Twelve years in and still going strong, is the Rocky Debate Team. The team re-started in 2012, with two students who had asked Jeffry Duster if he’d be interested in leading a Debate Team at Rocky. He ended up being perfect for the job, and is still in charge of the team 12 years later. When the team first formed, Duster had no previous experience with debate, “other than having a love for arguing ever since I was a child, I knew nothing about it,” Duster states.
Duster has high expectations for his team. As far as short term goals go, this season, Duster wants the team to, “Be competitive, win tournaments, get better.” He also hopes to see the team break for State. “It may be a challenge, but I have complete faith in this team and their abilities,” Duster added. Duster’s long term goals for his program shows his dedication, as well as his students’. Duster stays aggressive with his aspirations in saying, “In five years time, I’d like the team to be at least double the size.” His biggest wish for the future of Rock Island Debate is to become a state powerhouse. “I want teams to fear us. I want people to walk in a room, and know that they are just going to get shredded to pieces. When you step into a room with Rock Island High School, you know you’re about to be embarrassed, and you’ll be crying when it’s all over with,” Duster states with passion.
Team expansion is one way to improve this group, but Duster also talks about some of the debate powerhouses on the current 2023-2024 school year team. “Some of the newcomers that have made all the difference are Jackson St. Amand, Matteo Gomez, Maddie Schrempf, Sage Ray, Ethan Ignatious, Kylie Melchie, and others.” As for the returners, Duster mentions that sophomore Olivia Seidlitz does an outstanding job on this team. This is Seidlitz’s second year on the team, and she hopes to make it count. “One of my biggest goals for myself this season is to get a perfect 30 speaking score,” Seidlitz states.
“Debate can be a lot of work at times, with the extensive preparation process. There’s the research, prepping blocks, writing multiple cases, arguing in mocks, etc.,” Duster explains. Seidlitz adds, “But it’s all worth it because there are so many more enjoyable parts.” Seidlitz goes on to say her favorite part of being on the team is, “Joking around with everyone, and the bus rides to tournaments.” Duster says he likes to work with this group of students because of their “camaraderie and intellectual abilities”
The team’s current resolution is, “In the United States, collegiate student-athletes should be classified as employees of their educational institution” which essentially sums up to “Should college athletes be paid?” Duster notes. The team must argue both sides of the case. “This is one of the more simple cases we’re working on,” Duster explains. “My favorite case we’ve done is probably when we talked about whether or not internet companies should be liable for content or not,” Seidlitz mentions she really enjoyed this resolution because it was easy to follow and relate to since it involved the internet.
If anyone is interested in or on the brink of joining the Debate Team, Duster and Seidlitz add their two cents. They both similarly state, “Anyone can do it, and you will learn and take away so much from debate. You’ll read better, write better, speak better, present yourself better, and more. Not to mention, it looks amazing on college applications.” Duster adds, “Debate is great!”
