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Grade 9: 2022 SHSID Freshman Chinese Debate Competition

October 8, 2022

In the afternoon on September 29th, the finals of the 2022 Freshman Chinese Debate Competition officially began in the lecture hall of Zhentao Building, which was hosted by the SHSID Chinese Debate Club. From the preliminary competition regarding the topic of “whether or not the abilities achieved through diligent training are different from natural talent”, to the rematch and semifinals regarding the question, “Is it better to be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond?”, debaters from each homeroom demonstrated their outstanding thinking and debating abilities. They all performed at the peak of their excellent skills, which made the finals even more suspenseful.

The topic for the finals was “whether or not it is better to view the world through a phone”, with two teachers and one student as judges.

The competition started off as two sides discussed whether or not using a phone could improve people's ability to understand and view the world. The debaters from 9(8), on the affirmative side, argued that the usage of phones means people are able to get a better view of the world, communicate and socialize quickly and efficiently, and learn about contemporary societal phenomena. However, the debaters from 9(12), on the dissenting side, pointed out that false information on social media blurs the truth, and the temptation of entertainment from phones makes people unable to pay attention to things happening around them and thus causes them to lose their ability to view the world completely.

Debaters from both sides received numerous rounds of applause from the audience for their strong logical arguments and clever responses. After the competition, the judges offered wonderful comments on the debaters’ performances, and gave them feedback on their debate skills. In the end, the affirmative side won the competition with a score of 6:3, and the best debater award was given to Eric from the dissenting side.

The different viewpoints and values behind the debaters’ arguments were constantly providing students with fresh perspectives. In this age of information, when phones have become a necessity for many people, this competition left students with a valuable question: Could mobile phones be the only medium through which we view the world?

As the 2022 Freshman Chinese Debate Competition officially came to an end, all the students who participated in the event should have gained their own unique experience from the participation process.

(Written by 9(11) Jonathan Xu, 9(4) Nicole Chen Pictures by Ying Fu, Yang Hong Supervised by Mengli Wang Reviewed by Qian Zuo)