By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

SIX students from three private schools on island were chosen to represent the CNMI in the national parliamentary debate competition to be held next month in Los Angeles, California.
The students emerged as the top debaters during the first ever regional parliamentary debate competition held on Thursday at Marianas Baptist Academy.
The six were selected from a pool of 12 contestants.
Four of the top debaters are from MBA: Mark Liban, 7th grade; Savana Manglona, 8th grade; Liezel Tiples, 7th grade; and Manatsu Omori, 7th grade.
The other two are Krystele Chavez, 8th grade, Calvary Christian Academy; and Harrison Smith, 7th grade, Saipan International School.
The debate was conducted by local National Forensic League organizers, through an invitation from the national group.
According to one of the coaches, Lorna Liban, each of the three schools was asked to send four students to participate in the competition here.
The students were assigned topics which included that students should be allowed to have cell phones at school; that television is bad influence; and that human cloning should be permitted in the United States.
Practice sessions were held from Feb. 20 to March 7.
“We combined students and mixed them together. The parliamentary groups were composed of three members and were given 20 minutes to prepare for the topic,” Liban said, adding that every student was given the chance to defend both positions on the issue.
During the actual debate competition, the topic was “the president of the United States should be elected by direct vote of the people.”
Superior Court judges and officers of the local National Forensic League served as judges in the competition.
The CNMI delegation will undergo training Monday to Thursday, from 8 to 9 p.m., by MBA’s Liban, Keith Tessen of Saipan International School, Sara Rockhey of Calvary Christian Academy and with assistance from Judge Ramona V. Manglona.
“It was a great experience and I didn’t expect to be among the top debaters,” MBA’s Tiples told Variety yesterday, adding that it was her first time to join in a parliamentary debate and “I never thought that it would be fun.”
Omori said the competition helped him become more resourceful and confident.
“We did a lot of research and it helped me a lot —it developed my self-confidence,” he said, adding that he’s excited about competing in California.
The trip to Los Angeles will be funded by the National Forensic League in the U.S.