Pictured: ORHS sophomores Lucy Milutinovich and Addy Bussey in Cambridge, MA. Photo courtesy of the students.
Congratulations to the Oyster River High School (ORHS) Debate Team who competed in the 2025 Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament in Cambridge, MA, the weekend of February 15-17.
The prestigious event, hosted by the Harvard Debate Council High School Tournament, attracted 5,145 students from 533 schools across 40 states and 11 countries.
Team members Addy Bussey and Lucy Milutinovich stated they learned new strategies and that it was a beneficial experience to observe how other students debate outside of their usual circuit.
Team coach and ORHS English Teacher Kara Sullivan said, “Lucy and Addy are second-year debaters who have come incredibly far this season. They wanted to challenge themselves, so they attended the Harvard debate which hosted over 5,000 students. As a result, they learned a great deal, style-wise, experienced tough judging and debated at a much higher level.”
The ORHS Debate Team also debated in the Winter Festival Speech and Debate Tournament in Massachusetts on January 11.
ORHS and Portsmouth High School (PHS) were the only two high schools from New Hampshire to send a team to the competition, joining 34 other high schools.
The challenging competition was an opportunity for ORHS students to demonstrate their talent. Seniors Shreya Joglekar and Stella Pilet-Shore from ORHS qualified for the fifth round.
The following ORHS debaters represented the Varsity Division: Vivian Best, Addy Bussey, Shreya Joglekar, Anika Pant, and Stella Pillet-Shore.
The Novice Division was represented by Lucy Adjemian, Zadi Hale, Jessie Ren, and Diya Sridharan.
The ORHS Debate Team during a weekend tournament.
The team collectively brainstorms arguments on a board in preparation for debates.