Rogers students verbally spar with judges to raise funds for debate team

A verbal showdown will kick off Tuesday matching wits of the Rogers High School debate club against two sitting Spokane County District Court judges.

The fourth installment of “Rhetoric in the Ring” is intended to raise funds and the profile of the Rogers students as they take on Judge Debra Hayes and Judge Aimee Maurer inside the Howard Street Gym boxing ring at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

“Rogers’ debate team is undefeated in this event so far in three years,” retired Judge James Murphy said in a news release. “They’ve beat the City Council, state senators, and the Spokane School Board.

“However,” Murphy continued, “I think that this is the year that the kids will face their strongest competition as they take on Judge Hayes and Maurer.”

The competition will force students to debate both affirmative and negative sides for an impromptu topic. The exhibition also includes cross-examination and closing arguments.

Rogers student William Lynch will debate Hayes, and fellow student Katelynn Searls will take on Maurer.

Murphy will serve as ringmaster, and Bert Caldwell, a former Spokesman-Review editorial page editor, will serve as referee. Gonzaga security officer Phillip Tyler will serve as volunteer bailiff.

Proceeds from the event, and any donations, will help fund the debate club for the current speech season.