Terrell Rogers and Cardin Cup recipient Damein McClendon emerged as the winning team at BUDL's Middle School Championship on Saturday, May 2, as they moved through a day of purposeful, focused debate to stand tall as they represented their school, families and community to clinch the "crown" as top debaters of 2008-2009!!!

If you have never spoken with Garrison's Principal Isiah Hemphill you have missed an opportunity to participate in a refreshing conversation with someone who supports BUDL, acknowledges its value and reflects on the systemic challenges of the community/home/school partnership of the day. He is very dedicated to the young people of BCPSS and feels that debate is an activity that embraces many of the goals of Garrison Middle. He has witnessed the difference it makes in the lives of his students. The continued growth of Garrison's debate squad was captured in all its debate glory at the championship tournament. And then there are the Garrison coaches. Victor Green and Nicole Jones are two of BUDLs most talented and dedicated coaches ever. They support their own squad as well as debaters throughout the BUDL family of debaters.

Major props to 2nd place winners Alesha Canty and Toni Byrd from Crossroads who made it through the elimination rounds to debate against Garrison in the finals. Kudos to their supportive Principal Marc Martin and their amazing coaches Kennesha Kelly and Jewel Johnson.

The following elementary/middle schools participated in the championship tournament:

Baltimore Freedom Academy       Barclay      Booker T. Washington

Calverton      Margaret Brent      City Springs

CIVITAS      ConneXions      Crossroads

Diggs-Johnson      Francis Scott Key      Garrison

Hampstead Hill Academy       Holabird      Inner Harbor East

Northeast       Roland Park      Stadium

William H. Lemmel       William C. March       Winston

Every principal, coach, parent or guardian from the participating schools deserves our thanks and accolades for supporting their debaters and the debate programs in their schools in an effort to provide pivotal grounding in the shaping of each debater beyond elementary school and middle school as they embark on a journey that requires exacting competency in articulating their goals for the future and embracing the doors that are open to them by being ready to cross the threshold of each of them.

Channel 77 was there to capture the excitement of the final round between Garrison and Crossroads with a panel of five judges! Garrison's 4-1 decision speaks to the power of debate, the intensity of the final round and the perspectives of the judges.

Kaleidoscopes and Prisms

The kaleidoscope that is debate continues to reflect the endless growth of the debaters in the Elementary/Middle School Division of the Baltimore Urban Debate League.

Rewind, fast forward, adjust your glasses, and blink your eyes.

Visualize yourself on Towson University's sprawling campus on a rainy Saturday. Move beyond the construction areas to the sloping hills that reveal the Cook Library and lo and behold, you see Linthicum Hall nestled behind the tree lined walkway that zigzags the center of these crossroads.

You are about to witness an amazing change in scenes, actions of the participants and the reflected experiences of everyone involved in embracing the jigsaw-like pieces of glass of various colors that reinvent themselves as they look into the mirror of their AFFIRMATIVE and NEGATIVE arguments throughout the day with panels of three judges for each round of debate throughout the day. This kaleidoscope of debate is in your hands, and you get to view the debaters through your "two plane mirrors" as coaches, parents and guardians and various onlookers in the endless patterns of prep time, angst, anxiousness, confusion, confidence, hope, self empowerment and determination.

Like goldfish choosing to swim upstream with salmon, Inner Harbor East Academy and City Springs - both elementary division schools - rallied with other emerging debaters to claim bragging rights for their triumphant showing throughout the season and on May 2nd.

The Open Mike segment of the pre awards festivities closed out with the stirring vocals of Portia Wise whose daughter Amanda is a debater from Stadium. Every participant in the championship tournament was acknowledged during the awards and continuing team ceremony in the standing room only auditorium in Linthicum Hall.

Coach Ben Gitelson from Calverton was joined once again by his father Dave Gitelson. Each time we spoke during the day Dave Gitelson intoned his amazement at the flow of the day and the growth of the debaters since his last visit. By the time we moved into the elimination rounds Dave Gitelson expressed his desire to debate like the young people, he observed throughout the day.

Check your Channel 77 listings to view the nail biting final round between Garrison's Damein McClendon and Terrell Rogers and Crossroads' Alesha Canty and Toni Byrd. Look out, high school! Middle school rising ninth graders are on the way!!!

The transparency of a prism invites light to move through it based on the application of that light. Debate allows the participant to become a conductor of that light in a way that allows the debater to "flow" from constructive argument to rebuttal, from prep time to cross examination, and from one round to another as the tournament draws from the "internal reflection" that a prism brings forth, not unlike a mirror.

The symmetry of the tournament created itself as the day moved forward. Anyone who remained beyond the awards and continuing team ceremony experienced a change in debate frequencies and beheld a privileged view of what happens in the object chamber or cell of a kaleidoscope. The kaleidoscope rotated throughout the day, intersecting with the surroundings of Towson University and the debaters within Linthicum Hall proper.

Onlookers witnessed the birth of driven debaters who were propelled forward with a fervor that embraced all who participated, watched and held pulsating vigil as the number of debaters decreased as the lengthy day moved from quarterfinals to semi-finals and then the final round provided an historic win for Garrison. There were tears of joy, shouts of celebration coupled with disappointment and "wait ‘til next year" angst.

With the continued support of the Baltimore City Public School System, the participating schools and schools that are joining BUDL in 2009-2010, we will continue to make a significant difference in the lives of the young people who need and deserve all of the academic, developmental and social enrichment available to them. Why??? Elementary/middle school debate rocks!!!

As we gear up for our end-of-year, semi-formal banquet on Saturday, May 30, 2009 at Morgan State University, we are clearly aware of the kinds of support that continue to acknowledge what debate does for the children we collectively work with throughout the year. Our end-of-year efforts are being sponsored by the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management at Morgan State University. We hope your plans include being there to recognize our elementary, middle and high school debaters jointly as we celebrate ten years of debate in Baltimore City.

Elementary/middle school B'More Debate Institute gets underway at Towson University on Monday, August 10th and runs through Saturday, August 15th ending with a rousing debate tournament on that Saturday. Debaters, make sure you are among the scholarship nominees for this crucial point in your debate development because the B'More Debate Institute will jump start your debate experience for the 2009-2010 season. Check with your coaches or contact the BUDL office for additional information. We will have some of the best debaters and coaches in the nation as lab leaders for a fantastic week of intense, competitive, fun-filled debate instruction and application. Don't miss out!

Other Championship Results include:

Varsity Division

Quarters:

Calverton TL (Miya Thomas and Kody Little) beats Northeast EG (Tyreka Earl and Kiarra Garrus) 3-0

Roland Park SB (Sophie Sweenie and Devin Brown) beats Barclay BW (Amena Begum and Tonethia Williams) 2-1

Garrison MR (Damein McClendon and Terrell Rogers) beats Roland Park AS (Precious Abujana and Maddie Scheifele) 3-0

Crossroads CB (Alesha Canty and Toni Byrd) beats Stadium MC (Michelle Manning and Ashley Crockett) 3-0

Semifinals:

Crossroads CB (Alesha Canty and Toni Byrd) beats Calverton TL (Miya Thomas and Kody Little) 3-0

Garrison MR (Damein McClendon and Terrell Rogers) beats Roland Park SB(Sophie Sweenie and Devin Brown) 2-1

Finals:

Garrison MR (Damein McClendon and Terrell Rogers) beats Crossroads CB (Alesha Canty and Toni Byrd) 4-1

Emerging Division

Semifinals:

Crossroads KM (Ahmad Karim-Clapp and DeSean Markley) beats Stadium WS (Amanda Wise and Sequoia Selia) 3-0

Roland Park MB (Peymaan Motevalli and Max Best) beats ConneXions HE (Eddie Hawkins and Darryl Elliot)

Finals:

Crossroads KM (Ahmad Karim-Clapp and DeSean Markley) beats Roland Park MB (Peymaan Motevalli and Max Best) 3-0