A bill to end puppy mills, a bill to nationalize voting systems, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and modernizing the United States Navy: although these controversial topics seem different from one another, Senior Sanchita Chandran brings them together. Whether through Speech and Debate or Mock Trial, Chandran has debated them all.  

Chandran has excelled in Speech and Debate, Mock Trial and academics, becoming a National Merit Semi-Finalist.

Most of the clubs and activities Chandran does involve public policy in one way or another. Using the skills she has developed through school, Chandran hopes to put her skills to use in real courts. 

“I am definitely interested in going into law and public policy, so I am planning on majoring in economics and public policy to prepare myself for that kind of work,” Chandran said.

Chandran is the vice-president of the speech and debate program. Within the program, Chandran mostly does Congressional Debate. 

“I do Congressional Debate, [where] you act as a mock congress person, and then every Saturday, we go to tournaments and debate with other mock congressmen in a chamber. We pretty much debate mock legislation that is pretty topical to what’s going on in the nation, so I know this week, we are doing a lot of climate change stuff. It’s pretty interesting since it’s a way for me to stay up to date on current issues and also actually consider developing real laws that could affect us,” Chandran said.

Although now coaching virtually, Speech and Debate assistant coach David Burnett has been working with Chandran since 2017, when she was in middle school. Burnett explained Chandran’s most recent achievements in the program.

“Sanchita has earned many accolades in her time as a competitor, enjoying great success as a result of her individual hard work and the shared effort of her teammates. She is a three-time State Qualifier, two-time State Finalist and has placed in the top six in Ohio each of the last two seasons. Sanchita has also qualified to the National Tournament and is an Academic All-American for the National Speech and Debate Association,” Burnett said.

Program adviser Hanna Steinker has been coach at Revere for the past two years but has substantial Speech and Debate experience outside of the district. Steinker explained how Chandran stands out as a student. 

“Sanchita is one of the most unique students I’ve had the honor of working with. The amount of hard work and dedication I see from her day in and day out is remarkable and truly something for her to be proud of. She is selfless, as she always puts the team first. She is motivated and always looks for ways to improve. She’s a gracious victor as each time her name is called for a trophy, she appears truly honored to receive the high marks,” Steinker said. 

Steinker further expressed her gratitude and appreciation for Chandran. 

“Sanchita is one of those one in a million students you get to work with as a coach, and we’re beyond lucky to have her on the squad representing Revere,” Steinker said. 

Although Steinker has only known and coached Chandran for the last two years, she describes her success as “immense.”

“Last season, Sanchita placed fifth in the entire state of Ohio, and so far this year, she has brought home a trophy every single weekend in the 2021-2022 season. Most notably in our season opener at Perry High School, she was the tournament Champion of Congressional Debate,” Steinker said.

Steinker explained her excitement about Chandran’s success in Congressional debate and as a student. 

“It’s incredible to watch her trailblaze her way through the district, and I cannot wait to see how she fares at the State tournament in March and the National Qualifier later on,” Steinker said. 

With the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, speech and debate programs were forced to turn virtual or shut down. Chandran explained the effect COVID has had on the program. 

“Last year, for Speech and Debate, it was completely virtual, which was a big change from actually presenting in front of people. It required re-evaluating how I could still speak effectively and gain attention through the screen,” Chandran said.

Steinker further explained how COVID changed Speech and Debate. 

“We of course had some hurdles at the start of last season when the entire Ohio Speech and Debate Association (OSDA) moved competition to online. That said, Revere has some wonderful administrators behind the scenes that ensured we were still able to compete and compete well. They enabled us to use the building on Saturdays so our students had a quiet and reserved space to compete throughout the weekend tournaments while following school masking guidelines,” Steinker said. 

Outside of Speech and Debate, Chandran also participates in Mock Trial. Chandran explained what the program is like and her role within it. 

“In Mock Trial, we get to be attorneys, and every year we get a new case, and we have to pick one side of the case and defend it using two witnesses. I am typically an opening attorney, so I present the very first statement of the case and also question witnesses both on our side and on the other side,” Chandran said.

This year, teams throughout the state will examine the government’s right to seize one’s property in light of the regulations passed to limit the spread of COVID-19. Chandran explained more about the case. 

“This year, we are debating an unexplored legal territory because as students, we are getting the opportunity to see what cases like that could look like in the actual legal world. I find that pretty interesting,” Chandran said.

Senior Meredith Stein has known Chandran for many years and has worked with her in Mock Trial for the past three years. Stein and Chandran typically partner together, taking the roles of attorneys. 

Stein further elaborated on this year’s Ohio mock trial case. 

“Our case is about COVID regulations and a business that failed over the pandemic now suing the government for basically taking their property because it was their restrictions that caused the restaurant to shut down,” Stein said. 

Chandran and Stein have chosen to argue in favor of the family restaurant. Stein explained their reasoning.

“When you think about the case, we automatically think ‘Oh, that’s so stupid of a reason to sue them,’ but Sanchita and I decided to take the side of the resturant because we are more experienced, and we are finding some decent arguments,” Stein said. 

When debating any argument, Stein and Chandran find three different points. Stein explained what Chandran brings to her team. 

“We’ve been attorneys for the past three years together. She writes the opening statements for whatever side we choose, so she sets up the whole course of our argument. She’s typically the one that comes up with the theme,” Stein said. 

Last year, Chandran’s Mock Trial team succeeded, earning a place at the state competition. Chandran commented on what the experience was like. 

“Everyone on the team worked super hard, and they absolutely deserved to go to states. It was really cool to know that we could compete with people at the state level and come out feeling successful and confident in ourselves. I’d definitely say it was a good learning experience,” Chandran said. 

Outside of her arguing career, Chandran still finds ways to constantly stay up to date with current political events. Chandran is secretary of Students Demand Action (SDA), a club founded to help bring power to the voices of students. 

“Students Demand Action is a place for students to be able to discuss current political and social issues in a neutral setting and also become informed if they don’t currently know anything. We really encourage people to know as much information as they can before developing their own opinions,” Chandran said.   

RHS social studies teacher and department head Jeff Fry has been the adviser of the club for the past few years. Fry explained what SDA looks like at Revere and the history of the club. 

“It is a student-run organization where Revere students can become as politically active as they choose. It was started as an organization after the Parkland school shooting, and so it was started by students who wanted to feel safe in their schools,” Fry said.

Although the club originally focused on the mass shootings, they have now begun to discuss a variety of issues. 

“They, [SDA,] were pushing for legislation that would offer them protection in the confinde of the school setting. At Revere, it has morphed more into a student led discussion group that allows them to be active politically if they so desire,” Fry said.

Each year, SDA runs a major school event, most recently, in conjunction with a few other school clubs. Fry explained the purpose of the Middle Ground event. 

“We do a Middle Ground event in the spring, so they have one school wide event and last year they picked a variety of issues. Over the past several years, the group has held group discussions school wide about a variety of topics and issues ranging from the enviorment to discrimination to voter registration drives,” Fry said. 

Aside from advising the club Chandran runs, Fry also has the senior in one of his classes. Fry explained how her informed summaries on current news help the whole class, describing her as “the ideal student.” 

“She participates in class discussions every day. She is very well informed on current events, and she is willing to share with the class. She is awesome,” Fry said.

In addition to SDA, Chandran also runs the Revere chapter of Diversify Our Narrative, a club designed to bring inclusivity to local communities. Chandran explained the meaning behind Diversify Our Narrative. 

“I run a chapter of Diversify Our Narrative for our high school. We do a lot of diversity related activities around the school. Last year, we organized celebrations for Black History Month, Women’s History Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander History Month,” Chandran said. 

This year, Chandran hopes to bring the program outside of the high school and into the community. 

“This year, we are planning on hopefully partnering with the local Public Libraries to help make them slightly more inclusive,” Chandran said. 

After scoring in the top 99.5 percentile of PSAT test takers, Chandran qualified as a National Merit Semi-Finalist. Chandran elaborated on what this score means to her. 

“It’s nice to know I could possibly get a scholarship to whatever college I go to, and it’s definitely a testament to the rigorous education because I know a lot of our teachers have done a really good job preparing us for those standardized tests,” Chandran said. 

Chandran is hoping to put her experience with law making to use by attending Duke’s public policy program. 

“I am hoping to go to Duke because they have a really good public policy program and economics program. Their college overall is just really good. . . . We’ll see how that works out, but I’m sure wherever I go, I’ll try to make the best of it,” Chandran said. 

There is no debate; Chandran has had an impressive academic and extracurricular career at RHS.