By Mollie Garberg

The fast falling snow over the Martin Luther King weekend didn’t phase Nikhil Basutkar, one of the 1073 debaters who had come from across the country for the Lexington Winter Invitational Debate Tournament or ‘Big Lex’ hosted by the Lexington Debate Team. Instead, he posted a picture of himself standing in it on Twitter captioned “Debating in the snow. #BigLex #Boston #PFD”

PFD refers to public forum debate, one of the three types of debates held at the tournament. Students at the tournament were prepared for Lincoln-Douglas and policy debates as well. Though none of the Lexington debaters competed, they spent countless hours organizing and volunteering as hosts to pull off the event which is their largest fundraiser of the year. Lexington parent volunteers pitched in too, doing everything from acting as greeters to cooking for the judges to housing 350 visiting debaters.

Visiting coaches and judges stayed at local hotels, and Whitson’s, the food service provider for the Lexington Public Schools, catered the event and provided nutritious meals for all the participants. Event Chairs Jean Birnberg and Sue Wilner said that local businesses were especially helpful and donated food, beverages and other services to help make the event successful. Some of the businesses that contributed were Wilson Farms, Taipei Gourmet, Prime Roast Beef, Royal India Bistro, Lexx, Neillios, Ruyi Restaurant, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts.

But the event was more than just a fundraiser for the team. Debate benefits Lexington students in many ways according to Sara Sanchez, Lexington high school’s debate teacher and program head. “Our society has a long history of celebrating great oratory and the presentation of ideas, which debate teaches kids to activate. Tournaments and competition provide a unique cumulative education experience that cannot be duplicated by tests/activities in the classroom. On an interpersonal level, it allows kids to challenge themselves academically in an innovative, head to head competition where their arguments are heard, evaluated and taken seriously by adults and educators who dedicate time to give them personalized feedback,” says Sanchez.

If you’d like to learn more and help support Lexington Debate, go www.lexdebate.org for more information.

Mollie Garberg is a Lexington resident, debate parent and volunteer.