.

The students all belong to Capitol Debate, a nonprofit based in Ellicott City that coaches students in debate techniques and strategies.

"The national champions and the entire team worked extraordinarily hard. They did a lot of work and put a lot of effort into this national championship."— Ronald Bratt, CEO and founder of Capitol Debate

The students were advised by Cayman Giordano, the debate coach at Howard High School who also works at Capitol Debate, and Les Phillips, a coach with Capitol Debate.

Datta, who favors the actual debate over the research and writing aspect of the competition, said she plans to defend her title next year. "It's a lot of fun," she said.

Source: Baltimore Sun, July 5, 2009

When the topic is whether school debate programs teach youngsters to better express themselves, Michael Koo would likely argue for the affirmative.

"I like to argue a lot. It helps me think about how to answer arguments in everyday life," said Koo, 14, a rising high school freshman from Ellicott City who, along with teammate Devansh Srivastava, captured this year's national championship in policy debate at the Middle School National Speech and Debate Championships recently in Des Moines, Iowa.

The tandem went 14-0 to win their title.

The Ellicott City-based organization where they are members, Capitol Debate, earned a School of Excellence award for holistic squad performance. The group teaches young people political debate, giving them critical-thinking skills that they can apply well into adulthood.

In its fourth year, the program is drawing a crop of new debaters to its summer camps at Loyola University in Columbia for rising sixth- through ninth-graders, from July 26 through Aug. 6. Among other things, the camp introduces students to debate and helps them learn how to give a public speech, organize ideas, write a case and conduct research.

"Debate gives the kids the chance to find their voice. It helps them to learn to express themselves in the community and make a difference."— Ron Bratt, founder and CEO of Capitol Debate

Koo and Srivastava captured the title arguing that the U.S. government should substantially increase social services such as food stamps to the impoverished.

"We had several reasons for advocating food stamps," said Srivastava, 14, from Ellicott City. "People are starving now, and it's the government's fault. We have a moral obligation to provide food."

A Woodstock resident, Bratt said he was drawn to debate after watching a competition as an eighth-grader growing up in New Jersey. Before launching Capitol Debate, he taught the subject at Catholic University in Washington and says that many of his former debaters there have gone on to careers as lawyers, professors and lobbyists.

Bratt said that debate often draws young people who don't follow the same interests as their school peers. Particularly, he says, many either aren't that good at sports or have little interest in them.

"A lot of them do not do sports, but they have that competitive energy and they're really smart," said Bratt. "This becomes an outlet for that competitive energy."

"Successful debaters are young kids who are motivated and competitive," he said. "They're usually their toughest critic. I think that debate is no different in a lot of ways than sports. The kids who are the most successful are the kids that hate losing the most, and it's that drive that makes them win."

They include Nikita Datta, 12, of Clarksville, who was awarded top debate speaker in policy debate. Last year's Middle School Debate Champion was part of a tandem that lost in the semifinals in policy debate this year.

Despite her recent accomplishments, Datta says that this year's semifinal finish in policy debate doesn't sit well with her.

"Obviously, it's very exciting to win, but when you lose, it's upsetting," she said. "There's fierce competition, people who really want it."

Yet already Datta is envisioning what she will do with her gifts when she enters the working world.

"I want to have a policy-making job, where I can be in government and make changes" she said.

Both Koo and Srivastava say they already see the immediate benefits of excelling at debate.

"I was kind of shy at the beginning," said Srivastava, "but over time I was able to overcome that. I guess debate has a lot of benefits like that."

Source: Baltimore Sun, July 15, 2010

They practiced speed drills, studied films of their opponents and outlined strategies — all to ensure that when the tournament began, they would be ready to perform.

That is why the Howard County-based Capitol Debate team is one of the best nationally in a contest that is just as intense and competitive as any sport. They're hosting their fourth-annual Fall Classic Tournament at Centennial High School, starting Saturday and ending Sunday.

The contest matches teams from Maryland as well as those from seven other states — including Florida, New Hampshire and Alabama — and Washington, D.C. It features policy debate, with more than 60 two-member teams competing.

Capitol Debate has long been one of the premier debate teams in the country; its middle school team is the defending national champion.

"The key is to know everyone that's going to be in attendance, know what they're going to argue, because we've seen them before, and have our research and our position ready to go against them."— Ronald Bratt, founder of Capitol Debate

Bratt added that teams also pay attention to judges to see if they're nodding in agreement or shaking heads in disagreement.

"Like [teams] watch videotapes in sports, videotapes have become big in finding the weaknesses in other [debating] teams," said Bratt. "We'll look at what arguments the other team is weak at answering. We'll see, on a two-person team, which is the weaker of the two debaters and overload them with arguments."

Capitol Debate member Dan Li, a senior at Centennial High School who once played organized tennis, says debate is more fiercely competitive than any sport.

"Winning is obviously a very exhilarating feeling. But I think … sometimes the worst thing you can experience is a big loss in a debate. If you enter a tournament with high expectations and if you win, it's more of a relief than it is a joy."— Dan Li, Capitol Debate member

Still, he says, the competitive nature of debate keeps him coming back. "It's something that school or other academic functions don't really provide," he said. "You can have good grades, but that really doesn't provide much of a competitive atmosphere."

Among the drills the debate team performs in practice is "speed reading," a form of oration that is similar to what one would hear at a contest. The students read text as fast as they can, with virtually no pause between sentences or paragraphs, while still sounding concise and articulate.

"If there's an argument that you know you have to make over and over again, because someone will always say, 'X,' and you need to say, 'Y' in response, you're expected to be able to say that in a very precise and eloquent manner," said Capitol Debate member Alix Arungah, a senior at Howard High School.

She added, "We have at least one practice debate almost every practice. We're expected to do work at home, the same way you're expected to go to a gym and build your muscles. We have to research our arguments, know our opponents, create strategies for them and not just go in like you're blind."

Bratt said that the judges, too, bring their best effort, because the notes they take throughout contests can serve as a virtual instant replay.

"In figure skating, you might get a 5.8, but you don't know why. But here, it's an intellectual game, and it's a high demand on the judge to articulate a reason why. They've got to defend. Debaters will ask them questions [after the match], and they have to be prepared to defend their decision."— Ronald Bratt

Source: Baltimore Sun, October 31, 2010 • By Joe Burris