Certificates (2-1):
Hart BH (Jason Block & Emily Horrack)
Campbell Hall WG (Ryan Wright & Bryan Gee)
Valencia FS (Derek Faraldo & John Savant)
Valencia PK (Alex Patel & Arshjot Khokar)
Dos Pueblos RW (Daniel Richman & Jake Wiener)
Dos Puebles TW (Lea Tuanle & Henry Weikel)
SOCES SK (Cameron Silverberg & Farhan Kabir)
SOCES SL (Alex Schwartz & ??? Lam)
SOCES KF (Filipp Krasovskiy & Evan Feldman)
Foothill Tech BM (Luke Ballmer & Anaika Miller)
Foothill Tech WS (Lucas Wiltjer & Ravi Sajjan)
Oaks Christian WD (Ryan Waller & Bri Darling)
Oaks Christian HW (Trevor Hanken & Paul Wallace)
Burbank CJ (Nikki Calderon & Eunice Jun)
Burbank GS (Sarkis Grigorian & Jonathan Stoll)
Burbank HS (Johnnie Han & Chelsea Castillo)
Cleveland BS (Alexander Bissell & Robert Scharlach)

Top Ten Speakers:
1. David Wright (Chaminade)
2. Cameron Silverberg (SOCES)
3. Spencer Davis (Foothill Tech)
4. Joseph Young (Oaks Christian)
5. Michael Dewey (West Ranch)
6. Ryan Oblea (Chaminade)
7. Jason Block (Hart)
8. John Morgan (West Ranch)
9. Emily Horack (Hart)
10. Bryan Gee (Campbell Hall)

Quarterfinals
[1] Simi Valley GM (Michael Godoy & Kevin McKinnon) def. [8] Oaks Christian RY (Joey Rebbe & Joseph Young)
[2] Oaks Christian BW (Taylor Beach & Ryan Waller) def. [7] Valencia KP (Alex Patel & Arshjot Khokhar)
[3] PV Peninsula CP def. [6] PV Peninsula KS (Elliot Kang & Haley Silvano)
[4] Bakersfield Christian RT def. [5] PV Peninsula CG (Sarah Choi & Crystal Gianvecchio)

Semifinals
[2] Oaks Christian BW def. [3] PV Peninsula CP (Claire Crossman & Liliana Pond)
[4] Bakersfield Christian RT def. [1] Simi Valley GM (Michael Godoy & Kevin McKinnon) [2-1]

Finals
[4] Bakersfield Christian (Riggs & Taylor) def. [2] Oaks Christian BW (Beach & Waller)

SPEAKERS:
1. Haley Silvano (PV Peninsula)
2. Alex Patel (Valencia)
3. Trevor Hanken (Oaks Christian)
4. Joey Rebbe (Oaks Christian)
5. Joseph Stearns (Bakersfield Christian)
6. Derek Faraldo (Valencia)
7. Austin Smith (Oaks Christian)
8. Claire Crossman (PV Peninsula)

The tournament will be held at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, California.

Sixteen teams will be in competition. Teams with 16+ POI points are fully qualified for the cup. Teams with less than 16 points may submit an at-large bid application.

Information on the application process for both fully qualified teams and prospective at-large teams will be forthcoming.

The Los Gatos duo of Adam Silverman & Christina Gilbert (right) defeated Windsor’s Jason Fauss & Jonathan Jeffrey (left) in the championship round of the 2012 MLK Invitational hosted by James Logan High School. Los Gatos (aff) and Windsor (neg) debated the resolution “the biggest political issue of the 2012 campaign is the decline of the middle class” with Los Gatos securing their victory on a 2-1 split decision.

The MLK Invitational is the largest Parliamentary Debate event in the invitational season, save only for the Stanford Invitational. This year, 100 teams competed in the open division.

Double Octofinals

[1]Dougherty Valley KW def. [32]Centennial RK (Janelle Reed & Lyle Kleineman)

[25]James Enochs MW def. [8]Claremont AC (Mahdi Ali & Adam Cusic)

[28]Mira Loma ML def. [5]Centennial BH (Kelsey Brewer & Shad Hicks)

[4]Bishop O’Dowd ZV def. [29]Analy MD (Kota Mizutani & Grayson Dimick)

[31]Windsor FZ def. [2]Bishop O’Dowd CD (Audrey Carson & Natalie Dierkx)

[26]Redlands KK def. [7]James Logan CC (Wells Chang & Ashley Chang) [3-0: Tierney, Raskin, ?]

[3]Granite Bay GH def. [30]Sanger TO (Valerie Taboada & Drew Oakes)

[27]Bentley PP def. [6]Saratoga AC (Shauray Agrawal & Justin Chiang)

[16]Bishop O’Dowd PA def. [17]Leland HC (Jason Han & Vincent Chiu)

[9]Santa Rosa BF def. [24]Washington CC (Angela Chung & Afreen Chaus)

[12]Los Gatos SG def. [21]Clash Debate Club TS (Michael Tcheau & Garrett Soiland)

[20]El Dorado MR def. [13]Mira Loma RL (Aleks Ryabov & Michael Liu)

[15]Leland NW def. [18]Saratoga TZ (Rohil Taggarsi & Michael Zhang)

[10]Windsor FJ over [23]Stockdale KM (Jotthe Kannappan & Kasey Munoz) [drop]

[19]Lynbrook RY def. [14]Granite Bay AT (Gokul Asokan & Michael Tom)

[11]Foothill Technology BM def. [22]Bishop O’Dowd WC (Caitlin Walsh & Jordan Crosby)

Octofinals

[16]Bishop O’Dowd PA def. [1]Dougherty Valley KW (Karthik Konath & David Wang)

[12]Los Gatos SG def. [28]Mira Loma LM (Jeff Leibenhaut & Keizra Mecklai)

[15]Leland NW def. [31]Windsor FZ (Patrick Foster & Ivy Ziedrich)

[3]Granite Bay GH def. [19]Lynbrook RY (Anjana Rao & Robert Ying)

[25]James Enochs MW def. [9]Santa Rosa BF (Isabella ‘Buddy’ Burch & Sumner Fields)

[4]Bishop O’Dowd ZV def. [20]El Dorado MR (Niki Moore & Claire Rapp)

[10]Windsor FJ def. [26]Redlands KK (Sonny Kim & Gia Karpouzis)

[11]Foothill Technology BM def. [27]Bentley PP (Alexis Pracar & Shane Pracar)

Quarterfinals

[25]James Enochs MW def. [16]Bishop O’Dowd PA (Nadia Perl & Nicholas Accinelli)

[10]Windsor FJ def. [15]Leland NW (Bang Nguyen & Young Wu)

[12]Los Gatos SG def. [4]Bishop O’Dowd ZV (Marco Zepeda & Cate Vegis)

[3]Granite Bay GH def. [11]Foothill Technology BM (Luke ‘Totally’ Ballmer & Anaika Miller) [3-0]

Semifinals

[12]Los Gatos SG def. [25]James Enochs MW (Jacob Marsh & Mickey Walbridge)

[10]Windsor FJ def. [3]Granite Bay GH (Ishaan Gupta & Justin Habashi)

Finals

[12]Los Gatos SG def. [10]Windsor FJ (Jason Fauss & Jonathan Jeffrey) [2-1]

Champions

[12]Los Gatos SG: Adam Silverman & Christina Gilbert

Topics

1a: This House would talk to Iran.

1b: THW create a new exit strategy for Afghanistan.

2a: This House prefers principles over outcomes

2b: This House would rather fight the wave than ride it

3a

3b: The USFG needs to be downsized

4a

4b

5a

5b

Da

Db

Oa: Steve Jobs is the most influential American since WWII.

Ob: The United States is still the land of opportunity.

Qa: Federal elections should be held on weekends.

Qb: People on Social Security should do public service.

S

F: The biggest political issue of the 2012 political campaign is the decline of the middle class.

Top Speakers

1. David Wang
2. Gia Karpouzis
3. Shane Pracar
4. Audrey Carson
5. Jacob Marsh
6. Mickey Walbridge
7. Wells Chang
8. Nathalie Dierkx
9. Mahdi Ali
10. Kelsey Brewer

Certificate of Superiority (2-1):
Cleveland DC (Giovanni D’Ambrosio & Shyok Chakraborty)
Granada Hills WB (Jesse Warme & Erika Blanchard)
SOCES SK (Cameron Silverberg & Farhan Kabir)
CHAMPS Charter FS (Simon Fields & Evan Sanford)
Oaks Christian AC (Adam Alberstone & Asha Culhane)
Oaks Christian FD (Soroush Fanamirad & Charlotte Deering)
Oaks Christian YR (Joseph Young & Joey Rebbe)
Oaks Christian WT (Ryan Waller & Brittany Taylor)

Top Speakers:

1. Henry Rosen (Cleveland)
2. Adam Revello (Cleveland)
3. Ryan Waller (Oaks Christian)
4. Michael Magana (North Hollywood)
5. Alex Patel (Valencia)
6. James Hart (West Ranch)
7. Saun Williams (West Ranch)
8. Cameron Silverberg (SOCES)
9. Jesse Warme (Granada Hills)
10. Derek Faraldo (Valencia)

QUARTERFINALS:
(1) West Ranch MD def. (8) SOCES KS (Farhan Kabir & Cameron Silverberg) [3-0]
[McHugh, Kouyoumdjian, Corley]
(2) Valencia KP def. (7) Oaks Christian BW (Taylor Beach & Ryan Waller) [3-0]
[McHugh, Kouyoumdjian, Corley]
(3) Cleveland RT def. (6) SOCES VS (Steven Vuong & Michael Semon) [3-0]
[Morrison, Melilo, Warner]
(5) Valencia FS def (4) Cleveland SS (Sam Sandin & Schuyler Ross) [3-0]

[Morrison, Melilo, Warner]

SEMIFINALS:
(1) West Ranch MD def. (2) Valencia KP (Arshjot Khokar & Alex Patel) [2-1]
[Grawe, Posner, *Lampert]
(5) Valencia FS def. (3) Cleveland RT (Adam Revello & Leo Tuchman) [3-0]

[Kouyoumdjian, Corley, Batham]

FINALS:
(5) Valencia FS def. (1) West Ranch MD (John Morgan & Michael Dewey) [3-2]

[Batham, Corley, Lampert, *Kouyoumdjian, *Finnegan]

CHAMPIONS:
(5) Valencia FS (Derek Faraldo & John Savant)

NOVICE FINALS:
(1) Oaks Christian HW (Paul Wallace & Trevor Hanken) def. (2) CHAMPS Charter KP (Melina Kolani & Joseph Pardieu) [2-1]

Speakers

1. Cameron Silverberg (SOCES)
2. Adam Revello (Cleveland)
3. Alex Patel (Valencia)
4. Farhan Kabir (SOCES)
5. Derek Faraldo (Valencia)
6. Melina Kolani (CHAMPS Charter)
7. Kevin McKinnon (Simi Valley)
8. Arshjot Khokar (Valencia)
9. Leo Tuchman (Cleveland)
10. Michael Dewey (West Ranch)
11. Ryan Waller (Oaks Christian)
12. Simon Fields (CHAMPS Charter)
13. Justin Matthews (Oaks Christian)
14. Sam Sandin (Cleveland)
15. John Morgan (West Ranch)
16. Joey Rebbe (Oaks Christian)
17. Schuyler Ross (Cleveland)
18. Steven Vuong (SOCES)
19. Michael Semon (SOCES)
20. Michael Godoy (Simi Valley)

Teams in Order

1. West Ranch MD (John Morgan & Michael Dewey) [6-0]
2. Valencia PK (Alex Patel & Arshjot Khokar) [5-1]
3. Cleveland RT (Adam Revello & Leo Tuchman) [5-1]
4. Cleveland SR (Sam Sandin & Schulyer Ross) [5-1]
5. Valencia FS (Derek Faraldo & John Savant) [5-1]
6. SOCES VS (Steven Vuong & Michael Semon) [4-2]
7. Oaks Christian WB (Ryan Waller & Taylor Beach) [4-2]
8. SOCES SK (Cameron Silverberg & Farhan Kabir) [3-3]
9. CHAMPS Charter FS (Simon Fields & Evan Sanford) [3-3]
10. Oaks Christian RY (Joey Rebbe & Joseph Young) [3-3]
11. Simi Valley DS (Bridges Dickey & Tawni Sasaki) [3-3]
12. Oaks Christian HW (Trevor Hanken & Paul Wallace) [3-3]

Quarters
Esperanza CC def. San Marino WT (Bailey Wong and Emily Thai)
Gabrielino SR def. Gabrielino TT (Pay Pay Trinh and Hubert Tran)
Los Osos DJ def. Peninsula GL (Crystal Gianvecchio and Chelsea Lim)
Oxford PR def. Northwood AS (Arjun Ahuja and Sathvik Shastry)

Semis
Oxford PR def. Esperanza CC (Samuel Chang and Wesley Chin)
Los Osos DJ def. Gabrielino SR (?? Singleton and Andrew Rodriguez)

Finals
Los Osos DJ def. Oxford PR (Tim Perdew and Yuki Ramirez)

Champions: Los Osos DJ (Chris Daden and Sarah Jiang)

Topics
Round 1A: This house believes there ought to be a law.
Round 1B: This house would privatize it.

Round 2A: The right to a free public education ought to be extended to include college.
Round 2B: The USFG should dissolve the Dept of Education.

Round 3A: The USFG should prioritize building domestic infrastructure over military spending.
Round 3B: This house would place limits on the executive salaries on corporations chartered in the US.

Round 4A: The USFG should support Palestinian statehood.
Round 4B: The USFG should establish diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Round 5A: The USFG ought to reform the tax code.
Round 5B: The USFG ought to preserve entitlements.

Quarters: Out with the old, in with the new.

Semis: This house is its own worst enemy.

Finals: In this instance, we should judge the book by its cover.

On an extremely close 3-2 decision, Valencia debaters Derek Faraldo and John Savant took the third annual Cal Lutheran title from top-seeded West Ranch’s John Morgan (SNFI grad) and Michael Dewey.

Quarterfinalist Cameron Silverberg of SOCES won the top speaker award for the second year in a row, while semifinalist Adam Revello of Cleveland (and SNFI) took second speaker and semifinalist Alex Patel of Valencia took third (for the second time in three years).

In Novice Breakout finals, Oaks Christian’s Paul Wallace and Trevor Hanken defeated CHAMPS Charter’s Melina Kolani and Joseph Pardieu on a 2-1 decision. Ms. Kolani was the top novice speaker, as well as one of the top varsity speakers.

BREAKS:

QUARTERFINALS:

West Ranch MD def. SOCES KS (Farhan Kabir & Cameron Silverberg) [3-0]

Valencia KP def. Oaks Christian BW (Taylor Beach & Ryan Waller) [3-0]

Cleveland RL def. SOCES VS (Steven Vuong & Michael Semon) [3-0]

Valencia FS def Cleveland SS (Sam Sandin & Schuyler Ross) [3-0]

SEMIFINALS:

West Ranch MD def. Valencia KP (Arshjot Khokar & Alex Patel) [2-1]

Valencia FS def. Cleveland RT (Adam Revello & Leo Tuchman) [3-0]

FINALS:

Valencia FS def. West Ranch MD (John Morgan & Michael Dewey) [3-2]

CHAMPIONS:

Valencia FS (Derek Faraldo & John Savant)

NOVICE FINALS:

Oaks Christian HW (Paul Wallace & Trevor Hanken) def. CHAMPS Charter KP (Melina Kolani & Joseph Pardieu) [2-1]

Field (19 teams):

Simon Fields & Evan Sanford (CHAMPS Charter)

Melina Kolani & Joseph Pardieu (CHAMPS Charter) [NOVICES]

Kristina Aspey & Samantha Sacks (CHAMPS Charter) [NOVICES]

Thai Gaon & Camdon Blount (CHAMPS Charter) [NOVICES]

Adam Revello & Leo Tuchman (Cleveland)

Sam Sandin & Schuyler Ross (Cleveland)

Joseph Young & Joey Rebbe (Oaks Christian)

Adam Albertstone & Asha Culhane (Oaks Christian)

Taylor Beach & Ryan Waller (Oaks Christian)

Cody Phillips & Justin Matthews (Oaks Christian)

Bruce Dunn & Kevin Bondar (Oaks Christian) [NOVICES]

Paul Wallace & Trevor Hanken (Oaks Christian) [NOVICES]

Kevin McKinnon & Michael Godoy (Simi Valley)

Bridges Dickey & Tawni Sasaki (Simi Valley)

Cameron Silverberg & Farhan Kabir (SOCES)

Steven Vuong & Michael Semon (SOCES)

Derek Faraldo & John Savant (Valencia)

Alex Patel & Arshjot Khokhar (Valencia)

John Morgan & Michael Dewey (West Ranch)

I talk about the evolution of Parliamentary Debate through the lens of my experiences, and what ought to be done about Policy-esque Parli.

This is all candidly and extemporaneously delivered; there’s no script.

I intend to make this a regular segment, so please tell me what you’d like for me to discuss next.

Thanks!