Dripping Springs High debaters successful at regional competition
Dripping Springs High School students were successful at the UIL 5A Region 13 Congress Meet on Nov. 12. Campbell Melton was the region champion and will advance to the state tournament. Mason Mohon placed fourth and is designated as a state alternate, and Max Bibeau was sixth. The event included the top 18 debaters in the region. Bibeau was a state qualifier in this event last fall.
Congress is an individual contest in a group setting that models the legislative process of 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. Topics this year included eliminating mandatory minimum sentences, returning to the gold standard, increasing the minimum wage, reducing tariffs, and protecting victims of human trafficking. Congress is one of several speech/debate events sponsored by UIL; others occur in the spring.
The State UIL Congress Tournament will be held Jan. 7-9 at the University of Texas at Austin.
