JSA Fall State Convention

JSA Fall State Convention

By: Soseh Hovasapian

The SoCal Junior States of America Fall State convention was a success this weekend! The convention began with us learning about types of debates and how to moderate. With nine other sets of debates, a diverse collection of topics were presented, ranging from college letters of recommendation to pulling out troops from Afghanistan. Pilibos attended Fall State with the largest delegation, and our speakers earned a total of thirteen “Best Speaker” gavels, with some having earned multiple awards.

Personally, my favorite debates were “Thought Talk: Reverse Racism,” “Sexism in the Tech Industry,” and, of course, “Armenian Debate: սփիւռքային տուրք.” During the thought talk, different ideas about reverse racism were expressed. I was one of the speakers that thought bullying is not oppression, therefore it is not racism of any kind. Kami Arabian was the main speaker for the Pro side of the “Sexism in the Tech Industry” Debate, where he talked about women and men not being treated equally when it comes to fields of science, technology, and math. Towards the end, the debate became heated, when one of the subsequent speakers made excruciatingly sexist remarks. After voting on whether Demore’s Google memo was in fact sexist, the Pro side of this debate won. For the first time ever, there was an Armenian debate at a JSA convention, a very interesting one indeed. Ara Yacoubian and Kami Arabian, the main speakers, debated about whether the diasporan Armenians should pay taxes to Armenia. Ara spoke about our duty as Armenians to help out our country in every way possible, this tax being just the start of it. Kami argued that however “nice” it sounds, implementing taxes on the citizens of another country just is not reasonable or in any way feasible. The Pro side of this debate won as well; the resolution of paying taxes to Armenia from the diaspora passed.

Throughout the convention, a handful of students spoke for their first time. Saturday comprised of five sets of debates; the night concluded with a chapter caucus, where all the schools were introduced, and a delightful dance, in which all the students enjoyed themselves. On Sunday, the debates continued until the ninth set, and we ended the convention with the closing session, where a number of students were awarded with “Best Speaker” gavels. Overall, everyone had a great time debating at this convention, and speaking on behalf of most students, I am most certainly thrilled for the next one.