Mount Pleasant High School Speech and Debate competed in the Regional Congressional Debate tournament at the Region VIII Education Service Center on Wednesday, November 6. For the third year in a row, Mount Pleasant was the only 5A school competing. So, the competition was an intrasquad battle for who would earn the top three places and advance to state. MPHS has had a state competitor every year since 2017 and team members have earned UIL state bronze and state 4th place medals and have had the UIL State Top Presiding Officer and multiple state finalists in recent years.

Senior Gopi Amin was the Regional Champion with sophomore Sabrina Otero-Svirska placing 2nd and senior Natalia Aspeitia placing 3rd, qualifying all three for the state competition. Junior Raquel Garza placed 4th and is the first alternate to state with junior Caitlin Anderson placing 5th. This will be the second trip to state for Amin and Otero-Svirska.

UIL Congress is an individual contest in a large group setting. It models the legislative process of democracy, specifically, the United States Congress. Within this mock legislative assembly competition, contestants draft legislation (proposed laws and position statements) submitted to the tournament, and they research the docket of bills and resolutions dealing with real-world social and political policies prior to the contest to prepare their speeches. At the tournament, students caucus in committees, deliver formal discourse on the merits and disadvantages of each piece of legislation, and vote to pass or defeat the measures they have examined. Parliamentary procedure forms structure for the discourse, and students extemporaneously respond to others’ arguments over the course of a session.

Amin, Otero-Svirska, and Aspeitia will compete at the UIL State Congressional Debate tournament in Austin on January 6-8, 2025. MP Speech and Debate is coached by Joel Whitaker.

Photo:

MPHS Congressional Debate team (L to R) Natalia Aspeitia, MPHS Debate coach Joel Whitaker, Gopi Amin, Sabrina Otero-Svirska, Caitlin Anderson, Raquel Garza