ISDA Debating Round 4 vs St Aloysius Report

J. G. Nicholas

Last Friday, Shore hosted St. Aloysius on topics related to ‘Media,’ and our debaters were victorious in two of eight debates in a tough night on the podium for the men in white and grey. 

Invigorated by their Playfair feast, our Year 7s negated the topic ‘That parents should have access to their adolescents’ social media accounts,’ unfortunately going down to a strong Aloys side. A good effort from the boys, Eddie Ohlsson in particular shone with his exciting introduction, great examples and emphasis on the significance of his arguments. Clearly inspired by the wise words of their Debating Captain, Richard Zhan and Fred Stewart effectively implemented thematic rebuttal for the first time off the back of their strong speech structure and growing confidence. Moving into Round 5 this week, the boys hope to continue to improve and secure a spot in the ISDA postseason. 

Suffering the same fate as our Year 7s, our Year 8 team went down negating the same topic. In the face of strong opposition, greater engagement with the opposition’s model and a more nuanced discussion of the importance of their principle of privacy would have enhanced their case. Nonetheless, the weekly improvements of the boys put them in good stead to add another win to their column against Kambala this Friday. 

The Year 8 ISDA Team

Extending their hot streak to three, our Year 9s triumphed in the only Shore senior school victory of the night, negating the topic ‘That the media should refrain from reporting on the private lives of public figures.’ Effectively dismantling the opposition from the jump, Jayden Pan dominated at first with a softer approach compared to previous weeks that served him and the team well. Yukai Yan articulated the harms in the opposition’s model well, and methodically bulldozed their substantive. Overall, the boys should be very proud of their win as they hope to extend the streak to four this Friday. 

All smiles from fourth speaker Liam O’Neill during the Year 9s’ glorious victory

Our Year 10s found themselves negating the tough topic ‘That we should regret the rise of TikTok,’ and were unfortunately defeated on the almost unwinnable side of the case. Doing well to expand on some of the benefits of the platform, specifically as a platform for small business to create a following, creative expression and a positive source of entertainment, the boys were unable to prove why these positives outweigh the innumerable negatives of TikTok. While the team did well, they aim to work on their analysis and time management moving into the latter half of the season. 

Psyched to continue their dominance of Pool A, the Senior Bs negated the rather ambiguous topic ‘That artists should be paid a living wage.’ The team worked hard to establish logical frameworks around both the economic and artistic harms of the Affirmative model, but ultimately needed more convincing rebuttal and clearer stakeholder definitions. Despite the loss, Max ‘Kyrie’ Kim opened their case well at first negative, setting up an effective throughline with his good pacing and beautifully synthesised rebuttal. 

The Senior Bs hard at work

Affirming the same topic, the Senior As took their first L of the season in a saddening loss that left Ms Wolsely and coach Liam Graham with much to be desired from the boys. Excited by the proposition of a more challenging case on the negative, the As got to work in the prep-room, naively focusing their energy on the idea of struggle and authenticity of an artist’s work as more important than their wellbeing. Missing minorities-specialist Blake Fite, the team failed to look past the idea of the ‘troubled artist’ reifying their sadness in the beauty of their works and a ‘call to arms’ for the oppressed populace. Confident in their somewhat flawed arguments, the boys failed to identify the obvious weaknesses in the opposition’s model, or grapple with the most numerous stakeholders, in professional artistry such as graphic design or visual arts teaching. Despite continuing to develop their time management and identification of issues, Aloys claimed the victory, ending the As’ hopes of an undefeated season. 

Little did they know…….. (The Senior As)

Next week, the men from Blue Street take on Kambala on their home turf in what is shaping up to be an exhilarating and competitive night of debating. 

Captain of Debating – Jimmy Nicholas