Will Gonsior, Opinions/A&E Editor
• November 14, 2023
An oppressive republic
On Sept. 16, 2022, Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini passed away in custody of the Iranian government. Amini had been arrested three days earlier for improperly wearing her hijab. Although...
Tyler Kinzy, Managing Editor-in-Chief
• December 22, 2020
When the average American hears the word debate, they likely think of election season shouting matches that seem to focus on soundbites more than substance. Competitive speech and debate, however, is a...
Thomas Bruns, Opinions/A&E editor
• December 10, 2020
Switching from running around rooms, to managing Zooms, the debate team made history by hosting Eastern Missouri’s biggest debate tournament, Oct. 6-7. Led by head coach and debate teacher Cara Borgsmiller,...
Always showing a passion for health and politics, alumna Stuart Portman combined his interests to become an advisor at the U.S. Senate.
Portman’s Journey
After graduating high school in 2009, Portman...
Tyler Kinzy, Managing Editor-in-Chief
• September 11, 2019
It is the conversation that speech and debate coach Cara Borgsmiller is forced to have several times each season.
“I talk openly about it, especially the first time they get a ballot that says something...
After a successful districts tournament, the speech and debate team will send six students to compete in three different events at the national tournament in Dallas this June. The events of last year have...
Fatema Rehmani, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief
• April 4, 2019
The Speech and Debate team has been actively expressing themselves through speeches and performances since 1970. The team is sending seven competitors to the state tournament in Springfield, Mo. and six...
Alumni Haran Kumar’s legacy will be integrated into the first speech and debate Eastern Missouri invitational tournament, hosted at Parkway West Oct. 12 and 13.
“We want to live the things that...
![“When I first started [Speech and Debate], I struggled with competing, finding time for it [and] managing my time. I focused so much on the competition aspect and trying to win tournaments, that I kept overlooking the parts like building connections with people, [and] making friends. I would stress myself out. I started planning my time for when I could do things. Practicing more helped, because the more I practiced, the better I got in competition. It didn't seem as scary or as hard as it was before. When I first started, the whole thing about debate is that you're not always going to win, and there's a lot of people that wish they were in your position just winning one time. It's best not to focus on that, and to focus on if you're improving from last time.” - Ryan Shabani, 11](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed-2-1200x800.jpg)
![“I'm very passionate about debating, [which is why] I am [a member of the] speech and debate team. I like how it offers opportunities to speak [from] viewpoints on different opinions with people outside of our group from other schools around our communities. I usually participate in public forum debates [and] the topic [we speak about] changes every month. One debate that I was most invested in [took place in] February; which was [about whether or not] the US federal government should ban all single use plastics. I feel like I spent the most time working on this case [than any other discussion], and I was determined to make it into finals. I hold competition very dear to me. I have only gone to two tournaments so far, but I've already made it into the finals. [Finals are important because], I think it really shows how much growth and [effort you’ve put in through the battle].” - Bethany Liao, 9](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bethany-L-1200x800.jpg)
![Senior Dana Zafarani poses in paint reading “Women, Life, Freedom” and “#BarayeAzadi” as a protest against the Iranian government. The experiences of Iranian women inspired Zafarani to assist in any effort to protect women’s rights. “The world should live in peace. Every woman deserves to be equal. Every woman deserves love [and] kindness,” Zafarani said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-10-31-12.54.47-PM.png)
![During the awards ceremony of the 2019 Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Speech and Debate tournament, seniors Luke Donovan and Kristina Humphrey await their names to be announced with their placement. Donavon and Humphrey qualified for state in the duet event and placed second overall in the tournament. “I stayed in speech and debate [for four years] because the team and people from other teams in the district are like my second family. While competition can be brutal, it’s worth it to be with the amazing people in Eastern Missouri,” Humphrey said. “Speech has made me grow as a person significantly. It has given me the opportunity to spread important messages through unique ways of conveying them.” Photo by Fatema Rehmani.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/DSC_0123-900x600.jpg)
![Juniors Rithvik Karthikeyan and Connor Olliff arrange trophies in the debate classroom after school Sept. 24. Olliff hopes that by replacing trophies with random objects, the team can best honor alumni Haran Kumar. "We’ve had to think about how we can better remember one of our graduates, and we want to hold [the tournament] in his honor," Olliff said. "We’re trying a lot harder to make it perfect this year so it’s in perfect remembrance of him."](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/DSC_0196-900x600.jpg)