From the intellectual property rights of artificial intelligence to the ethics of chocolate milk, Piscataway High School’s Ethical Debate Team tackled it all on January 7 at the National High School Ethics Regional Bowl in Middlesex College. This was the first time in four years that the school has been represented by a team in a competition such as this, and they missed making it to the semifinals by the slimmest of margins!

After five long months of weekly practices, with daily meetings the week leading up to the big regional, PHS students Nikolai Powis, Edward Arroyo, Ivanna Emeana, Kritin Ganesh, Reva Gill, Nyasa Bryson, Dhivyasree Manimaran, Adrien Pelszynski, Nikolas Sewell, Ayana Bryson, Vaidehi Patel and their coach, English teacher Ms. Killian, took to the podium to hash it out with the rest of the “ethical debaters”.

The regional bowl saw attendance from teams statewide, from Stevens Institute in Hoboken extending as far as schools in Manhattan, New York.

With so much competition and the fact that “We haven’t competed since 2019 four years ago–pre-covid,” according to Ms. Killian– the advisor and coach of the team– it was no wonder the team’s excitement and dedication.

With the 2020 coronavirus outbreak and subsequent quarantine, the annual ethics bowl normally attended by the high school had been hosted virtually. Piscataway’s chapter, with an unfortunate lack of qualifying members, had been unable to participate since the pandemic and instead fell dormant.

Yet, being able to restore the club, stronger than ever, since the pandemic has been amazing.

Killian described the challenges that the club faced after the disruption caused by the pandemic: “The first year back from covid [Ethical Debate] had a lot of popularity.  There were a lot of kids interested, but with so much talking we couldn’t get any coherent discussion…it was more like a club than a team”.

However, the following 2022-2023 school year saw the opposite effect in members, with only five committed debaters and a more casual setup.

“A lot of research goes into problems and a good amount of people are needed for serious conversation…we [a team] really need enough people for at least 2 or 3 groups,” explained a freshman competitor.

Despite the initial rough patch post-pandemic, this most recent school year saw the rejuvenation of the debate team, which competed at a new regional bowl location: Middlesex College Center!

In terms of preparation, the team worked extensively to come up with positions for all twelve possible cases they could be given at random in their bowl.

However, not having an eligible team since pre-covid, the competitors weren’t sure exactly what to expect.

“We really went in blind — I didn’t show any videos of the layout of a match or anything,” described Ms. Killian, “[all the more reason why] I was very proud [of the team’s performance]”.

Though equipped with little information of what to expect, it could be argued that their naïveté made the competition even more rewarding.

Not pressured by expectation or forced to follow robotic scripts like other teams, the performance was authentic and debaters represented their real selves.

Ms. Killian explained how she “tried really hard for [the students] to control the meetings…want[ing] [the students] to have enough experience with practice but not be overwhelmed or drilled [with routine]”.

It is often hard to find opportunities that allow for complete representation of individuality, but the debate team provides a judgment-free platform for everyone to find their own voice.

And it isn’t all hard work either: every Thursday also consists of generously gifted brain-fueling pizza from senior captain Edward Arroyo and ethically contestable goldfish! The debate team is proud of creating an environment for members to engage in thoughtful discussion of any and all things. Whether respectably arguing differing opinions or silently observing, there is really no “wrong” way to participate.

Walking in Saturday morning the team did not know what to expect, but after the first case and the relaxation of natural anxieties, everything fell naturally into place.

With six rounds in a bowl and twelve competing schools, the team competed in three matchups in the morning with the hopes of being one of the top 4 teams qualifying for semifinals in the afternoon. Unfortunately, being tied for fourth ranking in equal points but with a one-less-win, the Nietzschians (The Debate Team’s assumed nickname in the competition) went home.

Though they did not qualify for nationals, the bowl was a great experience for graduating members in their final year and an excellent introduction for all the new members, setting up goals for next year.

For more information on joining the debate team, please contact Ms. Killian in room D201.