By Thomas Dragovich and Saumya Mangalick

What do researching immigration issues, all-you-can-eat mac and cheese, and dance fitness have in common? The answer may surprise you! We’ll give you a few hints…

This summer from late July to early August, Potomac Debate Academy hosted 2 sessions of our annual summer camp program, drawing 86 students from 18 states to its location at the University of Maryland College Park. The camp tailors its curriculum to a wide variety of skill levels, ranging from first-time debaters to those who regularly compete on the national circuit. In the span of one week, students experienced an extensive debate curriculum based on the NSDA topic for the upcoming Public Forum season: Resolved- The United States Federal Government should substantially expand surveillance along the Southern Border. 

In our residential program, students were also given the opportunity to experience college dorm life and enjoy UMD’s beautiful campus and dining services in a safe and regulated environment. Not only did campers gain some personal independence living away from home for the first time, they formed close friendships that grew their social confidence and collaborative skills. 

You should be able to answer our original query now… correct! Immigration issues, mac and cheese, and dance fitness were all heavily featured at Potomac Summer Camp. 

The camp was structured by dividing students into small lab groups based on their grade (grouped by middle school 6-8 and high school 9-12) and experience level. Each lab was run by two to three instructors who provided highly interactive lessons tailored to the skill level of the lab group. John Dragos, instructor and camp administrator reflected that “It was amazing to be able to foster an environment to watch these kids grow intellectually and as people”. With a student-to-coach ratio of about 3:1, students learned from experienced instructors in a small class environment of around 9-12 students. 

In labs, students received in-depth lectures analyzing the topic, researched and wrote pro and con cases, worked with their partners to prep rebuttal arguments, learned about strategy and theory, and practiced mock debates. Since all of our coaches were successful student debaters themselves, they understand keenly the importance of balancing an interactive lecture with engaging drills and productive, guided, work time. Lead debate coach and lab leader Ruby Marsh noted that “camp is so unique because of its combination of academic and social opportunities. While it is exciting to see students research and grow on the topic, some of the most memorable parts of our lab were more lighthearted activities like public speaking drills where students bonded over common interests and mini debates where students battled over whether milk or cereal should go in the bowl first.”

Additionally, students each day had the opportunity to choose among several specific debate topics led by experienced instructors on that subject. Some of the elective topics from this year’s camp included how to flow a debate round, crossfire, theory, and how to research and write a case. While lab also covered the topics taught in electives, they allowed students to reinforce and develop their understanding of a topic of their choice. Electives were also the ideal opportunity for students to work on an aspect of debate they were struggling with. 

Coach Ruby further explained that “One of the best aspects of camp is getting to witness students’ entire process from learning the topic to coming up with arguments, to finally executing those arguments in actual debate rounds. As we worked with students on their arguments, I was constantly astounded by their critical thinking skills, and by how they put together all the information they gained from their lab leaders, electives, and camp-wide activities to come up with new and creative arguments and ways of understanding the topic.”

“By far the best part of camp was the staff. All of the instructors have unique experience in both competing and coaching, and this is reflected in the insights and feedback they were able to pass onto their campers”, said Lead debate coach and lab leader Renee Li.  “I’m confident that every camper could go home having learned something new, regardless of how much experience or topic knowledge they first came into camp with.” 

Beyond direct lab time, we featured camp-wide lectures on topics that included self-care, historical foreign affairs, and utilizing debate in college applications. While students were taught a lot of information in a week, the camp structure was broken up with various fun, interactive activities to promote an active and healthy engagement with learning debate. This included activities such as an ice cream social, built-in daily free time, physical activity, board and arcade games, bowling, and even a dance class!  

Thanks to our lab structure, camp was fruitful for experienced and novice debaters. For debaters interested in competitive success, the immersive nature of camp with focused attention from our Varsity coaches allowed them to leave prepared for tournaments at a point in the summer when most students wouldn’t even have heard about the topic. This head start gives them crucial time to polish arguments and practice mock rounds so they are debating more skillfully by the official start of the season. 

For our students trying debate for the first time or after only a few classes, camp offered a uniquely focused yet approachable environment that honed in fundamental research, writing, speaking, and critical thinking skills while preparing them to debate in fully structured public forum rounds confidently. We were consistently amazed by how quickly students grasped extremely complex arguments and strategies. Coach Thomas Dragovich said it best when he observed that “by the end of camp, students know more about U.S. immigration politics than most American adults do.”

What is most unique about Potomac’s program was how the core values of developing mindful, well-informed, healthy students were woven into the activity planning and social events. While it’s wonderful to win trophies at tournaments, it’s imperative to prioritize student cognitive and emotional development in keeping with the ultimate purpose of debate as an activity. We taught students about developing emotionally healthy mindsets and prioritizing physical and mental self-care to promote a healthy sustainable learning-focused debate culture. We also taught everyone the historical context and political rhetoric surrounding the trauma-filled topic of immigration at the Southern border to ensure students would be able to respectfully navigate arguments on such a contentious yet crucial topic in and out of debate rounds. 

After a long week of hard work, our students put into practice their newfound skills at our camp tournament where they debated each other in 4 preliminary rounds and 2 elimination rounds with different judges who declared a winner and provided feedback. A big congratulations to our winners:

Session I

Novice Division – Top Debaters

4th Place: Flores & Kang 
3rd Place: Kundra & Massoudieh
2nd Place: Bansal, Bhandari & Flores
1st Place: Lyons & Vilensky

Novice Division – Top Speakers

3rd Place: Kris Kang
2nd Place: Marissa Lyons
1st Place: Victoria Vilensky

Open Division – Top Debaters

4th Place: Chen & Gurnan
3rd Place: Khanna & Lee
2nd Place: Cho & Belday
1st Place: Chen & Elliott

Open Division – Top Speakers

3rd Place: Nina Neti
2nd Place: Adelina Elliott
1st Place: Nandini Bhatt

Session II

Novice Division – Top Debaters

4th Place: R. Lawlor
3rd Place: Chelpati & Srinivasan
2nd Place: Yoon & Kim
1st Place: Peddibhotla & Patel

Novice Division – Top Speakers

3rd Place: Naqiyah Bhinderwala
2nd Place: Marcus Yoon
1st Place: Niel Peddibhotla

Open Division – Top Debaters

4th Place: D. Vattipulusu
3rd Place: Peddibhotla & Qin
2nd Place: Wang & Salganick
1st Place: Arturo & Lawlor

Open Division – Top Speakers
3rd Place: Ariana Arturo
2nd Place: Gabriel Salganick
1st Place: Danush Vattipulusu

Congratulations to all teams who broke and all debaters who won speaker awards!

We are so excited to be back in College Park next summer – continuing to grow camp with new and familiar faces, improving our program even more, helping students learn and grow, and delving into a new topic. We’re certain it will be just as exciting, fun, and memorable as this summer was, if not more!