Wortham High School is proud to announce that two of their students have qualified for the state UILCongressional Debate tournament in Austin in January.  Ben Havens, a junior, placed first and Samantha Lee, a senior, placed third in the UIL Regional contest that was held in Salado on Monday, November 11.  By placing in the top three in their region for 2A, they will advance to the state level.  This is the first year that Havens and Lee have competed in this event.
UIL Congress is an individual contest in a large group setting. It models the legislative process of democracy, specifically, the United States Congress. Within this mock legislative assembly competition, contestants draft legislation (proposed laws and position statements) submitted to the tournament, and they research the docket of bills and resolutions dealing with real-world social and political policies prior to the contest to prepare their speeches. At the tournament, students caucus in committees, deliver formal discourse on the merits and disadvantages of each piece of legislation, and vote to pass or defeat the measures they have examined. Parliamentary procedure forms the structure for the discourse, and students extemporaneously respond to others’ arguments over the course of a session.
Ben Havens and Samantha Lee will travel to Austin in January to compete at the state level at the University of Texas at Austin.  The final rounds of the Congressional Debate will be held in the State Capitol.  Wortham High School is very proud of these two students who are the first in the school’s history to advance to the state competition in Congress and wish them the best of luck!