Cardinal Newman Debate Students take on Cambridge

The Cardinal Newman High School debate team went to Harvard University on President’s Day weekend to compete in the 24th Annual Speech and Debate Tournament. A total of 13 Cardinal Newman students made the trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Congress and public forum teams debated for six hours on Saturday and three hours on Sunday. Two public forum Cardinal Newman teams advanced to the next round. All the Congress members scored well but none advanced to the final rounds.

“I am very proud of how I did. It was a great experience and I now know what to do while debating in the future,” said Junior Jacob Connley. Connley received a high score of five out of six in one of his speeches. “I was proud of myself because that means I answered the questions properly and I know how much potential I have for the future.”

The Cardinal Newman team also explored Boston College where they had a private lunch with the Jesuit priests of the university. Cardinal Newman history teacher John Daniell organized a private lunch for the debate team at his alma mater.

“I am so thankful to join the debate team on their trip and I was more than happy to organize this lunch to give the students a taste of Boston College,” said John Daniell. “It was nice,” said Milo Keogh. “They (Jesuit priests) were pretty smart.”

The Cardinal Newman High School debate team will now prepare for the final local debate tournaments ahead.