Support Madison East Debate!

Ever since I found the debate team at East High, debate has been my home. While I didn’t always feel excited by other parts of school, debate felt real and meaningful to me, something I could really sink my teeth into and be challenged in. love debate because it gives me new ways to think about society and political issues, and because the way we structure arguments  helps me easily break down any argument I hear and advocate for what I believe in. When I first joined the team, it had been newly reinstated after a long hiatus, and less than ten students were involved. We were just getting started and worked hard to recruit new people to the team.


Now, as a rising senior, I am thrilled to say that our team has grown to over twenty-five members, the largest debate team East High has ever had in its ninety-seven year history. While this growth is amazing and I am so excited to see new students discovering a home in East Debate like I did, our budget is not big enough to send this many students to debate tournaments, which are a core component of the debate experience, similar to meets for athletic events. If we don’t raise more money soon, we will need to drastically cut back opportunities for students to debate next year. This would be very disappointing to all the students on the team like myself who put hard work into this activity.


In an increasingly complex and polarized world, I believe we need a new generation of thoughtful and inquisitive leaders now more than ever. Supporting our debate team is a simple way to make that happen. Debate teaches critical thinking, in-depth research, public speaking, and comprehensive listening, which are exactly the skills so many colleges and workplaces are seeking today. While the East High debate team has been very successful at teaching these skills and approaches over the last few years, we need your help to ensure that all students who are interested in debate have an opportunity to participate going forward. Next year will be my last year competing in debate before heading to college, and I want to make all the students on the team have a chance to succeed. If you’re able, we’d love it if you could make a donation to help us make sure we can pay for everyone on the team to attend tournaments next year.


Here is what your donation will do:
$20 will cover one student’s entry fee for a tournament
$75 will cover one judge’s fee for a tournament
$500 will cover school bus transportation for a tournament
Any amount of your choice is welcome!

Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Eliya S.
Junior Co-Captain

Theo R.
Junior Co-Captain

Ariel H.
Senior Co-Captain

Anne M.
Senior Co-Captain

Corey J.
Senior Co-Captain

Annabel S.
Senior Co-Captain