They may be oil and water, but they're a great team

Monique Schoech and Mara Barnes are two teens you probably don’t want to get in argument with.

The two policy debaters for Columbia Falls High School recently took third place at the National Forensic League District Tournament held at Flathead High School, qualifying them for the nationwide tournament in Birmingham, Ala., in June.

This is only the second time in school history that a member of the speech and debate team has qualified for the national event. Brittany Calderwood qualified a few years back.

The subject of this year’s debate, which is set by the league before the beginning of the season, was on increasing transportation infrastructure in the U.S. Debaters had to take a negative or affirmative position on the subject, but they didn’t know which until the day of the debate.

So debaters spend about three hours a day after school reading, researching and practicing.

They lug around cases full of research material to each debate. You’d think the pair would be close friends. Not so.

“We don’t hang out with the same friends,” Schoech explained. “We’re two very different personalities. Two very different cliques.”

What they do have is a solid work ethic, coach Tara Norick said. She encouraged the two to team up at the beginning of the season. Both carry a 3.7 grade point average.

Three seems to be their magic number. They took third at the divisional tournament, third at the state Class A tournament and third at the National Forensic League tourney.

“It’s an achievement for us,” Barnes said. “We’re really proud, and our parents are really proud.”

Schoech and Barnes are looking forward to the national competition — both girls are only sophomores.

While debating transportation funding may have all the charms of watching paint dry, it became interesting for the two when they began investigating human trafficking.

Through their research, they found human trafficking was a big problem in the U.S., and their main argument is that the U.S. should invest more in shipping container scanners to search for people being smuggled into the country.

Despite their acumen in debate, neither Barnes or Schoech want to pursue government or politics as a career. Both girls said they actually prefer art.

“I want to start an art studio and help underprivileged children take art classes,” Schoech said.

Barnes said she isn’t sure exactly what she wants to do.

“I don’t want to be a politician,” she said.