The debate team competed in districts on February 6th, hoping to earn a spot in states in its opening year. The paired debaters,  Caroline Anders’17 and Parker Graham’17, fulfilled this goal and will represent Academy’s first students at the state competition, held in Cincinnati in March.

Districts were held at Gahanna Lincoln High School in the traditional Public Forum format. The teams of the Tarhe Trails district debated whether the U.S. federal government should adopt a carbon tax. Along with Anders and Graham, Academy sent seniors Sooji Kang, Alex LiChen, and Varun Vallabhaneni, along with Rhea Rao’17 and newest member, Alyssa Kim’18.

Anders said Saturday’s event had a “unique feel,” as they faced teams who were “super competitive but also teams that were beyond nice to us.”

This weekend symbolized the success of the Debate Team’s first year, as they proved themselves capable of rising to the elite level.