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The Great Divide

‘My voice matters’: Brighton Debate en Español team gives students a platform to grow

By Shelby LumUpdated July 29, 2020, 1:08 p.m.
'My voice matters': Brighton Debate en Español team gives students a platform to grow
The Brighton Debate en Español team has been growing since its successful first year, but with COVID-19 the team's plans were forced to change. (Video produced by Shelby Lum|Globe Staff, Additional footage by Caitlin Healy|Globe Staff)

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Throughout the winter, scores of Boston students devoted much of their weekends to fervently argue about a single topic: whether the United States should limit its arms sales. Teens in the Boston Debate League verbally jabbed back and forth, poking holes in their opponents’ arguments.

Ultimately, each team hoped to win.

The Boston league was the first in the country to have a Spanish-speaking division, which began in 2013. A Globe video journalist spent part of a season following the Brighton High School Debate en Español team.

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The team, led by Ramon Trinidad, won the 2018-19 City Championship. This year, the debaters hoped for a repeat victory, but the arrival of COVID-19 upended many of their plans.