3/1 Weekend: Irma Rangel wins DUDA Tournament 5
It’s the calm before the post-season storm so we had a very chill weekend this time! DUDA held its 5th high school tournament this year. They had a competitive division but they also had a scrimmage to prepare for TFA state for varsity members. We’ll focus on the results for the novice division and then talk a bit more about the great organization that DUDA is!
DUDA HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT 5
The top seed at the tournament was Irma Rangel’s Esmeralda Campuzano, Natalie Flores, Mia Valencia, and Samantha Flores. They went undefeated and finished as the 1st prelim seed! Congrats!
The top 10 speakers were as follows:
Angel Galarza - Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy (HS)
Liz Consuegra - Seagoville
Dallas Mays - Seagoville
Mia Valencia - Irma Rangel YWLS
Iram Duque - Seagoville
Sebastian Pastron - Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy (HS)
Alexys Kimble - Seagoville
Gregory Andrade - Seagoville
Carlos De la peña - Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy (HS)
Iliann Harris - Seagoville
Congratulations to all! Full results can be found here.
What is DUDA?
For those unfamiliar, DUDA stands for the Dallas Urban Debate Alliance. It has been supported by the National Association of Urban Debate League, an organization dedicated to bringing debate to low-income urban areas across the United States. It is currently the “second-largest urban debate league in the country,” working with “1,700 students from over 110 schools in Dallas ISD” (About Us). It is also one of the only urban debate leagues to teach World Schools Debate! They currently support over 250 students in middle school World Schools and over 100 students in high school World Schools. They are now in their third year of offering World Schools and have students competing at TFA State and NSDA Nationals.
Even more impressive than their growth is their commitment to fostering equity and critical thinking. As articulated in their About Us section:
“The Dallas Urban Debate Alliance is committed to providing Dallas ISD students with the transformational skills found in academic debate. From critical thinking, advanced research techniques, argument formulation, refutation, and questioning strategies, to finely honed listening and oral presentation skills, we believe that debate provides students the opportunity to become informed leaders in their schools and communities and to make a difference in their ability to advocate for themselves and others.”
The excellence of their students continues to prove this week after week and year after year. Despite their successes thus far, those in more privileged communities still need to help promote equity where we can. DUDA makes this really easy! In their Support Us section, community members can either donate or volunteer their time. These efforts can go a long way in helping make World Schools much more inclusive. Check them out at their official website. Take some time to see how you can get involved today!
