Despite the difficulties of online competitions, South’s debate team’s passion allows them to continue arguing their way to success, explained Debate Director Alyssa Corrigan.

Junior Sid Kuchimanchi has been involved in debate since his freshman year and said debate is a great way to stay engaged in current issues.

“You get to discuss issues that are really prevalent to our world,” Kuchimanchi said. “It’s nice being able to understand how our discussions correlate to the world.”

Debate member junior Lauren Ravury said South’s debate team persists, even while arguing virtually. For example, Debate now uses online resources, such as Flipgrid and Zoom, to make their modified dynamics feel as normal as possible.

“It’s been a challenge, but our debate organization has been good with adapting to the circumstances,” Ravury said.

While the team had a rough start at the beginning of the year, Corrigan said they overcame those obstacles and made it to the quarterfinals at the Blake and Montgomery Bell Academy tournaments.

“It was nice to see progress and to see [the team] be so successful during such a challenging time,” Corrigan said.

As the debate team continues to navigate through obstacles, they are able to remain optimistic and use their common love for debating to continue pushing through, Corrigan emphasized.

“I’m really proud of the kids for persevering through a challenging time because it would be super easy to take a step back due to the current circumstances,” Corrigan said.