AW Debaters Hope Efforts Earn Trip To International Debate

BY KAREN BERGER — MIRROR REPORTER
Debating whether water should be considered national property could earn a team of Anthony Wayne High School students an all-expenses-paid trip to the United Nations in July.
“My goal is to go to New York and compete with students from around the world,” said Jeff Bunck, who along with Jason Apgar teaches Modern Global Perspectives at AWHS. “We’re poised to be in the top 10.”
The United Nations is hosting an international competition to debate a topic of global magnitude. The top 16 teams, including 10 from the U.S., will be invited to New York to debate.
On March 19, two AWHS teams faced off to debate “Resolved: Water Should Be Considered National Property.”
With only 3 percent of the world’s water supply being fresh water, it is a valuable commodity. The question is who controls the rights to water.
Those arguing for allowing water to be national property were Brock Ridley, Kyle Petree, Spencer Rife and Joel Smith.
The team argued that restricting countries’ rights to sell water would be like telling Saudi Arabia not to sell oil. Countries such as Tanzania could sell water to other countries, and with water purification and desalination processes available, more water will be available. If water were owned by individual humans instead of countries, they argued, regulating water quality would be difficult.
The team against the policy, consisting of Karl Eby, Ben Heebsh, Austin Dupont and Laura Kretz, said water is an inalienable right and that allowing countries to maintain control would encourage price gouging and hoarding by unscrupulous governments. Another concern is when countries dam off rivers or pollute upstream, affecting the supply in countries further down the river.
Choosing a side that best represented individual opinion helped in debating, said Eby, who said after the debate that he thought his team won.
After Bunck tabulated votes from the juniors and seniors watching the debate, it turned out Eby was correct. The vote was 77 for the affirmative side and 222 for the negative side.
The videotaped debate, student votes, a visit to the Toledo water treatment plant, press coverage, essays and blogs will all be used to earn points for the Anthony Wayne team. If AW wins, the students would attend the first Global Youth Leadership Summit on July 17-19 in New York City, sponsored by The People Speak and the United Nations.
“As teachers, we can say the Modern Global students have attacked this project from top to bottom,” Bunck and Apgar said. “As teachers, we are proud of the class, their interest, effort and follow through.”
Dupont said the group spent about three weeks researching the topic, and a week preparing for the debate, which was set up to allow for statements, crossfire (in which teams question each other) and questions from teachers and guests.
Jim Miller, Whitehouse Village Council member, and Barbara Sears, state representative for the 46th Ohio House District, were moderators and asked students questions. Sears said she was impressed by the research student incorporated into their answers.