Outcome of the Great Youth Debate

The 5^th Annual Great Youth Debate took place on Saturday, November 10, 2012 from 10:00am-1:00pm in City Hall Council Chambers, followed by a reception in room 300 from 1:00pm-2:00pm. It was attended by ninety-five guests. There were twenty-nine students who participated in the Great Youth Debate this year from Archbishop Moeller High School, Cincinnati Job Corps Academy, Exclusive Services LLC, The Summit Country Day, Walnut Hills High School, Withrow University High School, and Woodward Career Technical High School. The practices were held every Saturday from October 6^th to November 3^rd from 10:00am-1:00pm in City Hall, room 115. There were two teams, Affirmative and Opposition. The Affirmative trainers were Myron Rivers and Christie Bryant, Esq.  The Opposition trainers were Christina Brown and Jacqueline Duhon. There were six groups of four, and three groups per team with two researchers per group (one group had three researchers).

The coordinator of this event was Jaime Bryant (of CHRC).  The moderator was Michael Griffin (CEO of DVS Solutions). Debater, Kyra Watkins, gave an excellent and eloquent speech in the section, “message from a debater.” The judges were James Cullen (of Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, CYC), Amanda Gray (of African American Chamber of Commerce), Clarice Phelps (of Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Fanon Rucker (of Hamilton County Municipal Court), and CHRC Board Member Donny Young (of The Green Day Group). The participants were well prepared, somewhat anxious, excited, and ready to win during the debate, which kept it stimulating. The groups that faced off had group names. They are as listed (affirmative teams listed first and opposition teams listed second):

-Education: “The Great Educators vs. The Future of Education”

-Health care: “We Care Health care vs. The Authority on Health care”

-Employment: “Team Paycheck vs. Team Cincinnatus”

The theme was “The Current State of Our Economy.” The debate topics were geared toward Education, Health care, and Employment. Education’s debate argument was “Education is necessary for the advancement of society.” Health care’s debate argument was “Access to affordable health care is a right, not a privilege.” Employment’s debate argument was “Economies of foreign countries have an impact on the U.S. recovery.”

Cash prizes and trophies went home with everyone. First place winners received $125.00 each. Second place winners received $75.00. Third place winners received $50.00. And, all of the honorable mention participants received $20.00. The participants did a superior job defending their positions in the debate, which made the decision difficult. However, a winner had to be chosen. They are as follows:

*First Place Winners: “We Care Health care”

-Anne Klette (The Summit Country Day School), Joey Kregenhagen (The Summit Country Day), Philip McHugh (The Summit Country Day, and Kyra Watkins (Withrow University High School)

*Second Place Winners: “Team Cincinnatus”

-Mee’Asia Kyles (Woodward Career Technical High School), Benjamin Lefke (Moeller High School), Mathew Messina (Moeller High School), and A.J. Reinhart (Moeller High School)

*Third Place Winners: “The Future of Education”

-Edward Bullock (Cincinnati Job Corps Academy), Shanekqua Coates (Cincinnati Job Corps Academy), Gabriel Gibson (Walnut Hills High School), and Rockeem Wilson (Cincinnati Job Corps

Academy)