Krishna Thaker Uncategorized

OCDL May Championship Recap

The Orange County Debate League held its annual Championship tournament on Saturday, May 15 from 8 a.m to 3 p.m. During the tournament, teams debated three topics in four rounds, with the first topic debated twice and the students switching sides in between. 

The debated topics were as follows: 

  • Saudi Arabia is more an enemy than an ally to the United States. 
  • The pandemic lockdowns have done more good than harm. 
  • Eliminate school gifted and talented programs. 
  • Amend the US Constitution to permit a recall of the President. 

The fourth topic, Amend the US Constitution to permit a recall of the President, was debated in the final round by the top two teams participating in the tournament.

Every year, the top two teams in terms of average speaker scores and win to loss ratio debate against one another at the Championship tournament for the title of “Number One Team” in the middle school league. The round typically occurs in the auditorium or gym where all students and parents are welcome to watch and a team of three senior judges is chosen to judge the round. 

All in all, this tournamentov was overwhelmingly successful. It marked the end of a year defined by challenges and isolation. Thank you to all who participated in this year’s debate season. We look forward to seeing you next year! The results of the tournament are as follows: 

Top Teams:

  1. HACR TSK 
  2. PEGJ SS
  3. PEGJ YKL 
  4. BMSB PCL 
  5. PEGS STY 
  6. PEGS TSE
  7. PEGS KRW
  8. HACR HK 
  9. PEGS DSS 
  10. FAHS GTC 
  11. NEA HNA 
  12. FAHS ALC 
  13. PEGS QMY 
  14. PEGS ZJY 
  15. NEA ELP 
  16. FAHS SZW 
  17. NEA SGG 
  18. IOK AMK 
  19. NEA HLS 
  20. PEGJ ASW 
  21. PEGJ PWL 
  22. PEGJ DHC 
  23. PEGJ LPL 
  24. FNT SKG 
  25. COGI ChHuZh 
  26. HOPE CPT 
  27. FNT ADN 
  28. COGI BBS 
  29. NEA PMP 
  30. HACR VJJ 
  31. FAHS SKS 
  32. HACB WZ 
  33. HACR LK 
  34. COGI KST 
  35. BMSB LWL 
  36. BMSB BKN 
  37. HACR SJP 
  38. LGDS SOP 
  39. FNT PSP 
  40. SFDS NI 
  41. NEASS HCP 
  42. FNT BJH 
  43. NEA KWP 
  44. IOK SKB 
  45. LGDS MA 
  46. NEASS JDH 
  47. BMSO HGC 
  48. BMSB AM 
  49. HOPE GSY 
  50. FAHS HAD 
  51. COGI CHZ 
  52. FAHS LKK 
  53. BMSB BJC 
  54. BMSB PWC 
  55. SFDS HBA 
  56. FAHS NTP 
  57. FAHS GGP 
  58. LGDS LAY 
  59. BMSO ALA 
  60. HOPE QVS 
  61. IOK AKE 
  62. HACB FB 
  63. BMSO LLL 
  64. LGDS KD 
  65. HACB LLZ
  66. FAHS BMC 
  67. HACB LZW 
  68. HACB KTZ 
  69. HACB TC 

Top Speakers 

  1. Noelle Kim 
  2. Stavan Shah 
  3. Suraj Shah 
  4. Willie Tsai 
  5. Dillan Shah 
  6. Dharma Le 
  7. Naomi Tran 
  8. Kennedi Sy 
  9. Arjun Gaggar 
  10. CJ Smith 
  11. Zaid Khan 
  12. Rohan Soni 
  13. Joshua Lee 
  14. Everett Yun 
  15. Muhammad Motala 
  16. Shaan Kamdar 
  17. Aumrita Savdharia 
  18. Maya Gandhi 
  19. Milania Kia 
  20. Tegan Wright 
  21. Olivia Thimons 
  22. Evan Razmjoo 
  23. Sahiba Chowdhary 
  24. Leo Anderson 
  25. Bea Englar-Carlson 
  26. Saara Dang 
  27. Lance Young 
  28. Ryan Le 
  29. Halle Ewing 
  30. Ella Townsend 
  31. Austin Kang 
  32. Anaya Qamar 
  33. Katelyn Yeh 
  34. Roy Kapoor 
  35. Christian Jeng 
  36. Shaurya Mittal 
  37. Arjun Shah 
  38. Ananya Devkriti 
  39. Alisha Zhao 
  40. Justin Pollack 
  41. Ella Wong 
  42. Adam Azzaz 
  43. Rachel Nazareth 
  44. Courtney T. 
  45. Matthew Hyun 
  46. Jackie Humenik 
  47. Avery Chang 
  48. Ethan Chien 
  49. Charlotte Hobbs 
  50. Namrata Motwani 
Krishna Thaker Tournaments

OCDL Spring Tournament Recap

On March 13, 2020, the Orange County Debate League held its annual Spring Middle School Parliamentary Debate Program [MSPDP] Tournament in which hundreds of elementary and middle school students debated the following topics: 

  • The United States should provide universal healthcare. 
  • School monitoring of student computers does more GOOD than HARM. 
  • Impromptu: YouTube is good for education.

After four rounds of engaging debates, the top students and teams were recognized for their performance during the tournament. 

The results were as follows: 

MSPDP Top Teams: 

  1. HAC Fairmont RED TSK 
  2. Pegasus Junior KRW 
  3. Pegasus Junior SSA 
  4. Pegasus Senior STY 
  5. New England Academy NHP
  6. HAC Fairmont RED LCK 
  7. IOK Debate Society AMK 
  8. Pegasus Senior QDS 
  9. Fairmont Anaheim Hills Stripes GCP 
  10. Cogito Debate HSZ 
  11. Fairmont Anaheim Hills Stripes LDG 
  12. Lincoln Green Debate Society SBD 
  13. Fairmont Anaheim Hills Stripes CSW 
  14. Pegasus Senior LPJ
  15. New England Academy PSG 
  16. New England Academy ESC 
  17. Pegasus Senior ZSY 
  18. Fairmont Anaheim Hills Stripes ASM 
  19. Fairmont North Tustin DAJ 
  20. Pegasus Junior GHC 
  21. IOK Debate Society KSB 
  22. HAC Fairmont RED JVJ 
  23. Pegasus Senior YKL 
  24. HAC Fairmont RED HR 
  25. Heritage Oak Debate SH 
  26. Pegasus Senior LBK 
  27. Beatty Middle School Blue WPL 
  28. Beatty Middle School Blue BCJ 
  29. Fairmont Anaheim Hills Stripes PTK 
  30. Heritage Oak Debate QYZ 
  31. Pegasus Junior PSY 
  32. Fairmont North Tustin GVH 
  33. Pegasus Junior TWE 
  34. HAC Fairmont RED WSK 
  35. Beatty Middle School Blue LLC 
  36. Fairmont Anaheim Hills Stripes HAC 
  37. Lincoln Green Debate Society SAY 
  38. Saint Francis de Sales NID 
  39. New England Academy Second Squad HHK 
  40. Cogito Debate CST 
  41. Fairmont North Tustin NSA 
  42. Cogito Debate AKZ 
  43. Heritage Oak Debate LGV 
  44. Heritage Oak Debate PCT 
  45. New England Academy GLJ 
  46. Beatty Middle School Blue KNL 
  47. Fairmont North Tustin KPP 
  48. New England Academy MYP 
  49. HAC Fairmont BLUE WS 
  50. Pegasus Junior DSM 
  51. New England Academy HSL 
  52. HAC Fairmont BLUE WPT 
  53. Beatty Middle School PWC 
  54. New England Academy Second Squad GSP 
  55. Lincoln Green Debate Society OSS 
  56. Saint Francis de Sales FBM 
  57. Lincoln Green Debate Society KLM 
  58. Heritage Oak Debate DLY 
  59. Lincoln Green Debate Society MPJ 
  60. HAC Fairmont BLUE ZLL 
  61. Saint Francis de Sales AGH 
  62. Fairmont Anaheim Hills Solids LGS 
  63. Lincoln Green Debate Society PA
  64. Beatty Middle School BLUE BLL 
  65. HAC Fairmont BLUE TJZ 
  66. HAC Fairmont BLUE KLT 

Top Speakers:  

  1. Sahiba C
  2. Tegan W
  3. Noelle K
  4. Stavan S 
  5. Evan R 
  6. Naomi T 
  7. Arjun S 
  8. CJ S 
  9. Austin K 
  10. Reagan P 
  11. Roya K 
  12. Everett Y 
  13. Lance J 
  14. Jacky Q 
  15. Ella T 
  16. Kennedi S 
  17. Rachel N 
  18. Karan S 
  19. Katie C 
  20. Joshua L 
  21. Halle E 
  22. Courtney T 
  23. Grace Y 
  24. Shriya G 

MSPDP Novice: 

  1. Fairmont Anaheim Hiils Solids GKW 
  2. Fairmont Anaheim Hills Solids ZNT 
  3. New England Academy KSM 
  4. New England Academy CHP 
  5. Cogito Debate JR 
  6. Beatty Middle School Organe LAM 
  7. Brookhurst Junior High CPU 
  8. Beatty Middle School Orange AAG 
  9. Saint Francis de Sales BW 
  10. IOK Debate Society AAA 
  11. Cogito Debate AG 
  12. IOK Debate Society AES 

Top Speakers: 

  1. Sabrina W 
  2. Adit S 
  3. Aziza M 
  4. Sienna B 
  5. Giana G 
  6. Ishani K 
  7. Abel W 
  8. Syler P 
  9. Demi K 
  10. Alice A 
  11. Ryna L 
  12. Nathan P 
  13. Sarah T 
  14. Jumana Z 
  15. Amy J 
  16. Huda S 
  17. Emily G 
  18. Haley R 
  19. Danya A 
  20. Ibrahim E 
  21. Eli C 
  22. Nancy C
  23. Kairi N 
  24. Ahmad U
Krishna Thaker Uncategorized

2020 OCDL Holiday Tournament Results

On November 29, the Alumni Association hosted a Holiday Tournament Prep Session.

On December 5, 2020, the Orange County Debate League [OCDL] held its annual Holiday Tournament on the video communication platform, Zoom. 

Over two hundred students from different schools competed in four rounds of debate on the following topics: 

  • Defund the police 
  • People should not eat meat. 
  • Requiring video to be on during distance learning does more good than harm. 

This was the second tournament of the school year that was moved to an online platform due to a consistent rise in COVID-19 cases in the Orange County area. 

Prior to the day of the tournament, all judges, coaches, and students were sent a “live” document that included any necessary Zoom links, all online debate rules, and naming conventions. Judges were also sent a separate guide with all policies and rules that they would need to familiarize themselves with before judging. 

Easy accessibility to all necessary information allowed the tournament to run very smoothly. We experienced little to no delays and very few technical issues. 

Winners of the tournament, for both the novice and open division, were announced the following Monday through an email from OCDL Treasurer Ben Hughes. 

The winners included: 

OPEN DIVISION

Team Awards

1. Fairmont HAC Red LTK

2. Fairmont AH Stripes NLS

3. Pegasus Senior QDS

4. New England Academy NHP

5. Pegasus Senior STY 

6. Pegasus Junior PSY

7. Heritage Oak PQ

8. Fairmont HAC Red SCK

9. Fairmont AH Stripes TSS

10. Fairmont AH Stripes CAP

11. Pegasus Senior PSY

12. Pegasus Senior ZSM

13. Pegasus Senior PJL

14. Fairmont HAC Red HS

15. Heritage Oak HTV

Distinguished Teams (alphabetical order): Fairmont North Tustin ABH, Fairmont North Tustin JGA, Heritage Oak DGL, Pegasus Junior TWE, Pegasus Junior YKL 

Speaker Awards

1. Noelle K

2. Everett Y

3. CJ S

4. Naomi T

5. Grace Y

6. Lance Y

7. Chloette H

8. Saara D

9. Ella T

10. Christian J

11. Rohan S

12. Tegan W

13. Bea E-C

14. Dillan S

15. Shaurya M

16. Courtney T-M

17. Olivia T

18. Ella W

19. Karan S

20. Willie T

21. Stavan S 

22. Christina V

23. Jinyu Z

24. Alisha Z

25. Rachel N

26. Austin K

27. Aashna S

28. Suraj S

29. Leo A

30. Alexis K

Top Speakers by Grade Level:

8th-grade Noelle K

7th-grade Everett Y

6th-grade Alexis K

5th-grade Arham S

Distinguished Speakers (alphabetical order): Sherine A, Sahiba C, Arjun G, Andrew H, Matthew H, Lance J-N, Roy K, Milania K, Dharma L, Ryan L, Joshua L, Jacob L, Krishna P, Nathan P, Justin P, Sascha P, Kayla R, Arjun S, Seleen S, Arham S

Squad Awards

Overall Squad Award :

1. Pegasus Senior

2. Pegasus Junior

3. Fairmont Historic Anaheim 

4. Fairmont Anaheim Hills Stripes

5. Heritage Oak

Tournament Award (Percentage of Wins by Squad)

1. Pegasus Senior

2. Fairmont Anaheim Hills Stripes

3. Fairmont Historic Anaheim Red

4. Fairmont North Tustin/Pegasus Junior

NOVICE DIVISION

Team Awards:

1. Fairmont AH Solids GLC

2. Cogito CHS

3. Fairmont AH Solids THP

4. New England Academy GPS

5. New England Academy HL

6. Beatty Middle School LWG

7. Fairmont AH Solids GPW

8. St. Francis AFW

9. Fairmont AH Solids GSN

10. Fairmont AH Solids SKW

Speaker Awards:

1. Olivia W

2. Sophia W

3. Maya G

4. Shriya G

5. Ben H

6. Kingston H

7. Neil G

8. Akshna G

9. Baylen S

10. Jase P

11. Eva C

12. Lydia L

13. Adit S

14. Eli C

15. Kiera K

16. Nick C

17. Jordan D

18. Micah H

19. Sidney S

20. Aaron L

All in all, this was a highly successful tournament and we at the O absolutely cannot wait to see what is in store for this upcoming year. 

Krishna Thaker Blog

Reflection: My experience teaching at the first virtual debate workshop

Saturday, September 19th marked the first-ever Orange County Debate League (OCDL) digital workshop. Students, teachers, and coaches came together for a day of fun and engaging classes. 

In addition to preparing students for the coming season, this yearly event helps raise funds for the OCDL program, its tournaments, and other league-related activities. 

However, this year, health concerns and COVID-19 guidelines forced the league to change to an online format using the Zoom Meetings application. Teachers like me were asked to make personal Zoom accounts and send the login information, ID, and passcode, to OCDL Treasurer Ben Hughes. 

The day consisted of three blocks, separated by quick breaks. Students were given the login information for all the classes they signed up for and could join during the corresponding block. 

As a junior in high school, I have attended three workshops as a student and have taught at the last four, so I am considerably familiar with the usual format. Nevertheless, this time things were very different. 

On the positive side, it was less nerve-racking since I was teaching from the comfort of my room and did not have to stand in front of a class full of students. 

On the other hand, the changes made me quite nervous because I did not know what to expect. I was worried that I would not be engaging enough or confusing the students because, as any student or teacher will tell you, distance learning is a whole other beast. There was also the concern over students keeping their mics and cameras off the entire time, making it nearly impossible to create a dialogue with the students. 

Usually, I would be able to gauge how well the students were understanding the material based on their facial expressions. This helped inform the speed at which I would deliver the information. But the limitations of online learning made this impossible. 

Thankfully, I predicted that such problems would occur and prepared accordingly. For example, I made it clear to the students at the beginning of class that they would need to turn their cameras and mics on if they want to get the most out of the class. I also gave the students my email so they could ask me any questions if they were too shy to ask me during class. Such strategies made the virtual learning environment a little more genuine for both my students and me. 

Ultimately, I would say that this experience taught me a lot about effectively communicating my ideas even when my audience is not physically in front of me. At least if we are still forced to be online for the next workshop, I will know how to better handle the situation.