For the third year in a row, an A&M Consolidated High School student has earned the title of state champion in the 5A University Interscholastic League Congressional Debate competition. Consol debater Celine Choi earned the state championship Wednesday in Austin.
In addition, Allen Zhang placed third, solidifying A&M Consolidated’s recent domination in congressional debate in the 5A ranks. Zhang was also a state finalist in last year’s contest.
The title marks the third consecutive state championship for a Consol student as 2019 graduate AabidRazvi won the 2018 and 2019 state titles, respectively. Razvi placed second in 2017.
Choi and Zhang competed as two of the top 51 5A congressional debate students in Texas. After a preliminary round, the top 16 advanced to the finals at the Texas capitol.
Congressional debate is an individual contest in a large group setting. It models the legislative process of democracy, specifically the United States Congress. Within this mock legislative assembly competition, contestants draft legislation 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. Parliamentary procedure forms structure for the discourse, and students extemporaneously respond to arguments over the course of a session.
