At MuHS there are many clubs for students to participate and be a part of. Recently, a new club has joined the ranks and it is sure to get students talking: Debate Club.  The club is so new that it had a first meeting near the end of the third nine weeks. Although the club started late in the year, the attendance of their first meeting was tremendous, reaching about 50 or more people total.  So that begs the question, how exactly did this club come to be?

It all started with the visionaries behind it all, MuHS junior, Amanda Hugas and club host, Mrs. Cortez. Hugas has plans to study law in the future which led her to the idea of a debate club. After consulting with Mr. Golebiewski (Mr. G), an assistant principal at MuHS, about her idea, the club was formed.

The new club needed a sponsor and the staff member who seized the opportunity was none other than MuHS English teacher, Mrs. Cortez. When asked why she became the club sponsor, she stated, “I have wanted to teach debate for years, and sadly with covid hitting nothing has been moving forward. When Mr. G sent out the email looking for an advisor for a debate club, I was all over it. I had emailed Mr. G back in a second.” It can be certain with Mrs. Cortez leading the charge, her and Amanda Hugas will hit the ground running with this new club.

Those interested in joining the club need only need to do two things. As of right now, all you have to do to join is show up. However, all people who come must also sign a respect contract.  Mrs. Cortez explained, “A respect contract is a little slip of paper that highlights the expectations of the club as well as reiterates the importance of debating opinions respectively.” The signature on the contract will be the commitment to the club, and a permission slip to allow each student the privilege of joining in on debates. Other than that there is no other requirement as of this year to join the club.

When asked what Hugas’s goals for the future of the club were, she stated, “Well definitely in the future I will have graduated by then, but I’m hoping the continuation of the club can lead to an actual official debate team. Other schools have one, and I want to have a team that can go to competitions and also have mock debates.”

As a whole, what the club hopes to achieve is to help develop, teach, and improve public speaking skills as well as being able to make well worded arguments. They also hope the club can help students understand that there is a way to get your opinion across respectfully without letting emotions take over. This club is for those who wish to become more confident with their argument skills, as well as a way to improve their social skills. All in all if you are interested in the club you can find them in room 130, but if the size exceeds the occupancy limit, it would be moved to the LGI room. It always happens on B days during 4th block (8th period). If you’re interested, go see Mrs. Cortez on the next club day.