#BringMacBack­­ — success or failure?

The aftermath of the school board meeting last Tuesday, in which many Speech and Debater members attended to speak for their respected club administrator, Mr. Macmillan, has been fully packed with uncertain opinions. At the meeting, around 30 members of the Speech and Debate club gathered to voice their opinions and urge a reinstatement of their adviser. Each person was permitted a written comment or a speech of three minutes to the board members, who could not interject during this time. Although the speeches given were full of passion and supporting evidence, many believe that they did not produce the desired effect on members of the board.

“Realistically, I don’t believe the board meeting will have a large impact on Mac’s chances of coming back. The majority of the speeches we gave were great speeches, but the school board did not seem to take them into much consideration, especially with their closing comment. They stated that they’ve recognized our dedication to the cause, but it seemed as though they wouldn’t take an action for the cause,” said Robin Fu, a member of the Speech and Debate Interpretation team. Indeed, as the Speech and Debate team continues to have to relocate to different classrooms for meetings and manage to find chaperones for tournaments, it seems more and more unlikely that the board members will be motivated enough to take any immediate action.

Sophomore Elaine Chan, while also doubting the credibility of the board’s final statement, believes that attending the meeting was still worthwhile for the club. “We got our voices heard,” she says, “The point of the board meeting was to force those people to sit down and listen to us talk, and they sat for 60 minutes. But I think they hid behind a facade of positivity.” Even if this may not be enough to achieve their ultimate goal, Speech and Debate members have definitely demonstrated their skills in a show of impressive enthusiasm and fluent speaking abilities.