The Burlingame Mock Trial Club is preparing for the upcoming Mock Trial Competition where they will compete against teams from other schools in the San Mateo County District. This year’s competition is a court case regarding human trafficking. In the case, a woman named Lin Stark from “Tanterra” is hired by a man named Cameron Awbrey to work for his restaurant “Taste of Tanterra.” Stark believes she is overworked and underpaid. Also, Awbrey locked Stark in her room, and it is unclear if this act was done purposely or accidentally. Each member of the team will assume one of the positions during court case such as judge, lawyer, or witness.

“The club has been preparing for the past few weeks, and we’re getting better every week,” Club President Priya Koliwad said.

The Mock Trial Club was founded when Koliwad was a freshman two years ago.

“Back then we didn’t do so well because we were a new club. But now I feel as if we will perform much better than the previous years,” Koliwad said.

Club Treasurer Elizabeth Zell agreed with Koliwad. “I think that everybody in the club is going to do really well. We’ve been practicing really hard for the past weeks,” Zell said.

Every week, the club meets to memorize their questions for the case and rehearse them between the attorneys and the witnesses. In particular, the club is working on sounding confident and assertive so that they can speak clearly during the competition. The club meets in Mr. Chin’s room on Tuesdays after school. The competition takes place on January 26, so cheer them on if you can.