The Pascack Hills Debate Team has consistently commanded a strong presence in its league and did so again this year.

The team, led by Ms. Horn and Mrs. Schwartz, debates the same topic throughout the year against students from other Bergen County schools and are judged on both their speaking skills and their content.

One team presents a plan and the other must argue against it and point out its flaws. This year’s topic was on increasing U.S. spending in Latin and Southern America.

The varsity team performed extremely well this year, winning the first place team 4 times out of 6 events. This included 2 wins by the team of Susan Janowsky and Anna Alonso and 2 wins by the team of Keith Gliksman and Naseeb Ally.

The teams of Christian Essner and Noah Shields, and Lizzie Wang and Saniya Kumar each placed second at one debate.

The junior varsity team had a great season, as well. They won first place team in two of the five debates and won third place in another.

The Hills debaters displayed that they know what it takes to win: good public speaking skills and the ability to think on the spot. This season, the team consistently debated effectively and, most importantly, made their arguments understandable.

Next year’s debates will revolve around increasing the exploration or development of oceans, and the debate team will look to continue its success with the new topic in the coming school year.