As many members of the WFS community note, Friends students are highly politically active and engaged. Attending rallies, participating in political conversations, and attending social justice clubs is commonplace. Perhaps the cornerstone of political involvement for Friends students are the World Affairs debates. These debates are held in the library during lunch every few weeks, and often focus on current events such as the president, new laws and problems that deserve to be addressed. Debates allow students to research topics that matter to them, develop their opinions, and share their knowledge with the rest of the community. Through debating and cordially arguing, the students can contribute first hand to the growth and development of the Friends Community.

Maggie Coons ’19 is involved with many social justice clubs around the school and can often be seen attending the World Affairs debates. She is very passionate about her political views. She commented: “The World Affairs debates contribute to our school community by showing different perspectives of people in the school. Since students are the ones debating you get to see how the issues affect the community, and you get to see the exposure people have had to the issues.” Like many other students, Coons appreciates the debates because of the various perspectives they offer.

Remy Davis-Tinnel ’17 has competed in a debate of her own. Her debate topic was whether or not, in order to preserve democracy, we all need to follow Donald Trump. Davis-Tinnel argued that it is not necessary for the entire country to support Trump. She remarked, “I believe that my debate was important to the growth and development of the school, because it is important to lay out the facts for all students.” Her debate was successful because it respectfully and effectively portrayed the students’ two different perspectives on a controversial topic. “The World Affairs debates are very important for people to have a chance to listen to opinions or world views that they may not agree with. Especially considering we go to a very liberal school, I do think it is important for students to see a more conservative perspective, even though I was not on the conservative side.” Davis-Tinnell has shown that there is a lot of value in educating the students about a diverse array of opinions.

Although the debates are organized and run mostly by the students, Upper School history teacher Javier Ergueta is the overseer of the debates, as well as one of their biggest fans. He commented: “Our mission as a Quaker school is to push for progress and improve the world. World Affairs is an effort to bring the world to school in an effective way to get people to learn.” The debates are not only educational, but also entertaining for the students to watch.“The purpose is to appeal to kids and to teach them basic arguments behind every issue,” Ergueta added. “Our goal is not simply to expose students to the issues, but to elevate the discussion.” World Affairs aims to present these key issues in a fun and engaging way,

The World Affairs debates at Friends are an important platform for students to reach out and educate the community on global topics. They provide an elevated discussion and multiple well-informed points of view. In this unique way, the debates help the community to grow and develop their own beliefs by exposing them to both sides of each argument. Next time you see signs around school for an upcoming debate during lunch, tune in if you are interested in hearing about world issues and gaining a new perspective!