Middle and Upper School Debaters Have Strong Showings Across Recent Competitions
Hackley’s Middle and Upper School debate teams have been busy! In February, seven Upper Schoolers represented Hackley at the National High School Ethics Bowl and 10 debaters competed in the fourth and final event of the 2024-25 HSPDP regular season. And on March 8, 27 members of Hackley’s MS debate team competed at a tournament hosted by the Fieldston School.
National High School Ethics Bowl
On Saturday, Feb. 8, seven Upper School students represented Hackley at the National High School Ethics Bowl, held at Fordham University in the Bronx. The Ethics Bowl is a dynamic competition where students from NYC-area schools engage in thoughtful discussions on complex ethical dilemmas. Teams of up to seven participants debate cases across multiple rounds, showcasing their ability to think critically and articulate nuanced perspectives.
Hackley’s team — Ben Iaderosa ’26, Peter King ’26, Rohan Krishna ’26, Macey McLane ’26, Sarah Rotenberg ’26 and Hailey Won ’25 — performed exceptionally well, winning two out of three matches and tying the third. Charlie Napach ’27 was also a key team member but was unfortunately unable to compete due to illness. Leading up to the event, the team met regularly to refine their arguments and deepen their understanding of the cases.
This competition is a rewarding intellectual challenge, and we encourage interested students to get involved! Hackley can enter multiple teams next year, so if you'd like to participate, reach out to Mr. Fitzpatrick for more details.
High School Public Debate Program (HSPDP)
A few weeks later, on Saturday, Feb. 22, 10 Hackley debaters competed in the fourth and final regular-season event of the 2024-25 HSPDP season at Saddle River Day School in New Jersey. The HSPDP league brings together schools from across the tri-state area, where students debate four rounds on both pre-announced and impromptu topics. This tournament’s topics included U.S. policies on math education, the role of generative AI in schools and the morality of certain wartime actions.
Hackley entered four teams in the competition:
- Zaira Sammi ’28 and Beatrix Mackil ’27
- Lilly Rosenthal ’27, Theo Anderson ’27 and Gabe Fossner ’27
- Niko Kim ’27 and Ben Iaderosa ’26
- Peter Park ’27, Issac Cho ’27 and John Choi ’27 (who made his Upper School debate debut!)
Hackley had a stellar showing, with Niko and Ben winning the tournament outright with a perfect 4-0 record! Ben was Hackley’s top speaker, placing 4th overall, with Niko (7th), Peter (8th), Gabe (10th) and Theo (18th) also earning top-20 speaker medals. The teams of Lilly, Gabe and Theo and Issac, Peter and John finished with strong 3-1 records, contributing to Hackley’s 2nd place finish in total wins and 1st place for highest winning percentage.
A special shoutout to John Choi, whose speaker scores improved dramatically throughout his first tournament as a Hackley debater — we hope to see him competing again soon!
Hackley will host the HSPDP Championship on April 5, with the final round taking place on the Diller Hall stage at approximately 5 p.m.
Middle School Fieldston Tournament
On March 8, 27 members of Hackley’s Middle School debate team competed at a tournament hosted by the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. The team featured a strong mix of debaters across all grade levels.
Hackley was well-represented by:
Hackley was well-represented by:
- 12 fifth graders – Jun Yang W., Tucker L., Hudson S., Agron K., Maxwell A., Theodore B., Masha Z., Marlowe H., Sophia J., Yina Q., Cyrus H. and Alice D.
- Six sixth graders – Ethan A., Leroy G., Charlie R., Hugo K., Michael C. and Akash K.
- Five seventh graders – Ryan L., Neil D-S., James C., Henry B. and George P.
- Four eighth graders – Rohan M., Johannah H., Desi C. and Jim K.
The top individual speaker from Hackley was Neil D-S. ’30, who placed 11th in the varsity division. Our novice debaters also had an outstanding performance, earning multiple speaker awards. Sophia J. ’32 placed 9th, Marlowe H. ’32 placed 4th and Charlie R. ’31 took 3rd place. A special congratulations to Hugo K. ’31, who won 1st place in the novice division and took home the coveted gavel!
Congratulations to all our debaters for their hard work and impressive performances!
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Hackley's Ethics Bowl team: Rohan Krishna ’26, Charlie Napach ’27, Peter King ’26, Ben Iaderosa ’26, Sarah Rotenberg ’26, Macey McLane ’26 and Hailey Won ’25 -
Hackley debaters at the HSPDP event at Saddle River Day School in New Jersey. -
Middle School debaters at Ethical Culture Fieldston School.
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