The Arthur Waldron Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School(AWSDA) is the 2023 Inter-secondary school debating champion. The AWSDA defeated the Orion Academy in the finals held on Tuesday at the Emerald Movies Theater.
The AWSDA was represented by Burzha Bertrand and Shereen Carbon who opposed the moot “The laws, policies and institutions aimed at protecting children in Dominica from sexual exploitation and abuse are adequate while the Orion Academy represented by Lena Magloire and Dymond Daniel were the proposing side.
The AWSDA dominated the competition finishing with a total of 689 points, Best Speaker in the person of Burzha Bertrand and Beat Rebuttal. The Orion Academy finished with a total of 615.
Although the AWSDA were knocked out in the first round of competition by the St. Mary’s Academy, they were asked to return since they had the most points out of all the schools who were knocked out.
Coach of the AWSDA, Mrs. Jeannette Languedoc Barry says that becoming champion was a great lesson for the students.
“This win is a great demonstration of the principle that failure is not final. It was also a great opportunity to teach the students the growth mindset. We were knocked out in the first round but we were asked to continue because of points and at the end of every round we went to the judges to ask about ways we can improve and areas to work on.”
Mrs. Barry believes that the students’ passion gave them the edge over the Orion Academy.
“In this debate, it was easier to oppose than propose because of the many inadequacies of the laws, policies and institutions that are aimed at protecting children. We had many examples of this and many documents were written in support of this. However the edge came with the team’s passion on the topic and how sexual offenses are treated in Dominica.”
The students are elated to have won and look forward to participate in future debates. According to them, “Our victory began when we faced SMA again after being knocked out by them in the first round, and we defeated them and secured our space in the finals”.
Barry had huge commendations for Trudy Christian and her team which includes the students of the Dominica State College Literary and Debating Society.
She said, “This debate series is commendable and the organizers should be applauded for creating an atmosphere of respectful, academic discourse among our youth. It fosters the development of analytical skills and engenders confidence and better communication. I hope to see it extended to the primary school level”.
Emonews congratulates the students as well as the organizers for a job well done.
