by Jackie Gong
New members of the debate team won the novice division of the Little Lexington Tournament Saturday, Nov. 21 at Lexington High School.
Sophomores Cate Liu and Kate West won the tournament with a record of 6-0. Sophomores Lukas Alexander and Sam Kesselman went 4-1, sophomores Wendy Li and Emma Nephtali went 3-2, freshmen Ethan Gahm and Guy Michaely went 2-3, sophomores Elizabeth Davis and Victoria Denaro went 1-4, and sophomore Kelly Fong and freshman Gus Betts went 0-5.
Participants debated whether governments should prioritize the humanitarian needs of refugees over their own national interest.
The team is divided into novice and varsity members—who have competed in two or more tournaments. The tournament was intended for only new debaters in Massachusetts.
According to senior Adam Rabinowitz, a captain, “North has never done this well at a novice tournament before. Seeing the team do so well after such little time was really exciting.”
West said, “Honestly, we were more shocked by the results than anyone, but knowing that we were somehow able to win it definitely makes me more confident.”
The debate team’s next tournament is tomorrow at Lincoln-Sudbury High School. Both novice and varsity members will compete in the tournament.
West hopes that she and Liu, who will still be paired together at Lincoln-Sudbury, go at least 3-2 tomorrow.
“We definitely work well together,” she said. “Often we think about things in slightly different ways, but we’re on the same page, in terms of our opinions.”