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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday April 11, 2008 - 3 White Oaks students debating with Canada's best By Joanna Phillips SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Whether they're the best in the nation is debatable, but one thing's for certain -- Sumeet Khanna and Alexandra Hetherington are at the top of their game. The Grade 11 White Oaks Secondary School students are now ranked in the top three provincially, Khanna first and Hetherington third, after their most recent debate competition. Fraser Simpson, a student at Toronto French School, separates them. Both have been coached by Hameesh Guthrie, an English teacher. The two placed third as a team, out of 32, in the provincial finals of the Ontario Student Debating Union, held March 2830. Khanna won a silver bowl, and both won plaques. The students are now competing in partners in the National Debate Championships in Calgary this weekend. Two other Halton teams, from Abbey Park and Robert Bateman High Schools, also qualified for the nationals. In the first two rounds of the provincial competition, Khanna and Hetherington had to argue both sides of "the accommodation of religious and cultural minorities has gone too far in Canada." They were given two months advance notice to prepare. In the third round, they had only 20-minutes prep time to argue against Canada boycotting the Beijing 2008 Olympic games. "You can't use sports as a policy tool," said Khanna, referring to one of the points he made, and elaborated on, during the debate. "China wouldn't care either. And it would be punishing the athletes." In the fourth round, they argued in support of giving parents a license (to raise children). Although they were eliminated in the final rounds, they are hungry for the win in Calgary. Khanna and Hetherington have shown incredible potential in the classroom. Khanna is an DEREK WOOLLAM / OAKVILLE BEAVER MAKING A POINT: White Oaks Secondary School debate team members, Sumeet Khanna and Alexandra Hetherington, who are competing in the national championships in Calgary this weekend, with their coaches Hameesh Guthrie and Melanie Baird. International Baccalaureate (IB) student. Hetherington maintains a 95 per cent average at White Oaks. Both are planning on going to medical school. Although they are both remarkable students, their initial foray into debating was anything but extraordinary. Khanna attended a debate meeting after announcements and advertisements around school piqued his interest as a Grade 9 student. He was nervous, and "didn't like it at first." He didn't suppose Coach Guthrie thought he was anything to write home about either. With experience, he was able to hone his craft. "After a few tournaments, it took off from there," he said. Khanna has always read prolifically, which has helped him academically. He considers reading as core to one's education. "I read a lot. I read anything. I'm reading a lot of political science books right now," he said. Both he and Hetherington read The Economist. Hetherington enjoys policy debates and world issues that concern the U.N. She is able to use her knowledge to steer intellectual conversations, and "can speak in front of everyone." "I like to argue, so that kind of drew me to (debating)" she said. It runs in the family. Her older brother also debated and was ranked nationally. He is now at Queen's University. Her father is a lobbyist. "This is one of the best results we've ever had," said Guthrie. He credits both Khanna and Hetherington for being especially open to constructive criticism. White Oaks has fielded debate teams for the last 25 years. Howard Williams.ca After 130 years, our first sale ever, is also our very last sale. Howard Williams Jewellers is GOING OUT OF BUSINESS! EVERYTHING MUST GO ­ TO THE BARE WALLS 33%­66% OFF EVERYTHING ­ NO EXCEPTIONS Original gold bullion pricing ­ no adjustment made for increased gold pricing Bottom ash forum April 15 The Green Party of Canada will hold a public awareness to discuss the spreading of bottom ash in Halton landfill sites. Halton Region council is set to debate a motion to extend the current practice of spreading bottom ash from incinerators in its landfill sites. The Green Party opposes the motion, saying it is detrimental to the health of area residents and that the practice has been banned in many countries. Frank de Jong, leader of the Green Party of Ontario and community environmental leaders, will discuss the risks as well as options to the spreading of bottom ash. The forum will be held Tuesday, April 15 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at CJ's Cafe, 2416 Lakeshore Rd. West, just east of Bronte Road. SALE HOURS: SUNDAY 11-5, MON-WED 10-7, THURS 10-9 FRIDAY 10-7, SAT CLOSED. 309 Lakeshore Road East Oakville 905-815-1220