By Sentinel Staff
Mt. Edgecumbe High School’s drama, debate and forensics team took a first place in one event and turned in more strong performances in debate at the state tournament in Anchorage.
“Though we were a small team, we had a good showing,” Coach Marcy Drake said of the eight-member Braves squad.
The Public Forum Debate team of junior Jesse Hanson (Sitka) and senior Roderick Huntington (Unalakleet) made the quarterfinals cut. The debate topic was: The United States should end its arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Hanson placed second in individual speaker points out of a pool of 50 debaters and the team placed second in debate sweepstakes points.
“Jesse has put in the time over his past three years in DDF to understand the subtleties of being an excellent debater,” Drake said. “He takes the time to research his topics and has become an effective speaker. He will certainly be a force in the debate circuit next year.”
Huntington is new to the DDF team this year. “Placing so well at State speaks to his abilities and his incredible work ethic,” Drake said.
Stephanie Eakin, a junior from Kotzebue, is the state champion in Dramatic Interpretation of Literature. Her piece from the novel “Chains,” by Laurie Halse Anderson, explores the bravery of a slave girl in the Revolutionary War period in New York, the coach said.
“Stephanie has been a consummate performer throughout this DDF season,” Drake said. “She has an actor’s sensibility, allowing her to understand the motivations of the character and to convey that to an audience. She is also very coach-able. When we practice a change to her piece, she’s able to implement it right away. I am extremely proud of Stephanie and her accomplishments in DDF this year.”
