Wortham High School is proud to announce that Ben Havens (above), a junior, placed third in the UIL State Congressional Debate contest that was held in Austin on January 13-15. Ben Haven and Samantha Lee qualified for this competition in November during the UIL Regional contest Both Havens and Lee competed in the preliminary round at the University of Texas at Austin on January 14, and then advanced to the finals which was held at the State Capitol in Austin. 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.
After two long days of debating, Ben Havens was awarded the third place bronze medal for UIL Congressional Debate for 2A. The competition consisted of 45 students from across the state of Texas in the preliminary rounds, and then they were narrowed down to 18 students for the final rounds. The debaters were judged by three judges during their time at the 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!
