In a public referendum yesterday, Dresden School District residents denied the Hanover High School forensic program the public funds that its future hinges upon, thwarting the tenacious efforts of debate team supporters, which came to a head this week.
If it was passed, the three measures included in yesterday's election for several community posts would have enabled HHS to continue holding two levels of debate classes per year as well as participate in debate competitions.
Students, teachers and members of the community braved the cold during the weekend and yesterday to demonstrate in favor of sustaining the popular HHS program, which comprises a debate team and two levels of debate class. As of now, at least one level of debate class will be retained for next year.
"That's definitely why I'm still in school -- debate -- hands down," Will Virginia, a senior at HHS said.
Donna Strange, a debate teacher and advisor to the debate team at HHS, said that she still held out hope that with the support of the student body, the cause for the team could not be ignored. HHS students will pick their classes for next year today.
"I know that if I have 100 students sign up for debate, they won't turn them away," she said.
HHS's school board and the Committee on Instruction -- the body which make curricular decisions for the high school -- had withheld funding from the debate program primarily on account of budget concerns. The debate team was buried in a list of the funding priorities, according to former Dresden School Board member Peter Murdza.
The Dresden School District has been restricted to a "zero-level" budget in recent years, meaning that the school board would have needed to divert funding for some programs to support the debate team. The current budget level is being maintained in order to curb the costs that will be incurred when a new high school is built for the district.
But supporters of the debate program saw their campaign as transcending a simple budget issue. For them, it is a question of how students should participation in their education.
"Its more than about debate at this point -- it's about, do you really want students to be that active?" Donna Strange, who teaches debate and social studies at HHS.
Many students involved in debate at HHS expressed discontent with what they viewed as a hypocritical position on free speech that the school has taken.
"I think they really love being able to say they're a democratic society," Virginia said. "But when students are like, ok, then we'll do that, then they have a problem with that."
For the past three years, the HHS debate program has been kept afloat by Speak America, a private foundation that provides funding in order to plant speech programs at area schools. The foundation was unable to continue funding the HHS program this year.
Opposition to the debate program revolved around the procedures used in the attempt to obtain funding, as some found it inappropriate to take the such measures to a public vote. Other classes, such as art or music, that have also sought funding in the past would have been leapfrogged to sustain debate.
"By no means do we think there should be debate instead of art," Ben McWilliams, an HHS student who supported the debate referendum, said.
Some supporters said the debate team filled a void in HHS' array of extracurricular options, which has lacked intellectual activities in the past. Forums for debate are limited outside of HHS, whereas there are many programs apart from those offered by the school that allow students to pursue music, art and other activities.
"If these debate programs are canceled, there is no Eva program of debate to go to," William Henderson-Taft, an HHS student said, referring to a private art program available to HHS students.
Dartmouth debate team members have also volunteered their time to help rear the HHS program since its inception. A few members of the team also demonstrated outside of HHS yesterday.
"What has helped the team grow to what it is right now has been the support of some of the top debaters in the country," Elizabeth Page '05. "If this means they can't debate anymore, then this is just awful."
Currently, two levels of debate are offered to HHS students. Debate students may be hampered in competition if the curriculum is shaved to one debate class, according to Page. Even students who had only recently become involved with the debate program lauded the skills it taught them and the social atmosphere of the club.
"Debate is awesome because it's really, really fun, and I hang out with all these really cool people who I wouldn't have associated with before." Rita Ciambra, a freshman at HHS, said. Parents of the students on the team noticed similar benefits.
"It seems to have crossed a lot of lines -- they all seem to find common ground in the Debate team and debate courses," Nancy Carter, mother of a member of the debate team, said.
"This isn't about replacing something, it's about saying the right thing, doing the right thing, and not being afraid to stand up and speak your mind," Donna Strange, a social studies and debate teacher at Hanover High.
