Around 200 students filed into the Cal High theater, anxious for the discussion that was soon about to start on the evening of Feb. 6.

Past and new participants alike were nervous about the topic at hand, gun control, but with the organized facilitators of the Liberty Project in charge, they were in good hands.

The Liberty Project, founded by Cal High seniors J.T. Garwood and Mohammed Syed is a forum for high school students to discuss controversial topics with their peers.

Garwood and Syed, co-editor-in-chief of The Californian, started The Liberty Project last year because they believed students should be educated about real world issues.

“[It should be done] in a way that’s not only stimulating, but catches the students’ eyes and allows them to provoke their own passions and reflect them upon the topics,” said Garwood.

Past Liberty Projects have focused on gay marriage, NSA and privacy rights, death penalty and prisons, poverty in America, and gun control.

Math teacher Gary Triebwasser thinks these types of discussions are beneficial to the students.

“Open forum gets people out of their tunnel vision,” Triebwasser said. “It brings up new concepts, ideas, and new points of view.”

Garwood and Syed first presented the idea of the Liberty Project to Principal Mark Corti, who serves as the club adviser and was determined to give students an opportunity to voice their opinions.

“They came in with a PowerPoint, expectations, and topics,” Corti said. “It was all planned out very well.”

The club, composed of about 15 students ranging from sophomores to seniors, meets every Wednesday to discuss past Liberty Project events and plan future ones.

The club members also strive to improve their debating skills by each talking about a certain topic for about a minute in an effort to convince their peers to support their side during the meetings.

The first Liberty Project was on the topic of gay marriage. The founders never imagined that so many people would attend.

“Our first event was truly amazing,” said Garwood. “[Mohammed] and I expected to fill the room with no more than 50 people, but over 150 passionate students came out to see what we could do and talk on an issue that was important.”

Each of the following events grew by about 100 students, with all the attendees really enjoying the discussions.

Although some teachers offer extra credit for attending, some students are truly interested in learning more about these topics.

“A lot of people go just for the extra credit, but everyone ends up getting involved and enjoying it,” said sophomore Sreenidhi Kotipalli.

The founders have recently tried to attract more students by adding an opening act, Wolf Trap Lives, a Cal band composed of seniors Austin Anaya, Mark Jones, Zachary Dighans, and John Annunziato.

Earlier this month, Garwood opened the event with speech, and club members junior Arvind Dhananjayan, sophomore Nick Rosenbloom, and senior Nofil Siddiqi presented a PowerPoint with facts about guns and gun control.

The debate followed with Cal seniors Noah Bergman and Joshua Szabo speaking about the people’s right to have guns and guest speakers Sophia Lee and Neha Sharma, both seniors from Northgate High in Walnut Creek, speaking about gun control.

Following the debate, there was crossfire, which gave students a chance to challenge one another in a “speed round.” The speakers finished with closing remarks and the floor was opened up to the students for a Socratic seminar.

During the Socratic, students were able to voice their opinions on the matter and direct questions to the speakers. Kotipalli likes the audience’s involvement in Liberty Project events.

“Debates bring out the fun in academics, “ she said. “[They get] people inspired and motivated to learn.”

At the end of the night, the audience voted and announced the winning argument, which was for pro gun rights.

Even though there was a winner, Garwood believes that students come to these events to learn more about controversial topics.

Syed and Garwood’s goal for the projects is to educate the community.

“A lot of kids our age are not well educated about these topics and adapt their position on them from their parents,” said Garwood. “It is our duty to educate these kids so that they won’t be biased.”

Lee appreciates what the projects do for the students and wishes that there was a similar program at her school, Northgate.

“[The Liberty Project] educates students from a political, social, and economic standpoint,” said Lee.

Lee and Sharma appreciated the informational presentation because they thought attendees gained a lot of knowledge from it.

Because the founders are seniors, they will hand the club over to some of the younger members of the group when they graduate.

“It’s kind of become our baby and we don’t want to let it go,” said Garwood.

Corti is very excited to see what the club has in store for the future, though.

“It’s a great idea,” said Corti. “I would like to see it continue.”