News Detail
Debate Team Makes Sweet 16
Members of The Hockaday School’s debate team make up one of 16 teams remaining in the 2022-2023 International Public Policy Forum competition.
The six members include Aarnah Kurella, Sanika Agarwalla, Diya Hegde, Ariana Wang, Evita Nino, and Sidney Murray, all members of the Class of 2024.
IPFF is the first and only competition that gives high school students from around the world an opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on public policy issues. Hockaday is the only school from Texas to advance to the “Sweet 16” round, which makes them eligible to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the IPFF Finals in New York City.
“The teams advancing demonstrate excellence at research, writing, and advocacy,” IPPF founder William A. Brewer III said. “The 16 teams will compete in a final round of written debates in hopes of moving on to oral debates during the IPPF Finals in New York City.”
The IPPF’s 22nd-annual competition started in October with 220 from 22 countries and 31 U.S. states submitting qualifying round essays affirming or negating the assigned topic, “Resolved: The North Texas Atlantic Treaty Organization is an effective model for international cooperation.” Each 2,800-word essay was evaluated by a committee that determined the top 64 teams.
Following two more rounds of written debate, Hockaday is now against Oxbridge Academy from West Palm Beach, Florida, for the “Sweet 16” round. The 16 schools come from 11 U.S. states, Singapore, and Canada.
The “Elite Eight” teams will be announced on March 30, and the remaining teams will be sent to New York for the finals on May 6.
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