Now, in the Fall of 2020,  there will be a new elective, the first ever debate class. 

“Debate is just being able to support an argument with evidence and valid reasoning while also having the ability to counter an opposing person’s arguments and have the ability to ask posing critical questions, while also being able to answer other peoples critical questions,” Mr.Bautista said.

The teacher of this class will be Mr.Bautista, who currently also teaches AP US History and Ethnic Studies. He says the class would be about working on public speaking skills, exploring topics students would be interested in, and they would be able to practice for the participation in debate leagues. 

A goal for this class would be joining the Los Angeles Metropolitan debate league.

“When I spoke to the person who did the Metropolitan debate league, they told me that debate classes and participation is usually just private schools and not that many public schools have these opportunities. In private schools it’s generally viewed as a pathway to college, specifically the law field. The Metropolitan debate league also allows students to build connections with local universities like CAL State LA, CAL State Long Beach, USC, and a few others, and through these connections students will be able to learn about some scholarships,” said Mr.Bautista. 

 The class was founded by juniors Juliana Martinez and Jaime Olguin, who is also a reporter in the Wolfpack Times. They were both inspired by the many debates Mr.Bautista has done in his AP US history class. “We’ve done debates in other years, but they’re not as interesting as the ones in his class because you can connect what you are learning to form your arguments and it’s really nice when it comes together,” Martinez said. 

The debate class was at first a club but being able to have a class was more beneficial in order to compete in the debate leagues. “Me and Juliana decided it would be easier for people to commit more in school hours than after school since many people did sports or clubs,” Olguin said.

 In order to join this year long class there is an application to fill out, be an upperclassmen such as an upcoming junior or senior that has or will be taking either AP US History or AP government, and have a competitive GPA such as a 3.0, if lower there will have to be an interview.