Don’t argue with Year 9
After winning half-a-dozen consecutive rounds in the Schools Debating Network competition, our Year 9 SDN debaters bypassed the semi-finals and went straight through to the finals - which they won against Abbottsleigh last Friday night. This follows hot on the heels of Wenona’s Year 9 Archdale debating team winning their grand final.
“All those wins gave us a confidence to go into the final but it’s still nerve-wracking,” said Zara, a member of the Wenona SDN team alongside Sophie, Brooke, Abi and Chiara.
The topic for SDN debaters was that ‘Users should be compelled to use only their authentic names when posting on the Internet’ - with Abbotsleigh arguing in the affirmative and Wenona the negative. Wenona’s main argument was that people have a right to use a nom-de-plume and many with unusual views prefer to do that. The girls also argued that other people do post inappropriate content with their names attached and that could not be stopped. Our girls pointed out that merely changing names would not affect inappropriate content nor privacy because many other factors contribute to privacy and safety online.
Year 9 SDN team thanks Head Coach Ms Claire Power, Coach and English Teacher Miss Zoe Bodycott, and Debating Coordinator and History Teacher Ms Charlotte Karsten for their advice and management throughout the debating season.