June 15, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 3
Upper Saddle River
Nearly everyone has a goal, dream, or desire. Arya Majumder’s dream was to have a debate club at his grade school in Upper Saddle River. Although Arya passed away before he saw the club come to fruition, Majumder’s father and sixth grade language arts and science teacher Stephanie Chamberlin have done everything in their power to establish the club – iDebate for Arya -- at Cavallini School. “The kids are an eclectic group,” Chamberlin said of her seventh grade debaters. She explained that the final debate would cover the topic of Facebook use for middle school students. Each student had been researching the pros and cons of this topic to prepare for the face-off. Chamberlin pointed out that the club is an after school program, is not mandatory, and the students do not receive any grades for their work. The students chose the topic, which, she said, led to some interesting discussions. Because there are no other local middle school debate teams, the students were compelled to face their peers. The
Cavallini School debaters honor wish of former classmate Arya Majumder
day before the debate, Chamberlin said approximately 13 students would be participating on two teams. Chamberlin said Arya’s father, Kumud Majumder, worked hard to get the debate club program off the ground. She said Majumder also donated T-shirts, which the students sold for $1 each to support the Arya’s Kids Foundation. According to the foundation website, the group’s goal is to fund pediatric cancer research and immunotherapy. Swati Majumder is president and treasurer of the organization; Mr. Majumder is vice president. “Our Slogan for the Arya Memorial Debate Club is, “Today’s Debater, Tomorrow’s Senator,” Mr. Majumder said. He noted that middle school-level debate clubs are practically non-existent both in New Jersey and New York, though high school debate teams are common. He added that he hopes to expand the program to the county and state levels. (continued on page 25)
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