On April 26 and 27, Deep Run’s Student Congress debate team will participate in the 2024 Virginia High School League (VHSL) Debate State Championship at James Madison University. After becoming the regional runner-ups, the Wildcats are gearing up to excel in the competition and potentially represent Virginia in the National Debate Tournament, which will begin in Des Moines, Iowa on June 16.
The state qualifiers include junior Dillon Kao and sophomore Richard Shi, with juniors Arthur Demao and Soorya Sridharan selected as alternates. Meneja Gautam and Ella Lecturing also qualified but will be unable to attend.
Recently, VHSL revealed the Student Congress topics for States, including the right to repair and pharmaceutical patents (domestic), Israel and Mexico (international), Social Security and income tax (economic), and personal property taxes and companion animals (Virginia).
“I’ve begun to research my topic, and I’m preparing to start writing my speech,” Kao said. “The best thing we can do is get familiar with our topics as early as possible.”
Since the beginning of the school year, the Congress team has doubled after an influx of newcomers. One of these newcomers is sophomore Obalaluwa Ogunade, who joined the team in November 2023. Recently, Ogunade delivered a speech supporting a mock bill outlining the implementation of increased federal financial aid for Virginia’s college students. Ogunade has a diagnosed speech impediment, that judges and teammates have been consistently considerate of.
“Judges and participants have been pretty accommodating of my stutter,” Ogunade said.
The Student Congress also competed in the Reagan Great Communicator Series on April 20 in the midst of applications for next season’s leadership roles and plans for the annual banquet.
