Las Vegas students becomes first Nevadan at national debate final

A Las Vegas high school student last month became the first Nevadan to make the final round of the National Speech and Debate Tournament in the Lincoln-Douglas debate category.

Coral Academy student Jonathan Adler came in second place in the final round of Lincoln-Douglas debate out of 282 students competing in the category during the event held last month at the Phoenix Convention Center.

Coral Academy released a statement lauding Adler for having “etched his name in Nevada’s history books” as the first Nevada student to compete for the national champion title in Lincoln-Douglas debate.

“Outshining an impressive pool of 282 talented participants from across the nation, Jonathan’s extraordinary skills and dedication have propelled him to an outstanding top 2 ranking,” the statement read.

This year’s topic in the Lincoln-Douglas category was: “Government employees have a moral obligation to leak classified information to address injustice.”

“The whole time I was shocked,” Adler said of his experience at the tournament. “Every time I moved on, it would be a surprise so I had no idea I was going to go this far.”

The championship included six preliminary rounds of competition with two judges for each round. Ballots were cast by each judge, and to move on, a contestant needs eight ballots. Adler got nine and moved to the championship final round for Lincoln-Douglas debate.

After learning he had moved on to the final, Adler recalled how excited he was to share the news of his accomplishment.

“Right after I knew I moved on, I freaked out and called my mom,” he said, laughing. “The whole convention center was looking at me, but I really didn’t care I was just so excited.”

Adler is no newcomer to speech and debate, having begun in the sixth grade, but he had only started the Lincoln-Douglas debate category in January. Adler said he took up Lincoln-Douglas debate after he and his partner in public forum debate parted ways, and soon discovered he really enjoyed it.

When he got to the nationals, the pressure began to set in, Adler said.

“The largest group of people I’ve ever debated in front of was maybe a hundred people,” he said. “But for nationals, I looked out at 6,000 people watching me and I knew another 3,000 were watching online.”

While Adler didn’t win the top spot as national champion, he said he’s incredibly proud of himself and his team. He noted that his team has just four members, including himself, while some teams have more than 300 people.

“I’m just so happy that we made it that far,” he said. “Our team is super tight-knit and we’re all really good friends, so it was great to share that moment with them.”

Adler said that participating in debate has made him a smarter person and taught him to break down arguments and change how he views the world.

He noted that some of the smartest people knows participated in debate, and he’s happy to be involved with it. Adler said he hopes to attend the University of Chicago or Georgetown University for law school, then go on to a career in politics.

“Debate gave me the tools I needed to feel more confident and intelligent, and I’m glad I can take that away from this experience,” he said.

This story has been updated to correct an error regarding Jonathan Adler’s tournament accomplishment. He is the first Nevada student to make it to the National Speech and Debate Tournament finals in the Lincoln-Douglas debate category.

Contact Kiara Adams at kadams@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-0399. Follow @kiadams101 on Twitter.