Time To Complete WUDC Registrations

From crackertariq@yahoo.com

Dear All,

Those institutions who have been listed on our website have been confirmed slots. I request the confirmed teams to please log into our website and start filling up all the delegate details. Please make the details 100% accurate. We have to use the information from our database to prepare our logistics etc. If all of you could fill in all the details by November 20th maximum, that would help our logistics team prepare well for you guys. Ofcourse these details will be checked once again during registration day when all of you arrive. We wish to be well prepared for all of you.

I suggest the institution head should collect all the details and input all the information for the entire contingent to avoid any confusion. Please email rish@assumptionworlds.com for any technical difficulties while completing your details.

Thank you for your attention

regards,

Tarique

Thailand Prepares to Welcome World's Debaters

From http://nationmultimedia.com/2007/10/22/national/national_30053278.php

Kingdom hosts world debating tourney

Published on October 22, 2007

Thousands of students will compete in the 28th World University Debating Championship hosted by Assumption University from December 26 to January 5.
This is the first time Thailand has hosted the largest such academic event on earth and only the fourth Asian country after the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia.

"Since it is the highest level of student debating, only the creme of the crop from participating universities will be involved," said Assumption's deputy vice president for student affairs, Bancha Skuldee.

There will 395 teams from 32 countries competing, including those from Princeton and Yale in the United States, the London School of Economics and the University of Tokyo.

Local representatives are Chulalongkorn, Thammasat, Khon Kaen and Mahidol universities.

"The competition will help open the minds of youth with an international outlook," said tournament convenor Thepparith Senamngern.

"It is a good stage for Thai students to practise and gain persuasion skills in communication," Thepparith said, adding academics was not a problem among Thai students, given the number of physics or chemistry prizes they had secured.

"What we lack is [English] communication skills. That's why, when racing for a career at international level, they often fall behind Singapore and other countries."

The debating style will be the British parliamentary format - teams of two speakers competing at a time. The two sides are called government and opposition. Each team is divided into opening and closing speakers.

Each team will debate at least nine topics in the first round. The winning team will have debated as many as 13 topics.

"What's special is that competitors will get to see their topics just 15 minutes before the debate," said Bancha. "So, they need to have a lot of general knowledge and be well read because they will never know what topic they will be debating."

The topics range from politics to economics and society to environment.

The winner of tournament will receive a trophy from His Majesty the King.

In addition to the debates there will be a forum on women in developing countries.

The tournament was established in 1981 and held first at Glasgow University Union in Scotland, with 43 teams from seven nations competing.

It is open to all degree levels.

Last year's event at the University of British Columbia in Canada saw a team from the University of Sydney, Australia, emerge victorious.

For more information, visit assumptionworlds.com.

Watchara Saengsrisin

Nepal Debate Initiative

From http://www.idebate.org/discussion/view_topic.php?id=1604&forum_id=74

Marcin Zaleski

I first came to Nepal in February 2007 to attend a conference organized by the Nepalese English Teachers Association (NELTA). The conference brought together an impressive number of participants from all over Nepal. I was particularly impressed by the attendance at all the sessions – in some cases some attendees had to stand up during sessions, since the rooms could not accommodate all the people willing to participate (for me this sight was a welcome contrast to some of the academic conferences I have attended in other countries…).
I presented a session on using debate in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classroom, which generated a lot of interest and as a result I had an opportunity to talk to many of the English teachers who approached me for more information.

I have also had an opportunity to talk to the leadership of NELTA and initiate the process of planning a follow-up to the visit.

Working together with OSI Network Debate Program (Nina and Noel) we identified 3 more organizations that we thought we should explore the opportunities of working with: Youth Initiatives, BASE and Future Funds.

I returned to Nepal in October to conduct 2 trainings: one for youth community leaders and the other one for English teachers. Future Funds had also organized a meeting with writers and journalists who are interested in developing Nepali version of Debatabase. In addition to the two trainings OSI Network Debate Program supported organization of journalism training for youth from BASE and development of educational documentary on debate (September).

The first training I conducted was Advocacy Training organized by Youth Initiatives (7-10th October). This training was organized for a group of 25 youth from across Nepal. The young people selected for the training by YI represented diverse social, ethnic and professional background. 10 of the participants were women. 7 participants of the training were directly involved in NGO and advocacy work, while the remaining were youth activists or individuals who would like to get more involved in the work of the Youth Initiatives.

The training introduced the concept of advocacy as the means to affect policy change through effective communication and it primarily focused on the communication aspects of advocacy. After introducing the concept of advocacy and the main stages of the advocacy process, participants formed small groups (5-6 participants) which identified an advocacy issue each and embarked on a simulated advocacy process which included: framing of issues, establishment of SMART advocacy objectives, mapping of stake holders and channels of communications, development and delivery of effective messages. At the end of the exercise each group presented their mission, advocacy objectives and persuasive arguments for support of their cause during a mock public hearing/ press conference.

The last day of the training focused on debate with participants debating on the topics of their choice.

Due to the diversity of participants and relatively wide set of expectations, the advocacy part of the training focused on skills development (critical thinking and communications), while debate part focused on introducing debate as a potential activity that the participants may want to promote and get involved in their communities (colleges, etc.).

The training received positive evaluation with the debate component of the training being particularly successful and the majority of participants expressed interest in learning more about debate as well as in starting debate clubs in their educational institutions, organizations and communities.

The Debate Training for English teachers was organized with the assistance of NELTA (11-14th October) and the participants of the training were English teachers (including one social science teacher) as well as youth workers and youth activists. 28 participants of the training represented different regions of Nepal and some of the participants had attended NELTA training for the first time.

The focus of the training was on employing debate as a methodology of teaching English but I also paid special attention to using debate as an extra-curricular activity.

The training used a highly interactive approach with participants learning about each methodology by participating in representative exercises. I limited theoretical component to a minimum but made sure that participants receive extensive handouts.

The training was met with an enthusiastic response from the trainees and there is a lot of interest among the participants as well as NELTA management to start a debate program across the country.

After the NELTA training I attended a planning meeting organized by Future Funds that brought together 19 participants (youth activists, writers, journalists, ICT experts, etc.) to discuss development of on-line resources in debate for youth. The meeting focused on discussion of the feasibility of the resources, its content and presentation (with a focus on communication tools) as well as discussion of potential topics for Debatabase (a compendium of debate topics with arguments for and against). Participants suggested over 80 topics for the first round of submissions.

There is a lot of potential for the development of youth debate program in Nepal and I was really impressed with the enthusiasm and dedication of the youth activists and teachers I met and worked with. While educational debate is known in Nepal, it is often limited to most privileged private schools and colleges. The mission of IDEA and its partners in Nepal will be to bring debate to general youth population as well as communities in which they live.

I am looking forward to working with our Nepalese partners in the future and I would like to use this opportunity to extend my deepest gratitude to organizers of my trainings (Youth Initiatives, NELTA and Future Funds) as well as all participants.

Namaste


Marcin


If you would like to see pictures from Nepal and the trainings please got to:


Youth Initiatives Training: http://picasaweb.google.com/marczaleski/YITraining?authkey=2ErFN-dn-NA

NELTA Training: http://picasaweb.google.com/marczaleski/NELTATraining?authkey=HuDh-tLZvc8

http://picasaweb.google.com/marczaleski/NELTATraining02?authkey=1uMPbcOtPt4

"Speech & Debate" Play Stirs Off-Broadway

From http://www.playbill.com/news/article/112268.html

Three Teens Team for Speech & Debate at Roundabout's Black Box
By Ernio Hernandez
29 Oct 2007

Sarah Steele in Speech and Debate.
Stephen Karam's black comedy Speech & Debate officially opens Oct. 29 at Roundabout Theatre Company's The Black Box.

Jason Moore (Avenue Q) directs the work, which began previews Oct. 5 for a limited engagement through Dec. 16.

The play is the first production at Roundabout Underground, a new initiative to introduce and cultivate artists. The new, 65-seat space is located below the company's Off-Broadway home, the Laura Pels Theatre, in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre.

Speech & Debate centers on a trio of misfit teens in Salem, Oregon, who "reluctantly form their school's first speech and debate team after discovering they are all linked by a sex scandal that's rocked their town. Secrets become currency, blogs are belted and 'bathing suit areas' exposed in this black comedy about what, if anything, it means to be an adult," as show notes reveal.

The wannabe journalist, the school play reject and the openly gay teen all team to stretch the boundaries of the traditional forensics forum — using song and even interpretive dance with a number of nods to musical theatre.

The Speech & Debate cast features Susan Blackwell ([title of show]) as Teacher/Reporter, Jason Fuchs (Sea of Tranquility) as Solomon, Gideon Glick (Spring Awakening) as Howie and Sarah Steele (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, "Spanglish") as Diwata.

The design team includes Anna Louizos (sets), Heather Dunbar (costumes) and Brett Jarvis (sound and projections).

Playwright Karam co-wrote the work columbinus, which played Off-Broadway last season at the New York Theatre Workshop. His other works include Girl on Girl.

Director Moore was Tony Award-nominated for his direction of Avenue Q. Other credits include Broadway's Steel Magnolias and Off-Broadway's Guardians and The Crumple Zone. He is slated to direct the upcoming musical Shrek.

Tickets to Speech & Debate at The Black Box Theatre, 111 West 46th Street, are available by calling (212) 719-1300 or by visiting www.roundabouttheatre.org.

Hong Kong-Singapore Debate Exchange

Photo: From Japan-Singapore debate exchange

From Loke Wing Fatt lokewf@singnet.com.sg

Dear Singchi and Ivy, Hong Kong Parliamentary Debating Society (HKPDS),

I am very happy to tell you that we have finalised our flight plans and hotel accommodation for the Singapore-Hong Kong High School Debate Exchange Tour 2007 (7th to 17th Dec 2007). Below are the details for your information:

1. We will leave Singapore on 7th Dec at 6.40am on Jetstar Flight 3K 691 and land in Hong Kong at 10.20am.
2. We will be taken to the designated hotel called Dorsett Olympic to check-in.
3. We will leave Hong Kong on 17th Dec at 8.15pm on Jetstar Flight 3K 696 and land in Singapore at 11.45pm.

The 10 members of the Singapore debate delegation are:

1. Mr Pragash Daniel Selvakumar (Tampines Junior College)

2. Mr Lim Chee Keen (Tampines Junior College)

3. Mr Nicholas Huang Hanmin (Tampines Junior College)

4. Ms Justine Yoong Yuping (Tampines Junior College)

5. Ms Tatum Angela Beins (Tampines Junior College)

6. Ms Jasmine Lim Xin Yi (Tampines Junior College)

7. Ms Nicole Chua Shu Ying (Temasek Junior College)

8. Ms Calista Lee Min Jun (Victoria Junior College)

9. Ms Cheong En Min (SAID Delegation Leader)

10. Mr Loke Wing Fatt (SAID Janitor)

Please send me an updated report of the progress of your coordination work for this project.

Sam, Mark, Lai Cheng, Evelyn, Chitra and Inderjit ---
We will be visiting 9 Hong Kong High Schools, the majority being international schools, to have various kinds of debate-related exchange activities, in particular, to debate with the Hong Kong students in the British Parliamentary (BP) style. I will also be organising a weekend BP tournament for all-comers, especially those who had attended the annual Hong Kong Parliamentary Debating Society (HKPDS) Summer Workshop in the past 3 years.

For your information, please.

Regards,

Loke Wing Fatt
President
Society for Associated Inter-Tertiary Debaters (SAID)
Singapore

Nigeria Debate Championship begins November 5th, 2007

From sahacaan@yahoo.com

Debate And Development Resource Center- Nigeria (DEDERC) , the coordinator of Nigeria Debate Movement is pleased to invite Nigerian schools to participate in the second edition of The Nigerian Debate 2007 (TND 2007). This two (2 weeks) long debate championship is aimed at developing the critical thinking ability of the students, communication skills and raise issue awareness.

Dederc has gotten approval from the ministry of Education to partner with all the schools involved to organize this championship.

This championship is divided into four rounds with one topic each. It is scheduled to start on Monday the 5^th of November 2007 to Monday the 19^nd of November 2007 .

The following teachers have been chosen to coordinate the debates in their various groups. The includes; Mr Casmir Ugbong to be assisted by Mrs Loreto Enyong(Group A), Mrs Eme Etim to be assisted by Mr. Alex Timothy (Group B) and Mr. Columba Abuo to be assisted by Malachy Afi (Group C). These coordinators will ensure easy and smooth compliance of all the rules and regulation of the debate exercise as well as sensitization of the students on the Karl Popper format of debate that was used during the last The People Speak 2006.

This year event has been expanded to accommodate more schools, so as to increase debating awareness amongst students. In that regards, it’s going to be a knock out contest. It is expected that the host schools should provide an enabling environment and wonderful debating atmosphere for this exercise. Each school is expected to chose a date and time from 5^th of November, and communicates across to DEDERC so as to be assign with independent debate judges. The debate winner will emerge solely on points as well as the runner up.

The first round is expected to commence from 5^th of November and ends before November 7^th, this will be followed by the quarter finals on Friday 9^th of November, 2007. The Semi-finals will come up on Tuesday 13^th November, while the finals will be on Friday 16^th of November 2007.

This are the topics for all the rounds, and the format of the debate is IDEA Karl Popper.

We should have term limits for political positions in Nigeria

Immunity clause should be allowed in Nigeria constitution.

It is better to combat terrorism by reducing its causes than by fighting its symptoms.

Resolved: Market mechanisms are preferable to regulatory approaches in reducing carbon emissions

For more information, please contact us on info@debate.kabissa.org or call +234-8036720776.

Jerry Nwigwe

Coordinator

DEDERC - Nigeria

10 IBB Way, Calabar

P.o Box 2997

Cross River State

Nigeria

Debate And Development Resource Centre- Nigeria is a youth-led not- for-profit voluntary association that operates across Nigeria to allow students from hundreds of schools and community organizations to participate in an education-based activity that promotes the development of communication, interpersonal and leadership skills through active engagement in discussion and participation in community development. In line with its effort in developing debate in Nigeria schools and public life. It coordinates the activities of Nigeria Debate movement, a network of debate associations across Nigeria which is made up of teachers and youth workers.

DEDERC Provide a common platform for interaction between political leaders; civil society activists and citizens and also assist in the selection and preparation of a Nigerian team for major Schools Debating Championships. The organization investigates opportunities and develops links for international co-operation/ competition; and promotes the skills of debating and public speaking in education and in the community at large.

DEDERC has organized series of programs aimed at strengthening debating in Nigerian schools and public life’s. They include Two International Debate training for Teachers and Youth workers in Nigeria in collaboration with International Debate Education Association (IDEA). We have also supported our partners in program development and step down debate trainings for schools across the country.

The Organization provides the following assistance for schools and Universities:

• General advice on debating and how to get debating started in schools and Universities.
• Debate training for schools, colleges and Universities in Nigeria
• Basic support for setting up local debating events.
• Guidelines on the rules and procedures of debating competitions and formats.
• Schools’ Debating Championships.
• Publications including local debating resource materials.
• Training for judges and teachers.

• 
  

Islands of the North Atlantic (IONA) Debate Rankings for 2007-2008

From kcl_debating@yahoo.co.uk

The University Debating Rankings following the Bristol IV are shown below. Many thanks to Bristol for putting on a great competition.

Cambridge extend their lead at the top of the rankings, but victory for ULU takes them straight into fourth place, and LSE and Middle move to 2nd and 3rd. QMUL, Durham, Imperial and KCL all also perform well enough to make it into the rankings.

Jonathan LM

University Debating Rankings 28/10/07 - After 2 Events

1		1	Cambridge	106.2
2		3	LSE	48.6
3		9	Middle Temple	42.8
4			ULU	42.0
5		5	Inner Temple	38.0
6		2	Nottingham	31.2
7		4	UCL	26.0
8		6	SOAS	18.8
9		7	Warwick	17.8
10		12	Oxford	17.4
11		8	Manchester	16.4
12			QMUL	12.5
13		10	Sussex	5.6
14		11	BPP	5.2
15			Durham	4.0
16			Imperial	2.0
17		13	Bristol	1.6
18			KCL	1.0

IDEA Exchange Meeting Schedule Released

From jmotiejunaite@idebate.org

WELCOME TO IDEA EXCHANGE

DEBATE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

KAUNAS

November 7-8, 2007

IDEA, Vytautas Magnus University and Informal Education Debate Center, Lithuania, are honored to welcome you at IDEA Exchange 2007.

We are happy to introduce the key speaker of IDEA Exchange:

Dr. Robert Trapp is Professor of Rhetoric at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, USA. He also is the Director of the IDEA at Willamette. Dr. Trapp is a past president of the Western Forensic Association and of the National Parliamentary Debate Association. He directed the National Parliamentary Debate Championship Tournament for five years. He has coached debate at several universities in the United States and working with IDEA has been involved with debate training in a number of countries including Russia, Romania, Belarus, Macedonia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Uganda.

IDEA Exchange will take place in Kaunas, at Vytautas Magnus University (Daukanto 28, Kaunas) on November 7-8, 2007.

For more information, please check out www.idebate.org/exchange or email conference organizers Jurate Motiejunaite at jmotiejunaite@idebate.org or Paulius Motiejunas at p.motiejunas@pmdi.vdu.lt

November 7, 2007

10.00 – 11.00 Registration (Vytautas Magnus University, Daukanto 28)

11.00 – 12.00 Opening Ceremony (Vytautas Magnus University, Daukanto 28)

Keynote address by Dr. Robert Trapp

12.00 – 13.30 Educational neighborhoods: use of debate methodology

Chair: Dr. Joe Zompetti (IDEA Board Member)

Presentations:

Dr. D.S. Sehmby “Meta-teaching/learning”

Ronna Liggett “Beyond debate: Problem-Solving Discussion”

Chris Baron “Debate for student empowerment?”

13.30 – 17.30 IDEA House

Workshop by Marcin Zaleski

14.30 – 16.00 Forging Civic Engagement with Public Debate: An International Perspective

Workshop by Dr. Joseph Zompetti

16.00 – 17.30 International neighborhoods – Russian speaking panel

Chair: Sergei Naumoff (IDEA Board Member)

Zoja Rudak “Educational Activities of the Lithuanian Debate Center”

Tamara Lortkipanidze and Nino Berishvili “The development of debate activities in Georgia”

18.00 – 19.30 Aiming at corporate fundraising. The ‘Don’t “ask” , but “Sell” ‘ approach

Workshop by Ivo Iliev

November 8, 2007

9.00 – 10.30 International neighborhoods – English speaking panel

Chair: Arnoldas Pranckevicius (IDEA Board Member)

Mikhail Fridman (Belarus) “The role of debate in Belarus”

Adrian Catan and Corneliu Cirimpei (Moldova) “Debate as a tool for youth empowerment”

Drs. Raluca Brinza (Romania) “Evaluation of the non-formal education program”

9.00 – 16.30 Public Debate

Workshop by Marcin Zaleski

11.00 – 12.30 EU Grant Management and Reporting

Workshop by Virginija Paksiene

13.30 – 14.30 Bringing debate to the neighborhoods

Chair: Chris Baron (IDEA Board Member)

Aaron Fishbone “The District of Columbia Urban Debate League: A case Study of Debate in a Neighborhood”

Evelin Andrespok “Spreading the Word: Reflections on the IDEA Youth Forum Capacity Building Track”

14.30 – 16.00 Advanced Cave Painting: Getting Your Message Across

16.00 – 17.30 Future education strategies for the international debate community

Chair: Ivo Iliev (IDEA President)

Sergei Naumoff “From High School to University: Strategies of Saving ‘International Continuity’ in National Debate Programs (Russia’s case)

Sanne de Kieviet “Bringing Debates to the Neighborhoods of Netherlands”

Eske van Gils “Mixing the Mixed Populations in the Neighborhoods of Ghent”

17.30 – 18.30 Closing Ceremony

Touring British Learn to Shoot in USA

If you enjoyed the story about the National Rifle Association combining debate with shooting, try this story about the visiting British team in the USA doing the same thing.


From http://usdebate.blogspot.com/2007/10/debate-16-texas-state-university-san.html

It has become a tradition that the British Debate Team shoots things whilst in Texas - and this year was to be no exception. We got up rather early and after a delicious Taco Breakfast we were driven (blindfolded) to a nearby S.W.A.T shooting range. For obvious reasons we are unable to describe in detail what we experienced, but we both enjoyed the experience. It was the first time that either of us had fired Handguns and Automatic Rifles (M4s - the same model used by US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan) and the instructor was particularly impressed with Alistair’s marksmanship. We were both conscious of how much respect the instructor clearly had for the weapons and it was comforting to know that even the law enforcement authorities are aware of the awesome power that they yield.

Philippine High School Debates Big News on the Islands

From http://www.theboholchronicle.com/cbill.php?issue=293&s1=3883&s2=3887&s3=3894&s4=&s5=3886&s6=1013&s7=&s9=&s10=

BWS is champ in 18th great high sch. debate
The University of the Philippines Kadugong Bol-anon sponsors the 18th Great High School Debate as the main event of the 2007 Academic Festival where Bohol Wisdom School defeated Holy Spirit School and Bohol International Learning Center in a three-round bout held at the Island City Mall last Thursday.

The round-robin competition became a hotspot for heated arguments as the three debating schools fought for their sides. The first proposition was about the implementation of the Cyber- Education among public schools: HSS -BILC meet first round; BILC -BWS tackle second; HSS - BWS battle on the last. BWS Debate Team - comprised of Elirozz Carlie Labaria (1st speaker), Renzee June Batoy (2nd speaker), and Kathrynn Faith Racho (scribe) - took the affirmative side on the proposition for the two rounds of elimination.

Tension filled the venue as the three teams fought each with impressive performances in their stands. Garnering a total of 586 points as top mark, the BWS team proceeded to the final stage to match BILC who earned 565 points.

The final proposition was on the pushing through of the Oil Exploration in Cabilao, Loon.

The speakers from the BWS team, who again drew the lot for the affirmative side, presented very striking constructive speeches that earned the attention of both audience and judges from the very start.

The lady speakers projected the needed grace and poise so as not to be intimidated by the tension.

The evidences that came from official reports from DENR and EMB that the BWS team prepared also gave them quite an edge from the other team. The crowd- gathering interpolation rounds were where hard-core action transpired.

Speakers battled with words as they defended their stands, working on strategies to find anomalies in their opponents' dialogues.

BILC presented very good arguments but BWS worked up better cases and critically thought defenses. The crucial rebuttal phase alerted the audience to the final defense in which Labaria, gracing the stage for the last speech of the evening, struck the loophole of the BILC speaker's careless discourse during the interpolation.

Earning an impressive 95% standing, Bohol Wisdom School (whose last win in the category was over several years ago) championed over Bohol International Learning Center who garnered 92% during the final lap. Ms. Elirozz Labaria was hailed best debater for this year's Great High School Debate.

She adds her name to the prized list of previous title holders also from BWS.

Kudos to Bohol Wisdom School!

Debate Matches Up Well with List of Most Important Educational Outcomes

Photo: Primary school program in Singapore

I thought this list was interesting for those wanting to promote debating. The list of important educational outcomes seems to be strongly supportive of debating. Thanks to Darren Elliot of Kansas City Kansas Community College for pointing this out to me.

From http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/10/19/miami

Getting the Government’s Attention (in a Good Way)

College leaders and Education Department officials have spent much of the last two years talking past each other on the subject of measuring student learning. Critics have accused the federal government of pushing an overly simplistic, inflexible approach that emphasizes at all costs the ability to compare one college’s performance. Education Department officials have increasingly insisted that they are not pushing a one-size-fits-all model, but they have also regularly said that they believe too few institutions are aggressively pursuing their desired agenda.

Recent weeks have brought some signs that cooperation may be replacing conflict. Last month, the Education Department awarded a $2.4 million grant to three higher education associations to assess existing, and develop new, tests and other tools to measure student outcomes on a wide range of skills. And today, Under Secretary Sara Martinez Tucker, as part of a national tour on college issues, will watch as faculty members and students at Miami Dade College sign a “covenant” in which they pledge to embrace the two-year institution’s new “learning outcomes” initiative.

It would be easy to dismiss the Miami Dade event as a public relations gimmick, but several aspects of it are noteworthy. It underscores the fact that as a lot of college officials have been saying all along, many institutions have been wrestling for years with finding thoughtful, creative ways to gauge the success of their own students. It shows that faculty members — who played a central role in developing some of the home-grown tests and tools that Miami Dade is using — are willing to engage in the hard work of holding themselves accountable. And it suggests, too, that Education Department officials are indeed primarily interested, as they have repeatedly avowed, in seeing colleges embrace the accountability movement, even if they don’t use methods that are as transparent and as readily comparable as the agency’s leaders might hope.

“You’ve heard [Education Secretary Margaret Spellings] say that we don’t want to do it to anybody,” Tucker said by telephone from Miami Thursday. “We want to encourage them to show leadership and do this. Am I endorsing [Miami Dade’s] approach? No. What I’m here to do is say i applaud that you’re getting the ball rolling.”

Miami Dade, which with 160,000 students (half of whom attend for credit) is among the nation’s largest institutions, has spent two years producing a system for showing whether its students are ending their time at the college (in the classroom and outside it) not only with knowledge in their chosen fields but with a grounding in the sort of general education skills that employers want and citizens need. (Some of the work was conducted in conjunction with the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ Liberal Education and America’s Promise program.) Through a process that involved professors, staff members, administrators, employers and alumni, the college developed a list of 10 desired “learning outcomes” for students. It wanted all of them to be able to:

• Communicate effectively using listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.
• Use quantitative analytical skills to evaluate and process numerical data.
• Solve problems using critical and creative thinking and scientific reasoning.
• Formulate strategies to locate, evaluate and apply information.
• Demonstrate knowledge of diverse cultures, including global and historical perspectives.
• Create strategies that can be used to fulfill personal, civic and social responsibilities.
• Demonstrate knowledge of ethical thinking and its application to issues in society.
• Use computer and emerging technologies effectively.
• Demonstrate an appreciation for aesthetics and creative activities.
• Describe how natural systems function and recognize the impact of humans on the environment.

Once college officials agreed on the outcomes, the next task was finding ways to measure how students fare. Miami Dade found some ready-made tools that suited its purposes, like the Community College Survey of Student Engagement and an existing information literacy test. But given that the outcomes they were seeking to instill were specific to Miami Dade, the institution’s officials found that they needed home-grown ways to measure them, too.

“We don’t think there’s any test in the world that would be as specific as what we’re trying to measure,” said Norma Martin Goonen, provost for academic and student affairs at Miami Dade. “We trust that our faculty is in the best position to say, ‘These are the things [we want to measure] and these are the ways to measure them.’ “

All told, Miami Dade’s system for measuring learning outcomes includes a half-dozen different tools. As is the case at many institutions, Miami Dade professors (often in consultation with their academic departments) will “embed” discipline-specific learning goals for students in each course. Certain majors will use student electronic portfolios to show student progress. The college will also use data from the survey it gives to all graduating students each year to round out the picture.

The newest and most central tool in Miami Dade’s array of measures is a set of faculty-developed and faculty-graded “authentic assessment” tasks (typically defined as problems or essay prompts that reflect real-life situations) that are designed to gauge students’ skills in writing, critical thinking, and problem solving, among other capabilities. Miami Dade gave the tests to a random and representative 18 percent sample of graduating students last year, by having professors use class periods to administer them, a tactic it found effective. “We thought about throwing a pizza party as an enticement,” said Goonen, but administrators ultimately decided to mandate the test for a certain group of students rather than seeking volunteers.

Miami Dade officials plan to compare students’ results on the assessments from year to year, and because the college is in the process of “mapping” where in the curriculum and in outside activities students are supposed to have picked up the various skills, “if we find that students didn’t do well in a particular outcome, we can look back at the curriculum and co-curricular activities and diagnose where the curriculum needs to be strengthened or reinforced,” said Goonen.

Goonen said she recognized that using more standardized measures would put Miami Dade’s approach to assessment more in line with the Education Department’s push for comparability, a cause championed by the Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education. (The college also plans to use its results primarily to guide its own internal work, rather than make them public, as the Spellings Commission has urged.)

But “we don’t think any standardized test that exists now will approximate what we’re trying to measure, and it certainly won’t be developed by our faculty, which we think is key,” she said. “It’s important to them and to us that they came up with the assessment of these, and that they’re responsible for carrying them out. That’s really where it’s at.”

Tucker reiterated that department officials are not counting on having colleges all use the same measures. “When we said comparability, it’s not that every campus has to use the same technique,” she said. “It’s that consumers should be able to compare what colleges do, and they should report things in ways that students can understand. It’s going to take time [for colleges to figure out] which are right ones, and in the meantime the key is that [colleges] use measures that give them the information both to improve their offerings to students and to provide something meaningful for the American public.”

She added: “That’s what Miami Dade is doing, and I applaud them.”

— Doug Lederman

The original story and user comments can be viewed online at http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/10/19/miami.

Extracurricular Activities Contribute to Student Success in the USA

From http://www.examiner.net/stories/102607/new_212378991.shtml

Friday, October 26, 2007
Story last updated at 10/26/2007 - 12:29 pm
It's about the little 'extras'

By Kelly Evenson | Kelly.evenson@examiner.net

The sports and extracurricular activities at both Truman and William Chrisman high schools are among the top in Eastern Jackson County.

Truman High School's Speech and Debate program is among the top 100 in the National Forensics League. The William Chrisman varsity cheerleading squad repeatedly competes at the state level, being named state champions in the past. The awards for these programs are endless.

And in sports, both William Chrisman and Truman are traditionally at or near the top of the pack.

So how would Van Horn High School's sports and activities compare if voters approve a ballot issue Nov. 6 that would transfer seven schools, including Van Horn, into the Independence School District?

"Research proves that students who are involved with extracurricular activities are more apt to stay in school and do better in school," said Kim Hayes, theater sponsor at William Chrisman.

Both Truman and Chrisman have dozens of extracurricular activities, teams and clubs for students to choose. These range from DECA, Scholar Bowl and SADD to marching and concert band, newspaper, choir and student government.

"Participation in high school activities helps students to feel more connected to their school and its programs," said Chris Adams, debate coach at Truman High School. "It helps them make friends through sharing a similar interest, and studies show that students who are involved in activities beyond the classroom have higher GPA's and higher rates of graduation."

Since much of the debate over the proposal to move the schools into the Independence district centers on what is best for the students. It is important to compare the schools and see if kids have the same opportunities in both districts.

But what exactly does Van Horn offer?The Examiner attempted to get a complete list of activities and sports offered at Van Horn, but the list has not been provided.

Independence Superintendent Jim Hinson said details are sketchy.

"One thing we are requesting is a list of programs and services all of the schools are currently offering," he said. "The basics are extremely important, but for middle and high school students, extracurricular activities are just as important in teaching students how to work together and discipline."

Van Horn does have a speech and debate program, sideline cheerleading, a yearbook and school newspaper. There is also a choral group and concert band started a couple of years ago. Hinson said he does not believe the school has a marching band program at this time like at William Chrisman and Truman.

Truman and William Chrisman also offer AFS, Chess Club, Key Club, Spirit Club, Scholars Bowl, theater productions, National Honor Society, honor societies in French and Spanish, National Art Honor Society, the National Forensics League, Art Club, Science Club, Math Club, clubs for French, Spanish and German, jazz band, choirs, DECA, FBLA, orchestra, marching and concert bands and robotics. William Chrisman also offers Association for Chrisman Excellence, a community service club.

It is uncertain which if any of these activities are available to students at Van Horn?

One thing Van Horn has that neither Independence high school offers is a strong ROTC program. The program boasts large numbers and is popular at the high school. Hinson said there are no plans to eliminate the ROTC program if the transfer takes place.

"It is our intent to keep the ROTC program," he said. "Students and families are choosing that program because they like it, and we don't want to eliminate a program that is successful."

Hinson said it will be a challenge to evaluate what is and is not offered at Van Horn and change that for future students. He said new programs would be offered gradually as interest increases.

"Some (activities and programs) don't even exist at Van Horn, while other organizations are so small they don't appear to exist," he said. "We have to offer the same types of programs services and activities for all of our students no matter what high school they attend."

On the athletics side, there is also a vast difference. Both Truman and William Chrisman offer baseball, softball, football, boys' and girls' basketball, cross country, boys' and girls' golf, boys' and girls' soccer, boys' and girls' swimming, boys' and girls' tennis, track and field, volleyball and wrestling. And in each of these sports, there are multiple teams including varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams, depending on the sport.

These sports are popular with students as the particpation numbers suggest. At Truman, 652 athletes finished the season last year. Some students would be counted more than once if they played more than one sport. Seventy-eight coaches filled 60 positions.

At William Chrisman, 535 athletes were involved last year in its sports program. The school has 52 coaches.

Sports teams are not absent at Van Horn, but the facilities, Hinson said, "need drastic improvement." According to the Missouri High School Activities Association, Van Horn has teams in baseball, girls' and boys' basketball, football, cross country, track and field, girls' and boys' soccer and volleyball.

Van Horn does not offer softball, golf, swimming or tennis. In addition, Hinson said, Independence officials are unclear about what levels are offered each sport. Are there just junior varsity and varsity teams or are there freshman and sophomore teams available?

Once those questions are answered, Independence must look to the state of the athletic facilities at Van Horn. All of the athletic fields in the Independence School District have been renovated over the past few years. Hinson said the same will have to be done at Van Horn.

"The track and football field are certainly not up to the standards of the Independence School District," he said.

Hinson said the renovations to athletic facilities would be paid for in the same manner as renovations to the buildings would be - through the additional funding brought into the school district from western Independence. District officials estimate that the area would bring in $30 million to $35 million annually. Hayes said the more opportunities the better to help students feel engaged and connected in their school.

"Not every activity is interesting to all students, she said. "The more options available, the more likely that one will appeal to more of them."

Debate Now a Part of Philippine Military Training

From http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=96073

PMA hosts national debate tourney
By Vincent Cabreza
Inquirer
Last updated 05:51pm (Mla time) 10/22/2007

FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City -- Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadets are now being trained to engage their superiors in debate to discuss issues affecting the country and the military, academy officials said.

Major General Leopoldo Maligalig, PMA superintendent, made this revelation at the academy's weekly flag ceremony to explain the "paradox" of the PMA hosting for the first time the Philippine National Debate Championship Tournament, which opened on Monday.

He welcomed 347 student debaters from 37 universities, who stood awkwardly in formation behind cadets at 8 a.m. Among them were guest debaters from a Malaysian university.

But Maligalig quickly doused prospective conspiracy talks that PMA builds "coup plotters," a criticism thrown at the academy in 2003.

"In the military culture, debate or argumentation is unthinkable. Seldom would you hear [a soldier debate] his superior so he can assert his side of a story…But then you may ask, 'Why are we letting the cadets debate and make a stand?'" Maligalig said in his welcome speech.

"PMA is a leadership school," he said. He said the academy's primary function since it undertook reforms in 2002 is to teach cadets "to understand and be responsible for the consequences of his words."

"Among the values of a leader is his ability to think," he said.

A military leader alone, Maligalig said, is accountable for the instructions he gives to his subordinates whether in times of peace or of war.

PMA cadets are participating in the weeklong championship debates, said Colonel Raul Tangco, who heads the academy’s department of languages.

Tangco said they are joining debates that will discuss "local and global issues we are all facing today."

Organizers said actual debate questions will only be released 15 minutes before the actual competition, but these queries will not shy away from topical issues like the Malacañang payoff scandal exposed by Pampanga Governor Eddie Panlilio.

During his speech at the PMA's 109th foundation day on Saturday, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said it is "the obligation and the duty" of cadets "to keep abreast of current situations and developments and to predict the future which is one of the responsibilities on our shoulders."

"The environment which a young lieutenant faces today is drastically different from the environment that a new lieutenant faced 10 years ago…20 years ago…30 years ago. It would be drastically different when the fourth class men [first year cadets] finally walk out as second lieutenants," the secretary said.

Teodoro said the country is now at risk from enemies who employ unconventional forms of attack.

"So everybody needs to speak the same language. We need to speak from the same vein and on the same level," he said.

Teodoro said this directive encompasses the whole defense establishment.

Participating in the championships are the Ateneo de Manila University, University of the Philippines, Saint Paul College, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Mapua Institute of Technology and the Mindanao State University.

Also joining are San Beda College, Silliman University, University of Santo Tomas, Far Eastern University, Letran College, Unibersidad de Santa Isabel, Notre Dame of Dadiangas, University of San Jose Recoletos, Western Mindanao State University and Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan.

The Multimedia University of Malaysia has signed up for the debates, as well as Baguio-based colleges like the University of Baguio, the University of the Cordilleras and the Saint Louis University. The debates will run until Saturday this week.

Cayman Islands Debaters Shine

(From left): Cayman Prep & High School’s debate team Joe Jackson, Erin Hislop and Igor Domladis; judges Karen Edie, Woody Foster and Anika Brown; and Cayman Academy’s debate team Daneal Barnaby, Vanessa Williams and Nickisha Stephenson.

From http://www.caymannetnews.com/news-2917--1-1--.html

Three schools shine in debate
Published on Thursday, October 25, 2007

Cayman Brac High, John Gray High and Cayman Prep & High were winners at the elimination stage of the Rotary Sunrise and Rotary Central debate competition on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 October last week.

Cayman Brac High “A Team” defeated St Ignatius High, while Cayman Brac High “B Team” got the better of John Gray High. In other contest, John Gray “A Team” beat Cayman Prep “A Team” with Cayman Prep “B Team” overpowering Cayman Academy.

The debate last Friday between Cayman Prep & High and Cayman Academy was particularly interesting because both schools were relatively inexperienced. Cayman Prep & High proposed and Cayman Academy opposed on the subject “Mandatory Retirement should be illegal”.

The material was meticulously researched and beautifully delivered by both teams, the organisers said in a press statement.

“There was no hint of nerves - their delivery was very good, their body language superb. The arguments from both sides were persuasive and convincing,” the statement said.

The judges - Karen Edie, Woody Foster and Anika Brown deliberated for some time before awarding the points to Cayman Prep & High in a close decider.

The next round of elimination is in November with the final to be determined later.

“We are often too quick to criticise the standard of education and the academic standard of our youngsters, but both these teams were a credit to themselves, their schools and to their teachers. It was a privilege to listen to their performance,” the press statement said.

Interactive Internet Debate Program Launched

How do you feel about immigration? Is it justified for illegal immigrants to come into the US illegally? Should illegal immigrants be allowed to obtain jobs?

Log onto http://ostnwethestudents.miami.edu  on Tuesday October 23 at 9pm to share your thoughts and see what others think about this controversial issue as a part of We The Students, a online interactive program produced at the University of Miami. In addition to commenting on the topic online, students can watch two students from the University of Miami and two students from Clemson University discuss and debate the issue live on the website! Student questions and comments from the We The Students chat room may be submitted and discussed among debaters so log in on Tuesday using your student ID information and start chatting! For more information e-mail wethestudentsdebate@gmail.com.

David L. Steinberg, Director of Debate

University of Miami
PO Box 248127
Coral Gables, FL  33124

Wolfson Building #3015
305-284-5553 (office)
305-284-5216 (fax)

dave@miami.edu  

NTU Singpore WUDC 2010 Bid Announces Adjudication

NTU is proud to present its adjudication team for Worlds 2010:

Jess Lopez of Ateneo de Manila University, one of the best debaters and adjudicators Asia has ever produced, will be at the helm as Chief Adjudicator. With multiple Worlds and Australs quarters and semis to his name, two times Asian champion, and four times CA at major regional tournaments, this is a guy who'll ensure that adjudication at NTU Worlds meets the mark.

Ankit Agarwala, former NTU Debating Squad Captain, will be our Internal Chief Adjudicator. We believe that the post of ICA, though a recent one to Worlds adds tremendously to organisational efficiency, and no one could be that link between the Adjudication Core and the Organisational Team better than Ankit.

As for DCAs, NTU is going all the way when it comes to transparency: our DCAs will be appointed on the basis of regional representation, and on the basis of your nominations. Applications will be open to all, and DCA appointment will be done after consultation with regional representatives.

For further information on our Adjudication Core and Policies, visit the Adjudication page of our website at:

http://clubs.ntu.edu.sg/ntuworlds2010/index.php?page=adjudication

Do direct your queries and concerns to ntuworlds2010@gmail.com.

We'll be listening.

As committed as ever to bringing you the tournament of your life,

NTU Worlds 2010 Bid Committee

University of Kansas Debate - #1 in the USA and with $1 Million in Endowments

KU debate team celebrates national ranking, $1 million alumni fund
http://www.news.ku.edu/2007/october/23/debate.shtml

LAWRENCE — Last weekend, the University of Kansas debate team celebrated being ranked No. 1 in the nation and a $1 million endowment raised by debate alumni to support the squad.

Scott Harris, KU’s debate coach, announced Oct. 19 at a debate alumni reunion that last week KU enjoyed the first-place ranking in varsity standings for the National Debate Tournament. Rankings are based on accumulated points made during this semester’s first six tournaments. Official rankings are made at the end of each semester. Rankings change weekly with tournaments across the country.

KU’s debate team has a long and successful history. KU has sent more teams to the National Debate Tournament than any other college or university. By qualifying the past 39 consecutive years, KU has the second-longest active streak of any college or university in the United States. Debaters from KU have won the national title four times and reached the Final Four 13 times.

Seven teams contributed to KU’s No. 1 national rankings. Leading the way are seniors Andrew Jennings and Brett Bricker, who ended the previous season as the third-ranked individual team in the country. In early October, they were selected as the top two individual debaters at an invitational tournament for the top nine teams in the nation at the University of Kentucky.

The team has benefited from decades of strong leadership. Harris was named “Coach of the Year” at the National Debate Tournament in 2006 and 2007. And Donn Parson, professor of communication studies, coached KU’s debate team for 24 years and served 12 years as director of the National Debate Tournament.

In addition to the first-place ranking, the 40 KU debate alumni attending the reunion were equally excited by an official recognition of their success in raising a $1 million endowment fund to support the debate team.

Since 1978, KU’s debate team has been supported in part through private donations made to KU Endowment. The donations provide scholarships and cover travel and other expenses incurred in competing with students from the nation’s top colleges and universities.

The debate endowment fund is managed by KU Endowment, the independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fundraising and fund-management organization for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.

More tournament results are available on the debate team’s Web site, www2.ku.edu/~coms3/.

Debate team members are listed below by hometown, year in school, major, parents’ names and high school, when available.

DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Lawrence 66049 and Manhattan 66503
Andrew Jack, freshman in chemical engineering, son of Steven Jack of Lawrence and Pamela Jack of Manhattan; Manhattan High School.

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Leawood 66206
Sean Kennedy, freshman in linguistics, son of Chris and Joan Kennedy; Shawnee Mission East High School.

Matthew Summers, freshman in environmental studies, son of Maranatha Summers; Shawnee Mission East High School.

From Olathe 66062
Mark Schaukowitch, junior in communication studies and political science, son of Cathy Schaukowitch; St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Overland Park.

From Overland Park 66213
Kyle Shernuk, senior in East Asian languages and cultures and pre-medicine, son of Kurt and Pamela Shernuk; Blue Valley Northwest High School.

Chris Thomas, sophomore in political science, son of Denise Thomas; Blue Valley Northwest High School.

>From Overland Park 66224
Erum Shah, senior in political science, daughter of Pir and Saieda Shah; Blue Valley Northwest High School.

LABETTE COUNTY
From Parsons 67357 and Joplin, Mo. 64804
Shaun Dwyer, freshman in pre-law, son of Jackie Dwyer of Parsons and Steve Thompson of Joplin, Mo.; Parsons Senior High School.

RENO COUNTY
From Hutchinson 67502
Jason Garden, senior in communication studies and political science, son of Bill and Ellen Garden; Buhler High School.

RILEY COUNTY
From Manhattan 66502
Nate Johnson, senior in philosophy, political science and psychology, son of Ron and Betty Johnson; Manhattan High School.

From Manhattan 66503 and Lawrence 66049
Andrew Jack. See DOUGLAS COUNTY

SEDGWICK COUNTY
From Derby 67037
Christopher Stone, sophomore in political science, son of Douglas and Gloria Stone; Derby High School.

From Wichita 67206
Brett Bricker, senior in mathematics, son of Gary and Norma Bricker; Wichita High School Southeast.

Ronnie Press, junior in political science, son of Arthur and Judith Press; Wichita High School Southeast.

From Wichita 67207
Joel Kasten, sophomore in political science, son of Roger and Leah Kasten; Wichita High School Southeast.

From Wichita 67208 and 67218
Dylan Quigley, sophomore in philosophy, son of Tim Quigley (67218) and Trix Niemberger (67208); Wichita High School East.

From Wichita 67218
Kai Davis, freshman in political science, son of John Davis; Wichita High School Southeast.

Mathew Peterson, freshman in economics, son of Laura Peterson-Miller and Virgil Miller; Wichita High School East.

SHAWNEE COUNTY
From Silver Lake 66539
Andrew Jennings, junior in political science, son of Joe and Kathy Jennings; Silver Lake Junior-Senior High School.

From Topeka 66604 and 66610
Mark Wilkins, freshman in political science, son of Brent Wilkins (66610) and Janis Hinkle (66604); Washburn Rural High School.

MISSOURI
From Joplin 64804 and Parsons, Kan. 67357
Shaun Dwyer. See LABETTE COUNTY

TEXAS
From Austin 78729
Darren Frazee, freshman in sociology, son of William and Karen Frazee; McNeil High School.

Debate Judge Powers Should Be Used Wisely

From http://wiforensics.com/2007/10/22/monday-meditation-the-power-of-the-judge/

Monday Meditation: The Power of the Judge

Posted On: October 22nd, 2007 | Entry Filed under: Columns, Monday Meditation | Author: Jon Voss

It’s not until one becomes a coach that we realize the power the judge can possess. My first 5 years of involvement in debate included four years as a debater and one year as the exclusive coach of a varsity team. Now, as I’ve taken on the responsibilities and joys linked to teaching younger debaters, I’ve simultaneously come to realize the importance that many debaters place on a judge’s decision and opinion.

What does it mean to be a judge? Is there a “correct” or “incorrect” way to adjudicate? What can be done to address flaws in the current system? WFD would love to hear your answers to these essential questions. Sheboygan North coach Jon Voss takes on the art of judging and more in today’s Monday Meditation.

The Power of the Judge
Jonathan Voss, Sheboygan North

A debate judge judges a debate. This seems like an amazingly obvious concept, but further analysis shows that the way in which the critic judges the debate is of extreme importance. Simply put, a debate judge’s primary role is to adjudicate the round to the best of his or her ability—a proper evaluation of the debate is crucial to the activity’s educational value.

However, many judges, especially those with comparatively less experience, forget that debaters (especially young ones) are particularly susceptible to judge-initiated feedback; that is to say, a positive relationship exists between the (in)experience of a debater and the “power” of a judge’s opinion. It stands to reason, then, that judges should use some degree of discretion when exerting their influence via a ballot or oral critique. Unfortunately, several recent trends brought to my attention by various debaters/coaches around the state should have every Wisconsin debate coach wondering if some judges are abusing/misusing their power.

“X Doesn’t Belong in Debate. Get Out”

While this command is usually articulated in a slightly less crass manner, I’ve nonetheless noticed that a few judges at ALL levels of debate seem to think they have the authority to determine what arguments and which debaters belong in our activity. Such a belief can only be described as absurd. Certainly, judges should always try to provide constructive criticisms—whether the criticism most directly relates to the debater, an argument or series of arguments, or both is really quite irrelevant so long as the suggestions are thoughtful, educational, and conducive to better debate.

Constructive judge-initiated criticism can often provide to the debater growth that s/he can’t obtain anywhere else; debate practices are often taken less seriously than “actual” rounds, and coaches can only offer limited advice if they weren’t able to observe the entire round. Judge advice provided through the ballot or an oral critique invariably offers a unique perspective on the arguments in the debate and the skills of the debaters simply because the judge’s role requires him/her to objectively evaluate the round. However, judges are only as helpful as they chose to be—that judges possess such powerful influence over debaters mean critics have the propensity to be more harmful than helpful.

Judges that write comments like (and all these have appeared on novice-level ballots or in oral critiques this year) “you should think about learning to read”, “this was the worst round I’ve ever seen”, “I really don’t know if you’re smart enough for this”, “why did you even bother to give your 2ar? You should just give it up when you know you’re losing”, and “you clearly don’t understand this argument; you should never run it again” do absolutely nothing to help our activity. Worse, comments like those above discourage overall involvement in debate—a judge’s influence ensures that debaters take such harmful comments to heart, and the perception that judges are elitist has the potential to preclude debaters from even trying the activity.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, every judge’s criticism of a round contains valuable bits of knowledge and ways in which the debaters can improve themselves or their arguments; but the way(s) in which a judge’s knowledge is articulated and interpreted might be more important than the knowledge itself. This is an especially important realization for judges that adjudicate rounds that involve young debaters. While most varsity-level debaters have developed skins thick enough to sustain belittling attacks, many novice and junior-varsity level debaters take harsh criticisms as a sign that they don’t belong in debate. While I think the majority of debate coaches would agree that certain debaters have more raw potential than others, success in debate isn’t necessarily important—even in the event that a given debater doesn’t win rounds very often, the act of participation provides arguably as much knowledge as measurable success in the activity.

Judge-initiated exclusionist attitudes, then, can be linked to two specific consequences—among others, cruelty undercuts retention rates and serves to disallow to high school students one of the most valuable forms of education they’ll ever receive.

Eleven of Thirty

Independent of their power and authority, judges have another tool available to them by which they can exert their influence—speaker points. To some extent, all judges possess a unique “speaker point threshold”; what I consider a “30 point performance” might be entirely different from one of my peer’s idea of perfection. These sorts of differences in speaker points are normal, and don’t undermine the educational value of debate.

But large discrepancies in the speaker point “norm” are an entirely different story. While every judge should be allowed to have his/her own “system” for assigning speaker points, a framework must be established wherein judges’ speaker point expectations are relatively similar. A couple of weekends ago, a particular First Affirmative Novice debater’s speaker points caught my eye—this person had received 63. In his/her first debate, the debater received 22 speaker points; in the second debate 30; in the final debate 11. Every debater has “good” rounds and “bad” rounds, but I would hazard to say that few debaters in the history of the activity have ever had such a drastic day. After receiving scores, this debater’s coach spent over two hours convincing the entire novice team that not all judges were as mean or belittling as the ones they had encountered that day—a judge’s use of an 11 had FOUR DEBATERS wanting to quit.

Put another way, I have a hard time believing that this debater had a round so bad that it warranted an 11; I don’t believe for a second that this debater debated so perfectly that s/he earned a 30; and because judges were assigning speaker points with such inconsistency, no one had any way of knowing what a 22 “meant”. A further analysis of results packets dating back to the 2004 WDCA State Tournament of Champions indicates that the aforementioned example isn’t uncommon. I think it’s fairly clear that a lack of speaker point consistency is problematic—arbitrarily assigning numbers without any framework to determine the meaning of a score disables a coach’s ability to know how well his/her students debated and prevents the debaters from knowing how they “stack up” against the rest of the competition. I’ll be the first to admit that this is a difficult problem to resolve; still, it’s not impossible.

While I would much prefer to hear the community’s ideas for improving this problem, I’ll offer a couple of potential solutions: we could include on our ballots “definitions” for certain scores, institute a very general WDCA “framework” for point allocation, and/or revamp the ballot box system in such a way that extreme inconsistency would be almost impossible.

Judges occupy an interesting and important position in the debate community—they determine wins and losses, speaker ranks, individual points, and sometimes even the ways we debate. More importantly, though, judges often occupy the role of an influential authority figure. While a judge’s power certainly has the potential to be productive and a source of education, critics also possess the ability to crush spirits and ward off the future of our activity. As a result of this power, judges need to realize (or be informed) that when writing ballots, assigning speaker points, or delivering decisions, discretion, tact, and fairness often mean the difference between a 4-year and 4-round debater. Perhaps the judge’s most important function in debate is to offer the type of constructive criticism designed to keep students involved in our wonderful activity.

WUDC Thailand Now at 400 Teams

From crackertariq@yahoo.com

The committee for WUDC 2008 has put up the final list of teams on our website under the TOURNAMENT link. We are extremely sorry for being quiet for some time. As all of you know from my previous emails, we reached the team cap and we continued to have many more teams registering during the start of late registration phase. We had to lock down the system to control registration process. A lot of people were transferring payments without registering and receiving confirmation from me first. A lot of people registered on time but did not transfer payments on time. You must register and transfer payments on time to have your slots fully confirmed. Things had to be cleared out. We listened to each and every one of your cases. We tried to accommodate to the maximum. The adjudication core permitted us to accept the first 40 institutions on the waiting list, increasing the total number of teams to ! 400! We currently have confirmed slots for 400 teams. The teams that were on waiting list have been confirmed their slots. So no new teams will be added at all.

We accepted the first 40 teams on the waiting list as a good will to the debating community and participants. The adjudication core and committee had extensive discussions before coming to this decision. We looked at it from tournament and logistical perspective. We appreciate and really are grateful for all the support and excitement. We will do our best to be a good host to all of you.

I apologize to the institutions that were not permitted to send teams to this teams worlds. Believe me, we were and still under intense pressure. Our institution, committee and adjudication core cannot accept more teams. All of you will agree with me that 400 teams in a championship is quite a challenge to manage in every way.

We will be unlocking the registration system for all the registered teams to add delegate details. That will be announced shortly as Rish and his programmers need to modify the system a bit. You will not be able to change number of teams and adjudicators. We will be removing all the extra teams that our on the system that have not been confirmed.

Our dormitory has high speed internet access. Two LAN ports per room. Please bring your own LAN cables. If you wish to purchase LAN cables, our staff will be selling them.

We will have transportation provided from Pattaya to international airport. Airport pick up will be provided. You must leave 5 hours before your flight time from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport. Accommodation will be available for those who want to stay longer with special rates. Transportation only be provided till the January 5th. After the January 5th your responsible for your own transportation and accommodation. We will do everything we can to help. We will arrange special discount hotel rates for those who want to stay longer with the Hotel.

Halal, vegetarian and Kosher food will be especially provided for all our guest.

I am proud to announce that this years World Champion will be rewarded the King's Cup! The Royal trophy from His Majesty the King of Thailand, on the auspicious occasion of His 80th Birthday. This is the highest award anybody can get in Thailand.

Last but not least, WELCOME TO WORLDS!

kind regards,
Tarique Shakil

Istanbul Open

From http://www.7tepeopen.com/

Welcome!! to the official website for the Istanbul Yeditepe Open Debating Championship 2007, presented by the Yeditepe University Debating Club. It gives us great pleasure to announce Istanbul Yeditepe Open Debating Championship. It will take place between December 14 - 18. We hope to make this a classical tournament in Europe even though the tournament is in Asia. Our university is a private one and has enough facilities ,emotion ,experience and motivated team members to make a great tournament. 4 years ago we made the biggest Turkish National ever successfully with 104 teams and we want to start another tournament series like we are doing in Turkish.

As being İstanbul Yeditepe Organization committee, we have begun to our preparation to offer you the real experience. We still work on sponsorship deals for the tournament during which you will accommodate in 5 star hotel and we will treat best judges with respect. Currently, Istek Inc . (İstek A.Ş. ) has great and valuable contribution in tournament ‘s catering and accommodation part.

Istanbul Yeditepe Open is not solely a tournament, you will take the opportunity to experience the world class dining, and live entertainment in the world’s most magnificent city that make Istanbul Yeditepe Open exactlly unique tournament.

We would be grateful and honored if you would join Istanbul Yeditepe Open Debating Championship

Sincerely,

Convenors of ISTANBUL 7TEPE OPEN DEBATING CHAMPIONSHIP

Ceyda Akınç & Yavuz Yigit

ceyda_akinc@hotmail.com & yigitya@gmail.com

Everyday Miracles - News from the IMPACT Coalition

Everyday Miracles
Urban Kids Achieving Through IMPACT

October 2007 - Vol. 3 Issue 2

In This Issue

Washington Irving Excels at Big Bronx
IMPACT Debater Appears on the Real World
Donor Spotlight: Martin Harris
Announcing New Schools Joining IMPACT's Debate Network
116 Teams Register for Opening Tournament
Earn $10,000 for Debating

Greetings!

It's hard to believe ho quickly the calendar pages change. We're well into October and a new season. Thanks for your continuing interest in the fine young people that IMPACT serves. As our kids break new ground and set milestones, they continue to surprise everyone but themselves with how much they can achieve. We look forward to hearing from you. Your ideas and input are always welcome. Please let us know if you can come to a tournament, a debate center or one of our special events.

Washington Irving Excels at Big Bronx
Marian Burnbaum walks with a cane but that never slows her down. On Saturday morning, the trip from her home to the Bronx began at 6am. The day will stretch well late into the night as she coaches her debaters from Washington Irving High School in Manhattan. Irving attended the Big Bronx tournament this past weekend, a prestigious invitational hosted by Bronx High School of Science featuring some of the top speech and debate teams from Washington State to Florida. The teams come mostly from private schools and elite public schools. However, the IMPACT Coalition facilitates the participation of high-poverty schools across NYC so students like the ones Marian works with are able to debate through a program called the New York Urban Debate League.
They did not disappoint. After prelim rounds on Friday and Saturday that last till 8pm, Quionnea Coombs was named the 10th speaker in the Varsity Division out of more than 100 debaters. Coombs and his partner Gauisha Plaza amassed a 5-1 record and were one of the top seeds overall heading into the elimination rounds. Irving's accomplishment is all the more amazing when one learns that Plaza & Coombs had never debated together at a tournament before and didn't finish their affirmative arguments until earlier this week. "They missed the first tournament because Gauisha had to take the SATs. I'm very proud of what they've accomplished." said Burnbaum. Other teams proved their mettle as Eagle Academy and the Beacon School narrowly missed the sweet 16.

IMPACT Debater Appears on the Real World
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally executive produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show is the longest-running program in MTV history. The show focuses on the lives of seven strangers who audition to live together in a house for several months, as cameras record their interpersonal relationships. The show moves to a different city each season. The current season was taped in Sydney, Australlia. Real World Sydney features a housemate named Parisa. Described as "a thoughtful and smart New Yorker, who at first might seem out of place among The Real World party girls, Parisa was a debater at New York University and took the Argumentation and Debate Class.
Debate and her sorority are the two activities she cites at NYU along with her life-long love of singing. "I was stunned when I found out she made the show," said Simran Maker, Parisa former debate partner. "We're all really proud of her", said Baker her former debate teacher and coach. We know that the show makes caricatures of people but afterwards, I'm confident Parisa will make the best of the experience."

Donor Spotlight: Martin Harris
Martin Harris was a legendary debater and coach in Missouri and Kansas. After stints with Missouri State, and the University of Missouri Kansas City, Harris was honored last year as the Debate Alum of the Year by the Cross Examination Debate Association. So how does a guy from Missouri become involved with a bunch of inner-city kids in the Big Apple?
Harris has been volunteering with IMPACT for nearly 10 years. He began helping out as a local guide escorting college debaters from NY around in his car or van when they attended tournaments in his neck of the woods. These urban students gaped widely as hip hop tunes blared out the window from Martin's CD player. "Yo, he knows all the words", whispered one debater from Brooklyn's East New York. Quickly they realized that they couldn't judge this book by its cover. Growing up in abject poverty himself in Kansas City, Martin understood the plight of these students and the savior role debate can play in making a difference in their lives. "Debate helped me discover that I was intelligent but my style of learning required approaches that weren't common in public school. I'm not sure where I'd be without it" When IMPACT began to host the CoalitionInstitute and Training Initiative, Martin joined the faculty to work with these students. "That first year was rough", CEO Baker recalled. "Martin didn't connect with the kids at first. Now they meet him and fall in love."
Martin's professional work and love of debate created a perfect opportunity for his philanthropy. As a Systems Engineer in Desktop Architecture for Drury University, Martin handles most technology services for the university and has a deep knowledge of web design, computer networks and software applications. When IMPACT's server finally died, the concept of replacing it was daunting. "To have an outside technician do this work for us and purchase the required hardware would have us between $10,000 & $15,000. And it probably would not have worked" said Baker, " Martin's generosity with his time was truly a blessing." Martin completed the work all while teaching at CITI this summer. "When I visited IMPACT and saw the computers they were using. I was stunned. Many people don't realize that nonprofits are not well-positioned to invest thousands in infrastructure. These hard-working individuals are often confronted with mismatched software, as well as laptops and desktops that are generations behind current technology. If your firm turns over laptops every two years or you have extra licenses for programs like Quickbooks, there's a lot you can do to help out kids today."

Announcing New Schools Joining IMPACT's Debate Network
The IMPACT Coalition is returning to record-setting expansion adding new schools and coaches each week. Please join us in welcoming the following new programs into our debate family. Most have completed a membership application and been approved. Others are reinvigorating teams at NYUDL member schools who have lost coaches or had their programs lapse.
· Jon Martin, The Academy of Urban Planning
· Quiana Taylor, Queens Gateway to Health Sciences Secondary School
· Frances Olajide,Urban Assembly for Applied Math & Science
· Amy Morgan Foster, International High School
· Maria Braga, East Bronx Academy for The Future
· Loretta Brady , PS 278
· Tanja Larsen, Fort Hamilton High School
· Lauren Davenport, New York Harbor School,
· Sara Scott, New York Harbor School,
· Bryan Wu, Validus Preparatory Academy
· JD Bathhurst, Benjamin Banneker,
· Jude Jolibois, EBC,
· Sam Rosaldo, Bronx Latin
See Our Resources for Teachers at the Coaches Corner

116 Teams Register for Opening Tournament
We had over 110 teams registered in the advanced, novice and middle school divisions for IMPACT's first New York Urban Debate League tournament of the season. Held at the Institute for Collaborative Education at 345 East 15th Street, the tournament featured a great mix of alumni, adult volunteers and coaches in the judging pool. It was great to see so many new and old faces.
IMPACT hosts six multi-division tournaments to provide urban students local opportunities to debate. The success of the program has led to replication in 20 cities nationally. Representatives from several of those cities will join in Newark, NJ for a regional tournament. College representatives are also present to help students demystify the college process. Later this fall, other schools who wish to debate will attend a special one-day institute for students and teachers who have never debated before. IMPACT's next New York Urban Debate League tournament will be at ACORN Community High School in Brooklyn. We are always looking for more volunteer judges. Please contact IMPACT's general manager, Emmanuel Villanueva at esvilla@aol.com for more information.

Earn $10,000 for Debating
Most debaters have written an initial case and most high school students even if they do not debate can write essays. Well how about spending 2 hours so that those cases or essays could be worth up to $10000? The National Public Policy Forum (NPPF) is the only national contest that gives high school students the opportunity to participate in written and oral debates on issues of public policy. Founded in 2001 by the Bickel & Brewer law firm, the NPPF is designed to supplement the research and oral advocacy skills developed in policy debate with another - that of written advocacy. Jointly administered by the Bickel & Brewer Foundation and New York University, the NPPF has grown exponentially since its inception. Hundreds of high school students participate each year, competing for more than $25,000 in awards and scholarships, including luxury accommodations at a 4-star NYC hotel and the "Bickel & Brewer Cup."
An English teacher at your old high school can put the team together or if your school has a debate team, have your debaters do it themselves. They need to prepare a Qualifying Round essay on the 2007-08 NPPF topic, "Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its AIDS/HIV public health assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa." Essays are limited to 2,800 words and may be written from an affirmative or negative perspective. Participating teams can be comprised of any number of students. Only one essay is allowed per high school. To help your former high school compete, submit your essay by 2 p.m.CST on Wednesday, October 31, 2007, to Kristen Miles at knm@bickelbrewer.com or call (214) 653-4895 for additional information. The NPPF is a supporter of the Associated Leaders of Urban Debate (ALOUD).

Stay tuned for news on a new debate documentary, the paperback release of Cross X and a major motion picture about debate.

Peace & Justice,

Will Baker
IMPACT Coalition

email: impact0944@gmail.com
web: http://www.impactcoalition.org

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Excitement Builds for Washington-Winfrey Debate Movie

From http://www.wfn.org/2007/10/msg00165.html

Melvin B. Tolson (center) led the Wiley College debate team to a U.S. championship in 1935 with a win over Harvard University. The story is depicted in the movie "The Great Debaters," scheduled for release Dec. 25. UMNS photos courtesy of Wiley College.

Movie to feature Wiley College historic debate team

Oct. 19, 2007 News media contact: Linda Green

NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org

A UMNS Report By Linda Green

It is not every day that Denzel Washington and Oprah Winfrey do a movie together about a historically black college with fewer than 1,000 students.

But that's what happened when the pair learned about a David and Goliath matchup in which Wiley College's 1935 debate team won a national championship against Harvard University and also beat other perennial oratorical powerhouses.

In 2004, the United Methodist-related college in Marshall, Texas, began to receive inquiries from Hollywood about Melvin B. Tolson, leader of Wiley's first debate team.

"We started getting calls and researching ourselves for them," said Veronica Clark, Wiley's director of public relations.

The Wiley staff learned that over a 15-year period, Tolson's teams lost only one of 75 debates. The Wiley Forensic Society competed against historically black colleges, but earned national attention with its debates against the University of Southern California and Harvard University. The winning team was composed of four men (including Tolson) and one woman.

"After we did our research, it was submitted to Mr. Washington and the production company, and from there a script was developed," said Clark.

The Great Debaters

Scheduled for release Dec. 25, "The Great Debaters" is being produced by Winfrey's Harpo Productions. Washington is both director and star. Filming began in early 2006 and wrapped over the summer. Most of the scenes were filmed in Louisiana with brief scenes on the Wiley campus and at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

"Everyone is extremely excited," Clark said. "It is not everyday that Denzel Washington and Oprah Winfrey want to do a movie about a college, especially one about a college our size." The liberal arts college has 926 students enrolled.

"As soon as we learned of the movie at Wiley, the alumni have just been bombarding the college with telephone calls," Clark said. "This is exciting. It just doesn't get any better than this. Not to mention that a great story is being told about newbies coming onto the debate scene and doing so well."

The Marshall community also was excited about Washington's arrival. "He came to campus in sweatpants and a baseball cap," said Clark. "He was here to work (and) he was very approachable."

Since racial diversity was needed in the film, students and community members came out in droves. Other actors in the film include Forest Whitaker, Columbus Short, Jermaine Williams, J.D. Evermore, John Heard, Kimberly Elise, Nate Parker, Justice Leak, Jurnee Smollett and Denzel Whitaker.

The story of Melvin Tolson

Tolson was born in 1898 in Moberly, Mo., to a Methodist Episcopal pastor and his wife. His father served churches in Missouri and Iowa.

A graduate of historically black Lincoln (Pa.) University, Tolson was hired by Wiley College in 1924 to teach English and speech. He also coached junior varsity football, directed the theater club and organized the Wiley Forensic Society.

Tolson was a mentor and teacher to civil rights activist James Farmer Jr. and Herman Sweat, an African American who was refused admission into the University of Texas Law School. Action by the law school resulted in a Supreme Court decision that challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine of racial segregation, a policy established by the 1896 case of Plessey vs. Ferguson.

He left Wiley in 1947 to teach at historically black Langston (Okla.) University. That same year, Liberia declared him its poet laureate. Beginning in 1952, he served two terms as mayor of all-black Langston. He died in 1966.

Resurrecting a legacy

The movie has instilled a sense of pride in the students and the Marshall community. The debate team, defunct after Tolson left the school in 1947, was resurrected in the last academic year and won a debate against Morehouse University. Clark called the win "icing on the cake."

In an interview with the Marshall (Texas) News Messenger, Washington said he thought the Wiley debaters "would be just a really wonderful story to tell. It's about the spoken word -- something you don't see much in film -- and about education and about debating."

Washington said this part of the story of blacks in America needs to be told -- that there is a huge gap between the end of the Civil War and the climax of the civil rights struggle in 1964. He called the movie a "David and Goliath" story.

He also said the spoken word is an important part of current hip-hop culture, and the debating film shows the roots of that tradition. "Our oral history is rich and deep, and debating is a big part of it, a part I didn't know about. It's something I want to share on the film with others," he told the newspaper.

Wiley College is the first historically black college west of the Mississippi River. It was founded in 1873 by Bishop Issac Wiley of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Freedman's Aid Society to prepare the newly emancipated people for the future. The college is one of 11 historically black United Methodist-related institutions of higher education and is financially supported by the denomination's Black College Fund.

Debate Experts Say - Too Many Debates in USA Presidential Campaign

Alan Louden is the diretor of the Wake Forest debate program, and Matt Towrie is a well-known former debater.

From http://www.debatescoop.org/story/2007/10/19/202519/02

Is Anyone Listening? When are their too many debates?

By Allan Louden 10/19/2007 08:25:19 PM EST

Sunday there will be another presidential primary debate. Yes, yet another round of witnessing democracy at work, history in the making. More likely the GOP debate in Florida simply another round of filling the 24/7 news cycle, venerating the host's importance, and seeking "sounds bites" for a small class of pundits? Voters are invited to watch, but only at the margin. The 2007 primary cycle seems more about special interest sponsors, hype, and new technical possibilities.

When do candidates find time to campaign, let along reflect. Simply put, there are too many debates. Even journalists and bloggers observed in Matt Towrey's Inside The Numbers: Too Many Candidates, Too Many Debates.

And here's the real kicker: our surveys show that virtually no one is watching these little gems. So all the rooms filled with spinmeisters and all the column inches wasted on these non-debate debates are a relative waste of time.

Depending on how you count there have been thirty plus events that are or resemble debates. We're routinely reminded that a very "long campaign season" that more debates make sense; the reality is the opposite. This campaign is one of the shortest in my memory with campaigns scrambling for exposure before the holidays and "the decision" in mid-January. (New Hampshire in December?). So there are debates and more debates, one after the other. Even a venue like debatescoop.com, where we're relish debates, the beat seems relentless and at time pointless.

After Sunday's debate there are still approximately twenty debates to go. This count does not include the on-line events such as the proposed audience- voted-video-questions sponsored by blog techpresident.com and sequential appearances like the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summitunfolding in Washington DC this week.

Still to come:

OCTOBER 2007
21 GOP presidential debate in Orlando, Florida
21 Democratic presidential debate in Manchester, N.H.
25 Iowa AARP & IPTV host a Republican presidential forum in Davenport
30 MSNBC airs a Democratic presidential debate from Philadelphia, Pa.
NOVEMBER 2007
2 2008 Democratic presidential candidate debate in Las Vegas
6 MSNBC telecasts a GOP presidential debate at Iowa State Univ.
15 Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas,
DECEMBER 2007
3 Republican NPR Radio-Web only debate in Des Moines, Historical Society of Iowa
4 Democratic NPR Radio-Web only debate in Des Moines, Historical Society of Iowa.
7 National Presidential Caucus
10 Democratic presidential debate in Los Angeles, Calif.
17 Democratic presidential debate in Boston, Mass.
JANUARY 2008
5 2008 Republican presidential debate in Johnston, Iowa
6 2008 Democratic presidential debate in Johnston, Iowa
9 Republican presidential debate in Des Moines, Iowa
10 Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines, Iowa
21 2008 Democratic presidential candidate debate in Las Vegas
23 Republican presidential debate in Florida
25 Democratic presidential debate in Florida

What happens when there are more debates than audience? My perspective is informed by negotiating six debates in the 2004 Montana Governor race. Six was too many, but the Montana tradition had been to hold endless debates. In a preceding Governor contest -Marc Racicot - the debates numbered somewhere in the 30+ range. But at that point who was counting . . . or listening. The simple answer to the latter: by the end, no one. Arguably the same is happening in the 2007 primary debates.

With so many debates there needs to be some reason to listen, a hook to build an audience. The last GOP affair in Dearborn, MI had the "excitement" of Fred Thompson's first outing. The debate itself was predictable, even mundane. Sunday's GOP debate on FOX is looking for a "reason" to sit through yet another cliché. The Sunday debate, we are told, is an opportunity to hear Ron Paul keep the others honest and perhaps we can witness his breakthrough. As one article claims, GOP Debate: Eyes on Ron Paul:Ron Paul, having tapped a Ross Perot populism, however entertaining, is still a sideshow. Is this really the reason one more debate matters?

Are there more debates or it just feels that way? In 2004 George Bush was not debating and democrats logged a fair number, but overall less than this cycle. In 2000, according to research published by Alan Schroeder (Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 5, 2000) there were twenty-two primary debates, sponsored or co-sponsored by media outlets (CNN had twelve). Compare that with more than twice that number in 2007.

The problem of too many debates is they are not importance enough to command attention. Sure they serve the "special interest hosts" like AARP, Gays, Value Voters, and the self promotion of network hosts, but they don't do their job with voters. An amusing portrayal of what voters are hearing from the debates is nicely captured in:

The Silent Debate

Los Angeles Turns Up Heat on Clash Between Debate and Jewish Groups

From http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=18348

Debate Tourney Date Still Debated

The Los Angeles City Council and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) have turned up pressure on the California High School Speech Association (CHSSA) to reschedule the 2008 statewide debate tournament, currently slated for the first night of Passover.

The City Council unanimously passed a resolution last Friday asking CHSSA to rectify the scheduling snafu, which places the culminating competition of the debate team year on family seder night.

Additionally, the office in charge of secondary education at LAUSD has been in conversation with CHSSA, saying if all Jewish students cannot be included, LAUSD will host an alternative debate tournament.

CHSSA president Sharon Prefontaine said that her organization, an independent nonprofit, is still discussing these latest developments, and has no comment on them right now.

Earlier this month, CHSSA posted a statement on its website acknowledging the scheduling conflict but saying it is too late to change the April 18-20 event, a date that was approved by the board, including many Jewish members, two years ago. The tournament is attended by more than 800 students, plus parents and coaches. Santa Clara University and nearby hotels have been booked for a year. CHSSA rejected proposals at its Sept. 15 board meeting to investigate rescheduling the tournament.

Maintaining that it's not too late, Jewish groups and several powerful organizations in Northern and Southern California have coalesced to mobilize support for a date change.

LAUSD stepped into the conflict after a coalition of Jewish groups led by The Federation's Jewish Community Relations Council alerted them to the conflict.

"We try to make a concrete effort in L.A. Unified to provide equity of access for all of our students. It's a benchmark of what we are about, so we're very sensitive to it," said Francine Eisenrod, director of special projects at LAUSD.

Eisenrod spoke with Prefontaine about entertaining other options, but Prefontaine told her the topic would not be taken up again until CHSSA's next meeting in January.

Eisenrod is working on a letter, to be signed by Robert Collins, LAUSD's chief instructional officer for secondary education, that will offer to help CHSSA resolve the issue and will inform CHSSA that LAUSD will host an alternative tournament in the spring if no resolution is reached.

L.A. City Council president Eric Garcetti and City Councilmembers Wendy Greul and Jan Perry co-sponsored the Oct. 12 resolution.

At that meeting, Alison Mayersohn, senior associate director of the Anti-Defamation League's Pacific Southwest Region, told members that their vote in favor of the resolution would send a message to CHSSA that the community at large supports a date change.

Perry asked her colleagues to support the resolution, saying, "This is about making sure that all young people have a level playing field and about respecting each other's religious practices, beliefs and observances." Garcetti said that logistical issues should be able to be overcome.

"Just as scheduling something on Christmas or another notable holiday would not be on the schedule, we believe this should not be," Garcetti said.

For a link to a video of the city council session, go to "Item 53" at http://lacity.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=2188 or http://lacity.org/cdvideo_wm.htm, (Oct. 12 meeting, item 53).

-- Julie Gruenbaum Fax, Education Editor

KDI School Teaches Debate to Iraqi Government Officials

<== Muhammad Duhoki

From our correspondent in Asia, Jason Jarvis debatekorea@yahoo.com

For the past nine months, the Korea Development
Institute of Public Policy and Management in Seoul,
Korea has hosted a group of government officials from
Iraq.  The students are enrolled in the Global
Leadership Program which is designed to provide
training in Public Policy, Economics and related
capacity building programs.

Dr. Taejong Kim has introduced debate as a component
of the curriculum for one of his classes which is made
up entirely of Iraqi students.  The students are both
men and women and come from all regions of Iraq,
representing Sunni, Shia and Kurd.

Recently, Jason Jarvis, KDI School professor had the
privilege of introducing the students to debate as a
guest lecturer in Dr. Kim's course.  The lecture
covered both the format for debate (Parliamentary) and
the philosophical value that debate has for developing
democratic structures and a marketplace of ideas that
allows critical thinking and free speech.

24 students engaged in their first official debate on
the subject:
"This House Believes that pornography should be
illegal."

The atmosphere was electrifying and particularly
powerful as students representing all sectors of a
society wracked by sectarian violence came together as
teams to create arguments for and against their side.
Interestingly, the women in the group were the most
vocal and animated throughout the debate.

Kurdish student Muhammad Duhoki was particularly
excited about the course and debate generally. He has
participated actively in a wide range of debate events
outside of his since arriving in Korea in February of
2007.  When asked about his enthusiasm for debate Mr.
Duhoki explained: "I think debate is incredibly
important for teaching people how to express
themselves and further developing democratic
institutions in my country.  It is my intention to
hold debate training programs in Iraq once I return to
my home."

Houston, Texas High School #1 in USA

From http://www.click2houston.com/news/14368819/detail.html

Bellaire High Debate Team Tops Nation
By Rachel McNeill
POSTED: 10:36 am CDT October 18, 2007

HOUSTON -- The Bellaire High School speech and debate team is by all standards, a dynasty, KPRC Local 2, Your Education Station, reported Thursday.

With 200 students enrolled, the team is ranked No. 1 out of 2,700 schools in the country by the National Forensic League for participation and excellence.

Debate Coach Jay Stubbs said the secret to their success is hard work.

Stubbs said, "Our kids are smart, but just being smart isn't enough. If they work hard and they are smart, then that makes success happen."

The Speech and Debate Department has brought home trophies for 52 years, but students said the program helps them find success in their other classes and in life.

Ninth-grade student Samantha Maher said, "Speech and debate is a skill you can use in pretty much whatever profession you're doing because you're going to be working with people and you need to know how to speak to these people."

Tenth-grade student Dennis Wu has been competing in debate since middle school.
He said, "You can quickly analyze people and find out the best way to convince them of your position, how to articulate your positions well."

Tenth-grader Aryam Andom said, "It really boosts my confidence because I'm technically a shy person, but when I'm in a debate round, I just feel really confident -- like I can do anything."

The topics tackled this year included aid to Africa, the death penalty and plea bargains.
Students and coaches said there is no better time than now for young people to be knowledgeable and opinionated about the world around them.

Debate coach Russell Rach added, "I think the primary skills that a student can acquire in high school in the 21st century is information assessment and how to test the strength of that information."

On Oct. 26-27, Bellaire High will host the 52nd Annual Bellaire Forensic Tournament.

Winners will qualify for the state tournament.

IDEA Weekly News 17 October 2007

The IDEA Weekly, Volume 145

October 17, 2007

Dear INN Readers,

The weeks of Global Debates are on; schools across the world have begun competing for one of sixteen team trips to the U.N. Youth Summit in New York next summer. The Global Debates last until October 23^rd, so if you haven’t signed up, it’s still not too late! IDEA and the UNF have many great resources for your debate, including the new Debatepedia at www.idebate.org. The Debatepedia offers debate arguments that relate to this fall’s Global Debates resolution and contains additional information about TPS 2007-2008 as well. Last week marked the launch of the Global Debates, Debatepedia, and the new IDEA website. If you haven’t visited the website yet, please go and look around. I welcome your feedback and suggestions about the new site; we are continuing to make improvements. Also, the latest issue of idebate is available on the website and will be distributed in print soon. The latest issue features articles on Youth Forum 2007, the Institute in Duino, Dialogue through Debate and Critical Thinking across Cultures. You can find it at: http://www.idebate.org/resources/publications/idebate_magazine.php?id=41 .

Best wishes for a happy, healthy fall~ Arminda

Global Debates Statistics—as of Today’s Date:

Number of Participating Countries: 63

Number of Participants Who Registered for Their School: 525

Number of Participants Outside of the U.S. Who Registered for Their School: 293

Number of Participating School Organizers per Country/Province:

Arab Emirates: 1; Albania: 10; American Samoa: 1; Australia: 1; Azerbaijan: 1; Bosnia/Herzegovina: 44; Bangladesh: 3; Bulgaria: 5; Belarus: 2; Canada: 6; Chile: 2; Cameroon: 2; China: 5; Kosovo: 1; Czech Republic: 1; Germany: 2; Egypt: 1; Great Britain: 4; Georgia: 1; Ghana: 1; Hong Kong: 1; Haiti: 2; Indonesia: 3; Israel: 1; India: 48; Italy: 1; Kenya: 6; Kyrgyzstan: 1; Korea: 5; Kazakhstan: 2; Lithuania: 2; Lebanon: 1; Moldova: 25; Montenegro: 1; Macedonia: 11; Mongolia: 2; Myanmar: 1; Mexico: 1; Malaysia: 3; Nigeria: 4; Netherlands: 1; Nepal: 3; New Zealand: 1; Philippines: 5; Pakistan: 10; Romania: 1; Russia: 11; Rwanda: 3; Sudan: 1; Sweden: 1; Singapore: 2; Slovakia: 2; Sierra Leone: 3; Syrian Arab Republic: 1; Thailand: 1; Taiwan: 1; Tanzania: 1; Ukraine: 17; Uganda: 2; United States: 232; Uzbekistan: 1; Serbia: 1; South Africa: 8; Zambia: 1 .

**For a complete list of schools outside of the U.S. that have signed up as well as detailed instructions for participation, visit http://www.idebate.org/thepeoplespeak

**TPS Global Debates Participants are eligible to register for the IDEA TPS Bosnia Open, hosted by the Centre for Cultivating Dialogue in Sarajevo November 15^th-19^th.

IDEA Announces Final Call for Youth Forum 2008 Staff

The application deadline for Chief Adjudicator, Curriculum Committee Member, and Tournament Director is October 20^th. If you are interested in one of these positions, get an application here and submit it soon!

IDEA Calendar: Annual Events 2008

Mark your calendars for the following 2008 Annual IDEA Events!

●European Youth Speak: March 15-17, 2008 ~ Amsterdam, NL

●IDEA International Tournament of Champions: May 16-18, 2008 ~ Oregon, U.S.

●IDEA NJFL International Tournament (Middle School): June 26-29, 2008~Western Kentucky University, U.S.

●IDEA International Debate and Citizen Journalism Institute: June 29-July 19, 2008 ~ Duino, Italy

●IDEA International Youth Forum: July 23-August 5, 2008 ~Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria

Contribute to IDEA’s New Debatepedia, the Encyclopedia of Debate!

Arminda W. Lathrop
IDEA Communications Director
Willamette University
900 State St.
Salem, OR 97303
(503) 370-6620
alathrop@willamette.edu

IDEA's Website: www.idebate.org

Public to be Focus in Round Table Debates

From http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18926977&BRD=1300&PAG=461&dept_id=156923&rfi=6

High School debate series starts at Matthews Opera House

BY JACI CONRAD-PEARSON, Black Hills Pioneer October 17, 2007

SPEARFISH - The first in a series of three public debate forums, held by the Spearfish High School Debate team and sponsored by the Spearfish Education Foundation and the Spearfish Community Foundation, will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Matthews Opera House and the public is encouraged and invited to attend.

SPEARFISH - The first in a series of three public debate forums, held by the Spearfish High School Debate team and sponsored by the Spearfish Education Foundation and the Spearfish Community Foundation, will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Matthews Opera House and the public is encouraged and invited to attend.

Designed to bring debate to the community in a public forum, students will take the stand to defend both sides of gun control and gambling issues at the first forum and will develop the other topics to be debated from input gathered at Thursday night's debate.

According to Spearfish High School speech and debate coach Bob Speirs, "The debates will be held in a roundtable format and the winners will be determined by a voting procedure on the part of audience members. We will also ask for their opinions for future debates via a polling process, the results of which will consist of one community interest topic and one national topic at each of the next two debates," he said.

The debates are completely developed and driven by the 12 returning letter-winning varsity members of the team, who selected the topics, set up the teams, contacted the opera house to schedule the event, did all the publicity, prepared the ballots and opinion questionnaire and will be responsible for publishing the information after the tournaments are held.

Senior Debate team member, homecoming king and soccer standout, P.J. Scheetz is part of that group. He explains that debate has helped him academically by keeping him informed on current events and personally by making him a more confident speaker. Scheetz said that the reason the community should attend the public forums is that it's great community education. "It's also a good opportunity for them to get a better grasp on community events, such as gun control and casino gambling," said Scheetz, who communicated the debate team's ultimate goal of the forums. "It is our goal to leave the community better informed than they were before they came through it, so they can make better decisions on these issues."

The Spearfish High School Speech and Debate team consists of 12 returning letter people and 12 returning novice debaters. Team members are also recruiting at Spearfish Middle School, in order to expand the program. The debate team's competitive season starts in November and goes through mid-June, with this year's Nationals competition being held in Las Vegas, Nev.
Last year, Spearfish High School boasted two of the top 100 teams in the nation, following the results of the national finals tournament in Wichita, Kan. They also produced two of the top teams in the three-state region and won state honors in the public forum debate, which is what will be showcased at the Matthews Opera House.

"The debaters who will compete at the forum are some of the best in the three-state region, with two returning national qualifiers, Jacob McCright, a senior, and Jordan Meyers, a junior," said Speirs. "This is a great opportunity for the community to promote issues of concern that they feel need to be debated. We're really going out of our way to promote debate in fashions we've never done before, such as this community outreach effort," he continued.

Speirs also added that he feels it's important to promote where the kids that graduate from the debate program go in their post-graduate endeavors. "I've been coaching for 17 years now and we only graduate about five or six seniors from the program each year. That translates into about 80 during the course of my tenure and of those, many go on to Ivy League programs, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, MIT, Wellesley, the Academies, Notre Dame. It's time to promote where kids go from Spearfish in public education when they surround themselves with bright, eager minds," said Speirs.

The forum's main thrust is actually a dual purpose. To promote what's been going on in the high school and to promote academics in the community. "Public debates promote democracy and were historically the way to decide controversial issues. Although this type of practice has fallen out of favor over the years, our students will defend both sides of these issues, using intelligent discourse and bring to light some of the sensitive subject matter that is sometimes overlooked or goes unspoken," said Speirs.

Islands of the North Atlantic (IONA) Debate Rankings

From http://www.britishdebate.com/universities/results/rankings/index.asp

The University Debating Rankings rank universities according to their success so far in the UK and Irish debating season. At every university-level debating competition held in the United Kingdom or the Republic Of Ireland, institutions earn points for their top two performing teams and top two performing speakers if they perform well enough. The World University Debating Championships and European University Debating Championships are also counted. The larger the debating competition, the more teams and speakers earn points in the first place, and the more points teams and speakers earn for doing well. More points are also earned at tournaments with a stronger field of speakers. Winning out-rounds and winning the competition naturally also earn points for your institutions. The points which a University has earned at every competition so far this season are added together to produce their current points total, the rankings of which are shown below. The number in italics shows the institution’s ranking before the last competition – no number in this box indicates that the institution has only just entered the rankings.

The new season starts with the completion of the UCL President’s Cup. Cambridge retain their title to top the first week of the new rankings, while 12 other teams also perform well enough to get onto the table.

If you have any questions or comments about the rankings, contact Jonathan Leader Maynard on jleadermaynard@freeuk.com.

Latest rankings

Updated 17/10/07 – After 1 Event

University
Points

1
Cambridge
57.2
2

2
Nottingham
31.2
3

3
LSE
29.6
4

4
UCL
26.0
5

5
Inner Temple
23.0
6

6
SOAS
18.8
7

7
Warwick
17.8
8

8
Manchester
16.4
9

9
Middle Temple
6.8
10

10
Sussex
5.6
11

11
BPP
5.2
12

12
Oxford
2.4
13

13
Bristol
1.6

Debating Fun & Educational in Montreal

From http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/youthzone/story.html?id=b614d1f6-1ab5-487b-89fb-62255f0e81b0

Debating the pros and cons

Preparing arguments, articulating their points of view, knowing the facts, speaking in public, thinking on their feet - high school debaters put their skills to the test

J.D. GRAVENOR
Freelance

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Be it resolved that debating is fun, exciting and a great way to meet new friends.

Who could argue with that?

Student debaters, that's who. They are trained to argue both sides of any topic, while enjoying every minute of it.

"We have a lot of fun debating," said Campbell Wolfe, a Grade 8 student debating club member at Stanstead College, which hosted the Invitational Junior Debating Tournament last Friday.

Here's how things work at a debating tournament. Debaters, who represent their own school, are paired into teams of two. One team is called the government, or affirmative side. Its members must debate in favour of a motion and bear the burden of proof. The other team is called the opposition, or negative side. Its members debate against the proposed motion.

The debaters speak in a specific order for a few minutes at a time. The debate closes with final rebuttals by both sides that summarize both teams' positions. A judge then awards scores to each individual debater.

Wolfe, 12, started debating last year after deciding his interest in history and politics might help him argue diverse points. And he was right - debaters have to address all kinds of things. For example, students at last year's provincial finals debated motions that included holding another referendum on Quebec secession, banning all forms of online gambling and banning the combustion of gasoline in all city centres.

At some events, debaters are told of their debate topics well ahead of time so that they can prepare. But at other competitions, like the one at Stanstead last Friday, they only find out at the last minute and pretty much have to improvise.

Either way, the long or short process of preparing arguments and then presenting them orally at debates enables the students to fully consider all sides of issues, organize their logical points and speak in a constructive manner. The resulting debate can be a fascinating thing to watch.

"It's impressive how these kids can debate off the top of their head," said Stanstead College's communications director, Ross Murray. "It's a humbling experience and pretty cool to watch."

That being said, debating is a kind of competition that can be a bit stressful at times, as students are often the first to admit.

"When you are debating in front of a lot of people, that can be nerve-racking," said past national junior debating champion Howard Cohen, 15. "But over time and as you experience more tournaments, the nerves go away. I have become comfortable speaking in front of people. I like it. I feel I use it to my advantage."

Cohen, who attends Grade 10 at Lower Canada College, says a secret of good debating is to develop a good base of general knowledge and familiarity with world events.

"I feel that reading articles - especially The Gazette, which I read frequently - helps me know about current events and gives me the ability to use real life examples in debates," he said.

Another thing debaters like Cohen love about the sport is travel. He'll be going to upcoming debating events in Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa. Meanwhile, another 44 student debaters from 10 schools in Montreal and the Eastern Townships were bused to last Friday's juniors at Stanstead, 150 kilometres southeast of Montreal.

William Bright, 14, is a debater who is based at Stanstead College. The Grade 9 student, who finished fifth in individual scoring last week, says debaters are constantly making new friends and tackling challenging concepts.

"I started debating because I was interested in seeing different people from different schools," said the 14-year-old. "Now, I look forward to finding some worthy opponents and being able to debate some interesting topics."

Other Stanstead debaters - past and present - say it imparts other qualities and experiences, too.

"It helps you with public speaking for the rest of your life," said Grade 11 student Laura Goodyear, 15. "It's not complicated or hard to learn, but you definitely have to know the rules to debate."

Given a choice, she likes to debate more challenging and intellectual topics, like religion and war - things that often come up during government debates in the House of Commons and National Assembly.

"They're detailed, elaborate and meaty subjects," she said.

Fellow Grade 11 student Necola Guerrina debated for two years. She says debating helps students with their ability to confidently prepare, present and defend logical arguments - abilities that can be useful in any career - from politics to law.

"In debating, if you don't stand your ground or if you're wishy-washy on your topic, you're not going to be able to convince anyone, and you're not going to be able to convince the judge," said the 16-year-old. "It helps your ability to have intelligent conversations and strengthens your social abilities."

That's what makes debating different from plain old arguing. After all, it's an organized process that has to be learned - just like any other team sport.

"Debating is partly natural talent," said LCC's Cohen. "But you need strong coaching to develop your skill. With practice, you get better expressing your ideas clearly and effectively."

- - -

Role of Councillors Debated in Malawi

From http://www.dailytimes.bppmw.com/article.asp?ArticleID=6873

‘Without councillors, democracy is suffering’
BY SAM BANDA JNR
12:08:22 - 16 October 2007

The absence of elected councillors has slowed down the decentralization and good governance project, analyst traditional authorities and villagers have said.

This was said in Ntcheu during a public debate organised by Blantyre Press Club with financial support from GTZ’s Malawi German Programme for Democracy and Decentralisation (MGPDD).

“Many areas are failing to develop and access facilities like boreholes and good roads because there are no councilors. If democracy is to be successful then councilors have to be available,” Samson Kawalazira of Balaka Debate Club said, adding that decentralization has not been properly explained to the people, who were still ignorant of their responsibilities and the duties of a councilor under decentralization

Davie Chigumula of TA Makwangwala said in the absence of councillors traditional authorities had too much work on their hands.

“Many areas here in Ntcheu do not have boreholes and as a result people are drinking unsafe water. The decentralization process which allows communities to access money for various developments is taking time because there are no councilors to push for that," he said.

Pastor Moffat Lichapa of Zion Bata Church in TA Kwataine also bemoaned the lack of councilors who he said were making development projects move faster.

“People have got the powers at the moment where they make decisions on various projects through Village Development Committees and Area Development Committees but when they go to the district assembly the results take time all because there are no councilors,” said Lichapa.


Opposition political parties and civil society groups have long demanded that local government polls be held soon.

President Bingu wa Mutharika a few weeks ago came under heavy criticism from Public Affairs Committee (Pac), a religious grouping, on his alleged unwillingness to hold local polls, which the group said was in violation of the county’s constitution.

Korea Expands World Schools Coaching Staff

PHOTO: 2006 debate workshop in Korea

From Justin Reznik justin.reznick@gmail.com

The Korea Forensics League (KFL) is currently looking for an adult to
help coach Korea's WSDC Team. The job is a volunteer position and
applicants must be willing to commit to coaching for the next two
years. The job involves training a pool of debaters for several months
and coaching at and attending the next two WSDC tournaments. The next
two World Schools Debating Championships will be in Washington, DC
(Sept 2008) and in Athens, Greece (2009). The KFL will pay for the
coaches' WSDC travel expenses for these events.

If you are accepted, you will be joining current WSDC coach Mr. Peejay
Garcia who has coached Team Korea for the past two WSDC tournaments.

Starting this year, Korea will use two coaches for the WSDC team. The
coaching positions will be staggered 2-year terms so that there will
always be at least one veteran coach. Representatives from Korean high
schools will review applicants and will elect one coach each year.

To apply, please fill out the attached form and send it to both Mr.
Justin Reznick (justin.reznick@gmail.com) and Mr. Terry Lindeman
(lindemant@tcis.or.kr) no later than Wednesday, October 31. If you are
interested in applying but will not have time to complete the
application by that deadline, simply send a note to Justin and Terry
indicating that you are interested in the position and you will be
given more time.

If you have any questions, please contact Justin Reznick. Current WSDC
coach Peejay Garcia (peejaygarcia@yahoo.com) will also be happy to
help if you'd like to learn
more about WSDC or what responsibilities the coaching position
entails.

WSDC home: schoolsdebate.com
KFL home: koreaforensicsleague.org

Justin Reznick

DCA Application for Cork Worlds

From Derek Lande EUDC@yahoogroups.com

I am delighted to announce the opening of applications for the
position of Deputy Chief Adjudicator at the 2009 World University
Debating Championships.

All those who are interested in applying are invited to download the
application form from http://www.corkworlds2009.com/app.doc

Completed application forms must then be emailed to
derek.lande@corkworlds2009.com by 6pm (Dublin Time) on Wednesday
October 31st.

Application forms must be completed by the applicants themselves but
if there is somebody you feel would make a strong candidate please get
in touch and I will forward them a copy of the application form to them.

Following the close of the application phase a list of applicants will
be published and feedback will be invited to be privately contributed
by the debating community.

The full adjudication team will be announced around the end of November.

If you have any queries please don't hesitate to get in touch.

____________

______________
Derek Lande
Chief Adjudicator
Cork Worlds 2009

Mexico to Enter World Schools 2008

From debates@ESUSCOTLAND.ORG.UK

Dear All,

I have been asked by Richard Atherton to announce to the WSDC list that Mexico will be represented at the WSDC in Washington next year.

In September 2007, a number of schools were asked to send pupils along to a series of workshops led by the ESU and, at the end of a week’s training, a team of 5 was chosen. Next year, Richard and all at ESU Mexico hope to broaden the selection process even wider and have even more schools involved. The coach of the team is Daragh Grant. The WSDC Executive already know that Mexico is entering but Richard & I thought that the WSDC community should know!

If you would like to know more about Team Mexico, please do get in contact with me and I will put you in touch with Richard.

Thank you, and with best wishes,

Rob

Robert Marrs

Speech & Debates Officer

English-Speaking Union Scotland

Tel - 0131 229 1528

Fax - 0131 229 1533

Topic Choices for USA High School Policy Debate 2008-2009

Ballots will be sent in this week.

From Tara Tate TTATE@glenbrook.k12.il.us

SYNOPSIS OF THE PROBLEM AREAS FOR 2008-2009

PROBLEM AREA I: HEALTH CARE
Resolved: The United States federal government should establish a universal health care system in the United States.

Health care is the most important domestic issue facing policymakers in the United States today. This topic offers an opportunity to expose students to divergent views on a crucial topic. The ongoing national debate over health care in the United States centers on three key problems: cost, quality and access. Total spending on health care has been rising at about twice the rate of national income, increasing from 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1970 to 16.2 percent today. Currently the United States spends about $2 trillion on health care, or $6,500 per year per person. This is $477 billion a year more than any other developed country. Despite spending much more, 47 million Americans have no health insurance. Affirmative positions would include cases dealing with single pay systems, international models, programs to fill in the lapses in coverage, Medicare and Medicaid expansion and others. Negative positions could include substantial case debate on empirical problems associated with existing single payer systems programs, state solutions, problems with rationing and the high cost of health care. Negatives would explore competitiveness, political scenarios, federalism, spending and trade off positions, as well as host of critical arguments on increased governmental intervention. As the 2008 election nears, the issue of national health care will only continue to grow increasingly important in the media and in the public debate throughout the country. Author: Christa Bieker, NCPA.

PROBLEM AREA II: AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDIES
Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially reduce its domestic agricultural subsidies.

Agricultural subsidies—cash payments to food and fiber producers or their market equivalent—affect every person in the United States. Globalization assures that these subsidies affect the economies of virtually every nation of the world. The U.S. spends $8 billion per year on these payments to farmers, and this money exponentially distorts the world food market. In the wake of Congress’ attempted renewal of the Farm Bill in 2007, an abundance of congressional testimony, media coverage, and scholarly analysis has been published. Affirmative case areas may include generally decreasing subsidies to all crops, such as federally-supported crop insurance, or reforming all farm payments. Students may also advocate limiting subsidies for specific crops such as sugar or corn. Advantages may be completely domestic by decreasing the tax burden on consumers or improving nutritional values of foods. International scenarios may include decreasing the risk of famine, and the regional instability that often ensues, in developing nations. Environmental issues include pollution and loss of genetic diversity as well as the risks of genetically-modified crops. Negative ground may include economic arguments including the market capitalization of land prices and shifting planting decisions of farmers, employment, productivity, and food security of domestic producers. Negative teams would have access to politics scenarios as well as counterplans such as WTO executive action. The topic lends itself to a variety of critical arguments including the Maoism versus capitalism debate or the importance of an agrarian society. Authors: Russell Kirkscey and Zane Schwarzlose, Texas.

PROBLEM AREA III: ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase alternative energy incentives in the United States.

The demand for energy worldwide is expected to grow over 50 percent by 2030, and most economies are fundamentally fossil-fuel based. International competition for these fossil fuels is growing intense and access to oil especially is often located in places that are geographically hard to reach and geopolitically challenging. The United States federal government needs to articulate a sound and sustainable energy policy that pursues alternative energy resources, so that it has access to available, sustainable, and secure sources that move the country away from its addiction to fossil fuels.
Affirmative plans would require the use of incentives to promote alternative energy sources, including but not limited to solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and nuclear power, as well as, biofuels, hydrogen fuels, new technologies, and conservation measures. Negative approaches to the topic would include a number of case specific solvency debates, the problems and impacts of using government incentives, and many different disadvantage scenarios such as foreign policy implications of decreasing oil imports, collapse of economies such as those of the Middle East and Russia, and relations disadvantages, as well as, a good number of disadvantages specific to particular affirmative solutions. Counterplan ground might include states/private industry, as well as, international solutions, and critical argumentation might include capitalism and the environment. Current federal policy tends to support big oil and other fossil fuel companies; ultimately, our very civilization will pay a high price for our lack of oversight and action on the issue of energy. Authors: Pam McComas and Cindy Burgett, Kansas.

PROBLEM AREA IV: CENTRAL ASIA

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its foreign assistance to one or more countries in Central Asia.

Economic instability, oil wars, nuclear terrorism, cultural conflict, and superpower intervention are examples of debate critical to Central Asia. Unlike the Middle East, which has been embroiled in conflict for thousands of years, this critical region of the world has remained dormant under the forceful rule of now fallen empires. At this critical impasse, the countries of Central Asia find themselves inheritors of the world's largest untapped oil reserve and the possessors of new-found freedom, projecting them onto the global forefront. This untapped potential for economic prosperity and democratic liberalism is threatened by growing cultural and ethnic conflict, the pull of geopolitical posturing by the US, China, and Russia, and a fledgling democracy that is untested, fragile and quickly regressing toward despotism. Yet these troubles remain correctable should progressive policy be implemented. As we struggle to solve terrorism, manage the looming oil crisis and promote democracy, this region presents opportunity for unparallel success or perilous loss. Unknown to most Americans, Central Asia is playing an immeasurable role in our economic and foreign policy future. Balanced affirmative and negative ground exist in the debate of Central Asia. Possible affirmatives include democracy promotion, reduction of oil dependence on Russia, economic and infrastructure development, counter-terrorism, election monitoring, and other assistance programs. Negatives could explore problems with expanded U.S. presence in the region, oil dependence arguments, relations with regional actors (Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and Iran to name a few), counterplans such as UN, NGO’s, regional actors, and a host of critical arguments against imperialism, power promotion, and capitalism. Central Asia is like a young Middle East. Although we don’t have a chance to go back and change what has happened to the Middle East, this topic can allow productive discussion about how not to let that same fate befall Central Asia. Authors: Tom Lietz and Ruth Kay, Michigan.

PROBLEM AREA V: IMMIGRATION
Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially decrease its restriction of immigration to the United States.

In a myriad of post-9/11 political issues, none has been at the forefront of more controversy than United States immigration policy. In the wake of the major defeat of President Bush’s recent immigration proposal, we stand at a crossroads in determining the future of foreign citizens who wish to immigrate to the United States. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services estimates over 35.2 million immigrants are currently living in the United States with another 2.9 million citizenship applications submitted per year. Affirmatives would be able to alter existing policies including the PATRIOT Act and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, create new policies or organizations to process immigration related issues, grant amnesty, increase asylum in one or more areas, and increase approved visa applications, among others. Disadvantages would include terrorism, crime, politics, economy, disease, drugs, social fragmentation, social services, cultural dilution, and hegemony, among others. The negative could also argue that the states or other nations are better suited to address immigration issues. Nongovernmental organizations like the UN or Amnesty International could be better suited to address global issues like refugee crises. Never far from the headlines, immigration offers an incredibly rich area for discussion. Authors: Matthew Murrell and Heather Hayes, Texas.

Yale Selected to Debate in China - In Chinese

Members of the Yale Debate team face off against a team from China in an Oct. 2 debate. Based on a tape of this debate, three university judges selected the Yale team to represent the United States in a Chinese-language debate in Beijing next month.

From http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/21823

Yalies selected as U.S. team for Chinese debate

Caitlin Roman
Staff Reporter

For Light Fellows Adam Scharfman ’08, J.T. Kennedy ’09 and Austin Woerner ’08, visiting China is nothing new. But when they travel to Beijing next month, they will be going as debaters, not as language students.

Yale’s three-member team will represent the United States in a debate competition jointly hosted by New Media Singapore and China Central Television. The students learned last week that they had beaten out teams at Columbia, Princeton and Harvard universities to claim a ticket to the final round, where they will face other teams from universities around the world. The Yale debate took place in Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall on Oct. 2.

“The judges said that on language quality, no one can compare with us,” East Asian Studies professor Wei Su, the team’s coach, said.

Three judges, instructors at American universities, watched tapes of this fall’s debates between students from Tsinghua University in Beijing and teams at the four U.S. universities. They selected the winning team based on students’ language ability and quality of expression in Chinese, Su said.

The winning teams from Europe, Korea and Australia – along with the Tsinghua students and the Yalies – will face off in Beijing from Nov. 19 to Nov. 30.

The competition’s sponsors will pay for the team’s airfare, lodging and food, Su said. The team is also hoping to bring alternate Nick Sedlet ’08, although funding for his travel is still up in the air, he said. Team members said they have not yet received information from the sponsors about the structure of the final competition or the topic they will be debating.

Scharfman attributed the team’s success to a combination of the students’ participation in the Light Fellowship program, the strength of Yale’s Chinese Department and the emphasis University President Richard Levin places on Yale’s relationship with China.

“Yale has received many compliments from the programs [in China] that the Light Fellowship sends students to,” Scharfman said. “They’ve commented on the improvement in the quality of the students we’ve sent to them over the past few years.”

The Light Fellowship will spend $1 million sending approximately 100 Yalies to Asia this year, Light Fellowship Director Kelly McLaughlin said. Students can chose from over 20 approved programs in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

In addition to the quality of Yale’s Chinese instruction, Woerner said, a major factor in the team’s success is the close-knit community of Chinese language students and professors.

“One major reason we all got so invested in this project was because we all have fun speaking Chinese together, we liked hanging out with Professor Su and coming up with ideas for the debate,” Woerner said.

When Yale and Tsinghua students competed in New Haven on Oct. 2, they were judged on more than just their debating skills. Before the actual debate – in which participants discussed whether success is the true goal of education – members of the Yale team performed a Chinese stand-up comedy routine, recited an ancient Chinese poem and played a song on the qin, one of the oldest Chinese stringed instruments.

McLaughlin said he heard that some audience members reacted ecstatically to Yale’s performance at the competition. One spectator reported that Sharfman’s poetry recitation wowed three female Yalies: The first girl stared, mouth agape, in wonder, while the second girl said in amazement, “Wow, he speaks Chinese better than my parents do,” McLaughlin said.

The last girl exclaimed, “I want to marry him!” McLaughlin said.

Though Beijing will be familiar ground for the debate team, Scharfman said, he is looking forward to reconnecting with his friends and teachers there.

“I know the city very well, so it’s not like there are specific places I need to go see for the first time,” Scharfman said. “I’m going to be going back to a very familiar place and feeling very good about being there.”

New Electives Posted for International Debate Academy

PHOTO: Bojana Skrt with Korean debaters in 2005

Bojana Skrt has announced more elective topics for the upcoming IDAS 2007.

For more information go to:
http://debate.uvm.edu/idas2007.html
and go to:
http://internationaldebateacademy.blogspot.com/

1. Roles of the speakers: What is each speaker supposed to do? What kind of skills are most required for different speeches?

2. Strategy: How do we debate when we do not have a clue about the topic? What do we do when the first government comes out with a really bad case?

3. Preparations between the tournaments, preparation in debate club, individual preparation.

4. Debating internationally as an English Foreign Language speaker.

5. Administering a university debate club: keep them coming, keep them staying, keep them motivated.

6. Fundraising for the university debate club.

7. Organising a debate tournament.

8. Organising a public debate.

9. The myth of the conventional wisdom.

IDEA Launches Debate Wiki

From bhlindsay@gmail.com

The International Debate Education Association Launches Debatepedia.org

Debatepedia calls on citizens to join in building the "Wikipedia of debate and reason"

NEW YORK, NY (October 12, 2007) – The International Debate Education Association (IDEA) announced today its launch of Debatepedia.org, a wiki with the ambitious mission of becoming the world's "Wikipedia of debate and reason". On Debatepedia, at www.idebate.org, people can help edit and co-create an encyclopedia of debates by adding pro and con arguments and compiling bodies of supporting evidence within a unique pro/con "logic tree" structure. Debatepedia is also a place for documenting the positions of leaders and organizations. The potential range of debates on Debatepedia is limitless and includes topics that are international, national, and local in scope. It also intends to offer different language versions. Its ambitious mission will have a major impact on the way citizens engage in pressing debates, draw personal conclusions, and even influence their representatives and leaders.

Debatepedia is the product of over a year-and-a-half of work by a dedicated team of individuals. It was founded by Georgetown students and alumni in the Winter of 2006, who then outsourced a software project to India in the Spring and Summer of 2007, creating software that enables users to easily use and manipulate the original and essential "logic-tree" pro/con structure of debates. Debatepedia merged with IDEA in the summer of 2007, joining a talented international team, and benefiting from the migration of roughly 500 refined debate articles from IDEA's existing Debatabase (the product of over 8 years of work). The merger of these teams under the umbrella of IDEA and its network has made the new Debatepedia into a powerful force of effort, vision, and potential.

With Debatepedia's launch, the focus moves to building a vibrant wiki community of volunteer editors. Like Wikipedia, such a community is fundamental to its mission. Debatepedia's launch is a call to debaters, students, experts, and citizens to register on Debatepedia and become active editors and members of its community. It encourages editors to engage for personal reasons in the issues they care most about, using Debatepedia as a tool to gather and weigh pros and cons, and back up the positions they take.

Debatepedia founder and chief editor Brooks Lindsay says, "I am incredibly lucky to be the chief editor of Debatepedia because the process and structure pushes me to read widely on the most important issues of the day, inquire in areas of uncertainty, gather and organize arguments, deliberate on them, and determine where I stand. It's the ultimate personal philosophical tool. I'm hard to beat in a debate with friends."

In the coming year, Debatepedia's focus is squarely on the hottest debates in the world today. For those living in or interested in the United States, it will be featuring roughly 50 essential debates that surround the 2008 US presidential and congressional elections.

Press Contact:

Brooks Lindsay

Founder and chief editor of Debatepedia, President of Debatemedia, Inc.

(Phone) 206-406-7558, (Email) brooks@debatepedia.org.

Based in Washington, DC.

Wits Debaters Return to World Stage

Wits is University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
From http://www.vuvuzelaonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1170&Itemid=51

Debaters return to World Champs
Written by Sean Ritchie
Thursday, 11 October 2007

WITS DEBATERS will be jetting off this December to compete in the World University Debating Championships after being absent from the competition for several years. From December 26 to January 5 the team will be competing against universities from across the planet.

Joe Roussos, president of the Wits Debating Union, says that the trip will be a debating and personal highlight for the eight Witsies who will be travelling to Assumption University in Bangkok.

“We are very excited now that it’s actually happening. It seemed for a while that we might not get there, but now we have our plane tickets and registration numbers.”

The Debating Union will be sending three teams of two people and two adjudicators to the world championships. According to Roussos “you need a good balance” in the team so there is a mix of younger and older students with one first year and three second year students.

The team heading to Bangkok are debators Richard Stupart, Johnathan Haenen, Joe Roussos, Philip Williams, Alexander Sloan, Zweli Makgalemele and adjudicators Samantha Rothbart and Gergana Givanova.Roussos speaks warily of the trouble the Debating Union had securing the funds needed to get to the competition.

He says they first attempted to get private funding through companies but ended up having to cover most of the R90 000 bill themselves.

The final part of the bill was covered with a donation from a source who wished to remain anonymous.

The team is also planning to have some fun during their stay in Thailand. Once the competition is over several members of the team intend to spend some time backpacking around Asia before they return to South Africa.

Zweli says he is looking forward to the experience of “Worlds” as well as travelling to Lagos and Cambodia. “I need to look up where those places are,” he quips.

Traditionally the world championship is dominated by universities like Oxford and Cambridge. “Oxford Debating has a building as big as Wartenweiler Library,” Roussos comments.

He continues, “You can’t really compete with them; debating is an institution up there.”

The team’s personal aims are to make it through the knockout rounds and be the highest placed South African team, for which Roussos rates their chances as “promising”.

Locally, although they didn’t make it into the finals last year, Wits is usually one of the top four universities competing in the national debating competition.

Rothbart says, “There is a friendly rivalry amongst the universities. We push each other to do better.”

British Debate Tour Continues to Succeed in USA

The tour of the USA by two outstanding UK debaters, Alex Just and Alistair Cormack, continues to bring rave reviews and press coverage. It is the oldest international debate tour in the world and has been going on since 1922. The tour is sponsored by the English Speaking Union based in London and the American Forensic Association's Committee on International Discussion and Debate.

You can follow their progress at http://usdebate.blogspot.com/

They seem to be getting a lot of good press wherever they go:
http://www.kwu.edu/publicrelations/stories/200708/britdebate.html
as well as
http://media.www.studlife.com/media/storage/paper337/news/2007/10/12/News/University.Debate.Team.Clashes.With.British.National.Team-3029477.shtml
and
http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/m/FMPro?-db=ma&-lay=a&-format=d.html&id=3048&-Find

Although their blog claims an undefeated record in their public debates (by audience vote) it is true that they placed second and third in two rounds of competitive tournament debate while at the University of Vermont. I am sure it was bad judging.

Two recent videos show them training students and judges in the BP or Worlds format:
Intro to the Worlds Format, Alex Just, President, Cambridge Union, at UVM 29 September 2007
http://debatevideoblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/lecture-introduction-to-worlds-format.html
Intro to Judging the Worlds Format, Alistair Cormack, President, Durham Union, at UVM the same day
http://debatevideoblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/lecture-judging-worlds-format.html

Students & Faculty Debate Immigration at Notre Dame

From http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/10/12/News/Faculty.Students.Debate.Immigration-3029607.shtml

Faculty, students debate immigration
Panelists cite labor costs, assimilation in discussion
Ashley Charnley
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: News
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In a faculty-student debate on social, political and economic effects of immigration Thursday, the only clear conclusion the panel could reach is that the issue is not going away.

More than 20 students gathered in the Dooley Room of LaFortune to watch the panel, with a team of political science Professor Anthony Messina and senior political science major Amy Meyer and a team of Latin American studies Professor Jorge Bustamante and senior history major Stuart Mora.

Messina described immigration as a moral plug and "an interest driven phenomenon," and said he views American immigration as a cyclical problem.

"We are part of a political immigration cycle," he said. "We keep moving along and at one point we are going to move to a better part."

Comparing the current American issue to the problems in Europe, Messina said the European condition is a much more dangerous situation.

There are many European countries that are fairly homogeneous. These countries are adverse to immigration because it threatens their homogeneity," said Messina. "There is no one silver bullet, there is no one comprehensive act, and there is no one policy approach that is going to address all these issues simultaneously."

Meyer argued that immigrants are not a threat to our society and can assimilate themselves into society over time.

"There is a need for government to regulate any people moving back and forth, as well as to promote immigration education just to make sure that we take care of the residents which I think is actually the most important part of immigration," she said.

Meyer discussed a study on the preferred identity of immigrants in the United States.

"I think that the longer we promote our image, the more likely they are going to assimilate to the American cultural order," she said.

Bustamante, of the opposing team, discussed the idea of perception versus reality.

"The first exercise that anyone is analyzing in the United States specifically is to separate perceptions from realities," he said. "The two things can go into two very contradictory positions."

He also discussed the reality of the U.S. government response to illegal immigration.

"In many parts of the world you will find ideals based on racism," Bustamante said. "The most important issue for immigrants themselves is the raids going on all over the United States. Adults are being taken in front of the children wondering why that is happening. That is happening right now, right now in the United States."

Mora explored the topic of immigrant workers in opposition with native workers.

"You will see in capital and labor relations that the ability of workers to organize is hindered by the fear that they feel toward these immigrant workers," he said.

Unions struggled to organize because they couldn't overcome racial barriers, he said.

"When you look across the border and see eight to ten times higher wages than your own, and you look at your children and wonder if you can afford to give them an education, you are willing to take that risk, and as long as that opportunity is there, they will continue to take that opportunity," Mora said.

He said he does not believe illegal immigration is going to go away.

"As long as that carrot is hanging out there, wages ten times higher than home, people are going to continue crossing the border," Mora said.

Australian Youth Parliament

From http://www.starnewsgroup.com.au/story/49472

Young voices heard

By Denise Deason

9th October 2007 11:05:42 AM


In good voice … The Altona City debate team at the Youth Parliament, back from left, Kieran Ryan, Carlin Grant and Luke Fenton. Front: Lisa Nightingale, Paul Basillio and Jessica Candan. SPEAKING on the floor of the Victorian State Parliament as part of Youth Parliament last week was an “awesome experience”, according to Hoppers Crossing student Lisa Nightingale.

Ms Nightingale, 21, who went to Westbourne Grammar in Werribee, was one of the six-member Altona City team to the Youth Parliament, which attracted 90 students from schools around Melbourne and country Victoria.

The Youth Parliament is an annual event run by YMCA Victoria in conjunction with the State Government’s Office for Youth.

Each team of students prepares a bill and argues it against another team in the Victorian parliamentary chambers in Spring St, Melbourne.

“There’s lots of formalities and protocol to be followed in Parliament House and that was perhaps the most daunting part of it,” Ms Nightingale said.

“We had a training weekend to prepare us and debating in that setting was amazing.

“The point is to let youth know it’s OK to have an opinion; it’s OK to say something; and yes, someone will listen to you.”

Youth Affairs Minister James Merlino sat in on the Youth Parliament.

Ms Nightingale’s team presented a public transport bill that proposed a demerit point system, rather than fines, when people are caught without a ticket.

“We wanted to find a way to allow emergency travel for people on public transport,” she said.

“We wanted every Victorian to have five demerit points they could use before receiving a fine.

“At the moment, if you’re on a train without a ticket, even if the ticket machine at the station was broken, inspectors will often give you a fine anyway.

“We wanted the system to be fairer.

“Unfortunately, the bill wasn’t passed, but it was a close division of 22 for and 26 against.

“However, it was a heated debate and a good outcome in that sense.”

Ms Nightingale, a classical singer, is now studying for a bachelor of musical performance degree at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.

“I don’t think I want to become a politician, but I’m definitely interested in public speaking,” she said. “I’d like to do a course in public relations and marketing and become a spokesperson for some organisation.”

Cal State Chico Debate Bounces Back

From http://www.theorion.com/home/news/2007/10/10/News/Speech.Team.Competes.Again-3022738.shtml

Speech team competes again
By: Maegan Martens

Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Robin Epley
Members of the Chico State speech and debate team practice for this weekend's tournament at Santa Rosa Junior College.

After a year of sitting on the sidelines, the speech and debate team is back to fighting battles of the word and mind.

The speech and debate team, also known as the forensics team, had its first joint tournament in a year Sept. 21, after it was suspended at the end of the spring 2006 semester.

Some team members were unhappy about not competing for a year, but the suspension benefited the group, said Sue Peterson, who took over as the team's director this semester.

"Dealing with the situation with consequences sets up a better future for the team," she said. "Every team has their down years."

Chico State announced the suspension May 26, 2006, after the team reportedly used cocaine, marijuana and alcohol at tournaments and off-campus parties, according to a university statement.

The forensics team competes throughout California and the United States in debate and individual events such as persuasive, impromptu and literature-interpretive speaking.

Team members enroll in forensics as a class for one to three units, depending on how many tournaments they compete in.

Members competing in individual events were only suspended for the fall 2006 semester. The debate team had to wait until this semester to begin competing again.

Nolan Cox has been a member of the team for three years. The group is back and ready to compete with its new rules, director and members, he said.

"Debate expands your knowledge of the world," Cox said. "Never before has my brain been packed full with excellent information."

Team members spent last year doing community outreach, teaching debate in classes and hosting open forums, he said.

Now that the team can compete again, Peterson plans to increase membership and send members to nationals. She wants to use this year to rebuild, she said.

The entire team took a hit and fall because of the actions of a couple of people, and it's going to ruin it for generations to come, said member Jeff Kell.

This semester, 90 percent of team members are new and have a lot of enthusiasm and willingness to work, Peterson said.

She set tournament and long-term goals and hopes to see everyone participate in elimination rounds.

The team is focusing on recruitment to increase membership, Peterson said.

Last year the team consisted of about seven people. The current team has 20 members.

Three graduate assistant coaches were added to its staff and the team expanded the number of tournaments members will attend to 17, Peterson said.

The team will travel to Santa Rosa Junior College this weekend for a joint tournament.

At the first tournament, junior Jeremy Benintende received one of the top speaker awards in debate.

He enjoys being on the team.

"You can't get in trouble for beating someone's ass verbally," Benintende said.

Maegan Martens can be reached at mmartens@theorion.com

IDEA in Spanish

From hbonomo@sorosny.org

Estimados amigos,

Quisiéramos convocarlos a participar en el numero lanzamiento de Idebate.ñ, el primer proyecto editorial en español realizado conjuntamente entre la Fundación Open Society Institute y la Asociación Internacional de Debate Educativo (IDEA). Idebate.ñ publicará su número uno en Febrero de 2008, que contará con una edición impresa de distribución internacional, más una edición electrónica que estará disponible a partir de Febrero en: http://www.idebate.org/resources



La propuesta editorial de Idebate.ñ hace hincapié en las relaciones entre los jóvenes y el resto de la comunidad, y las problemáticas en torno a su inserción y participación activa en la ciudadanía. Utilizando como insumo principal experiencias de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil dedicadas al trabajo con jóvenes, Idebate.ñ abre un valioso espacio para el intercambio de información y recursos de capacitación, así como de experiencias innovativas en los campos de la educación para una ciudadanía activa y del abordaje de conflictividad en jóvenes derivada de la pobreza y marginación social.



Existen en América Latina—y en comunidades hispano parlantes de otras partes del mundo—numerosas organizaciones que realizan un invalorable aporte al mejoramiento de las condiciones y oportunidades de los jóvenes en sus comunidades desde su trabajo cotidiano. Sin embargo, este trabajo es a menudo poco conocido fuera de su área de incidencia inmediata. Idebate.ñ ofrece una oportunidad para que estas iniciativas se den a conocer en el ámbito internacional contadas por sus protagonistas, de manera de facilitar la construcción de redes organizacionales a niveles local e internacional, y amplificando así su impacto.



Quisiéramos entonces invitarlos a participar del primer número de Idebate.ñ, enviándonos artículos o materiales relevantes a las siguientes categorías:

· Debate y otras actividades educativas para jóvenes:

- Artículos sobre actividades de debate realizadas, o anuncios de eventos y actividades que tendrán lugar en 2008; materiales de capacitación y ensayos breves.

· Los jóvenes y los medios de comunicación:

- Ensayos fotográficos, artículos, ensayos breves, reportes de eventos y actividades o anuncios de iniciativas relacionadas al uso de radio y medios electrónicos, tanto en la educación formal como informal de jóvenes.

· Participación joven en causas de interés social:

- artículos, ensayos, reportes o historias acerca de campañas de interés joven y otras iniciativas participativas generadas por y/o para jóvenes.

· Idebate.ñ/ Directorio:

- La publicación incluirá un dossier con información acerca de instituciones dedicadas al trabajo con jóvenes—ONGs, organizaciones comunitarias, escuelas y universidades con programas extra-curriculares, etcétera. Aquellas organizaciones interesadas en formar parte del Directorio podrán enviar su información de contacto a Idebate.ñ, acompañada de una breve descripción de la organización y su misión.



Requerimientos para el envío de materiales:

Los interesados deberán enviar sus contribuciones en formato Word (.doc). Los artículos no podrán exceder las 4000 palabras. Toda imagen—cuadros, esquemas, fotos o ilustraciones—deberán ser enviadas por separado, como archivos de imagen TIFF, TIF, EPS o JPEG. Las imágenes de menos de 600 píxeles de ancho no serán publicadas.

Las contribuciones deberán ser enviadas antes del 11 de enero a hbonomo@idebate.org

El encabezado del mensaje deberá leer “contribución Idebate.ñ”

Si no recibe respuesta por parte de Idebate.ñ es porque su mensaje no fue recibido.



Si le interesa recibir la edición impresa de Idebate.ñ en forma gratuita, por favor envíenos sus datos a hbonomo@idebate.org. Para más información acerca de Idebate.ñ, por favor comuníquese con Hernan Bonomo por correo electrónico o por vía telefónica, a los teléfonos listados a continuación. Esperamos contar con su participación en Idebate.ñ!



Hernán Bonomo

Open Society Institute

International Debate Education Association

400 West 59th Street / New York, NY - 10019

Phone: (1-212) 548 0657 / Fax: (1-646) 557 2423

www.idebate.org

IDEA Prepares for Youth Forum 2008

From vvlckova@idebate.org

As some of you know already, I have been chosen for the position of Forum Coordinator. From this position, I will be responsible for coordinating activities that are connected to the annual summer Youth Forum. Apart from other tasks, I will be working on developing curriculum and program of the event, so that all the materials needed for a high quality learning experience are in place and in time. Moreover I will be working with the selected trainers throughout the upcoming months, preparing them for the training needed at Youth Forum. However I will also be working on enlarging and diversifying our pool of trainers, curriculum developers and educators as well as the portfolio of products IDEA has to offer.

To summarize I will be sending lots of information regarding the upcoming Youth Forum and here are the first ones: the calls for Chief Adjudicator, Tournament Director and members of Curriculum Committee. Please see attachment for details about requirements!

In the near future I will be sending out the call for Trainers for the Youth Forum 2008. However since I have decided to change the process of selection and training of trainers, also the deadlines for application have changed (expected: beg. January 2008). More information on the exact procedure, requirements and deadlines coming up!

Could you please make sure to send the calls to all persons you consider relevant, so that it reaches anyone, who could be interested in taking up such a position.

thank you

enjoy your day

Veronika


Just to clarify how the offered positions relate to each other:

The Youth Forum Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the event and its preparation. The person oversees preparation of curriculum, teaching materials and methodology. Moreover s/he oversees the preparation of trainers for the event. S/he also facilitates the communication between participants and members and local host. Additionally s/he supervises the daily logistical tasks at the Forum. Regarding the Forum, this person serves as a first contact to the external environment.

The Tournament Director is the main coordinator of the debate tournaments that take place during the Forum and all activities connected to them. This person runs the tournaments during the Forum and makes all necessary announcements and decisions regarding the tournaments. S/he prepares the list of mixed teams and prepares the necessary lists of results and awards for participants and organizers.

The Chief Adjudicator is the person who works with judges at the Forum in order to increase the quality of judging for the tournaments. The person prepares educational materials and conducts sessions for judges during the Forum. S/he also addresses, investigates and solves any issues or complaints connected with judging during the tournaments.

The member of the Curriculum Committee is a person, who facilitates the preparation of the curriculum for the Forum. More specifically, the person thoroughly comments and constructively provides feedback on the curriculum drafted by the Forum Coordinator, trainers and fellow Committee members through the whole process of its creation.

Veronika Vlckova
IDEA Forum Coordinator
IDEA NL
Molukkenstraat 200
1098 TW Amsterdam
The Netherlands
office: +31(0)206927299
cell: +31(0)645497516
www.idebate.org

International Debate Academy & Tournament Slovenia - Faculty & Curriculum

Photo: Singapore meets USA at IDAS 2006

FIFTH INTERNATIONAL DEBATE ACADEMY SLOVENIA

For university students and trainers/teachers
17th – 25th November 2007, Ormož/Ljubljana, Slovenia

The website and the application forms are at
http://debate.uvm.edu/idas2007.html

The news blog with updates is at
http://internationaldebateacademy.blogspot.com/

*THE FACULTY - DEBATE TRAINING SUPERSTARS FROM MANY CONTINENTS*

Jens Fischer, Berlin Debating Union, Germany
Chief Adjudicator Europeans, famous Worlds/Euros correspondent, Euros final judge, founder of Berlin Debating Union.

Neill Harvey-Smith, UK
Worlds finalist in 2001, English Mace winner in 1999, Scottish Mace winner in 2002, Worlds Masters winner in 2006, won 25 IV tournaments, professional communication consultant. http://www.debatechamber.com/

Steve Llano, St. Johns University, USA
Won national championship in USA as coach, six years faculty at World Debate Institute, twice faculty at International Debate Academy.

Loke Wing Fatt, SAID, Singapore
WUDC breaking judge, legendary debate trainer in Asia, three times faculty at International Debate Academy, one of the world's most active debate trainers.

Branka Marušic, Croatia
EUDC President, Finalist at International Debate Academy, leading European debate organizer and high school trainer and coach.

Rhydian Morgan, UK
Chief Adjudicator at four tournments, European Open winner, professional communication consultant.

Sam Nelson, Cornell University, USA
Won national championship in USA as coach, organized ESU USA Tour 2007, three times faculty at International Debate Academy.

Uve Poom, Estonia
2007 Europeans ESL Champion, Finalist at International Debate Academy, organizer of Europeans Tallinn.

Bojana Skrt, Slovenia
Founder and director ZIP Slovenia, twice World Schools EFL world champion coach, in 2006-2007 school year held 234 debate events and 16 tournaments.

Alfred C. Snider, University of Vermont, USA
Director, World Debate Institute, 35 years as debate coach, fifth year at International Debate Academy as training director, multiple national championships in USA as a coach, editor of http://globaldebateblog.blogspot.com/, full details at http://debate.uvm.edu/acsprosevita.doc .

Watch for more additions.
*
AT THE END OF THE TRAINING SECTION OF THE PROGRAM WE WILL MOVE TO LJUBLJANA BY BUS AND HOLD AN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES DEBATE TOURNAMENT.

ATTEND JUST THE TOURNAMENT IF YOU WISH.

THERE WILL BE A SPECIAL TRACK FOR COACHES AND TRAINERS.*

===================

*CURRICULUM*

This is a preliminary curriculum plan. We will be adding more elements.

Each instruction day will have a morning session with: lecture, skill workshops, and a full critiqued debate; then lunch; followed by an afternoon session with: _two_ elective periods (multiple classes offered, you choose which you wish to attend) and a full critiqued debate. Evenings will be free.

We will break the attendees down into beginning, intermediate and advanced groups.

Lectures:

Beginners
1. Public speaking - Poom
2. Case development (both sides) - Marusic
3. Types of arguments - Harvey-Smith
4. Extensions & Points of Information - Fatt
5. Psychology of Debate - Nelson & Llano

Intermediate
1. Case development (both sides) Fatt & Nelson
2. Argument & Content Development - Poom
3. Extensions & Whip Speeches - Marusic
4. Rhetoric & Style - Morgan
5. Points of Information - Fischer

Advanced
1. Clash - Harvey-Smith
2. Framing - Harvey Smith
3. Points of Information & Style - Snider
4. International Relations - Poom
5. Political Philosophy - Morgan

Electives:

Students will vote on arrival for the electives they most prefer, and those will be offered and the most popular will be offered more than once. The ballot will have paragraph explanations of the elecives. More electives will be added in the next two weeks.

Poom:
Intl relations 1
Intl relations 2
Economics for idiots
Debating about rights

Fatt:
Research methods
Humor
Rebutting
Bangkok 2008 Prep
Drills & games for learning to debate
Motion analysis

Marusic:
Motion interpretation
Finding evidence
Case division
Counter proposals

Morgan:
Style vs. substance
Identifying clash
Newman hierarchy
Principles of criminal justice
Zen debating - knifing without the knife

Harvey-Smith:
Economics
Philosophy
Extensions

Snider:
Notes
Your 15 minutes prep
Mine is bigger than yours
Other debate formats

Llano:
Samurai debate
Classical rhetorical theory
Team based research
Advanced opposition strategy

Fischer:
Coming soon

Skrt:
Coming soon

Nelson:
Coming soon

Coach Sessions: (offered during electives)
Experiential learning - Poom
Drills and games to teach debate - Fatt
Adjudication - Harvey-Smith
Full long-term training program model - Snider
Team based research strategy - Llano
Many more to come

*SCHEDULE*

FIFTH INTERNATIONAL DEBATE ACADEMY SLOVENIA
NOVEMBER 2007

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17 2007
Arrival Day
1700 Opening Session
Introductions
Introduction to the format
Exhibition debate
Discussion of exhibition debate
1900 Dinner
Socialize and find a debate partner

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18 2007
730-845 Breakfast
845 Morning announcements
900 Lecture
1015-1130 Exercises
1130 Announcement of motion
1200 Practice debate
1330 Lunch
1500 Elective 1
1600 Elective 2
1700 Announcement of motion
1730 Practice debate
1900 Dinner
Evening – Country Exhibition

MONDAY NOVEMBER 19 2007
730-845 Breakfast
845 Morning announcements
900 Lecture
1015-1130 Exercises
1130 Announcement of motion
1200 Practice debate
1330 Lunch
1500 Elective 1
1600 Elective 2
1700 Announcement of motion
1730 Practice debate
1900 Dinner
Evening – Open

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 20 2007
730-845 Breakfast
845 Morning announcements
900 Lecture
1015-1130 Exercises
1130 Announcement of motion
1200 Practice debate
1330 Lunch
1500 Elective 1
1600 Elective 2
1700 Announcement of motion
1730 Practice debate
1900 Dinner
Evening – Open

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 21 2007
730-845 Breakfast
845 Morning announcements
900 Lecture
1015-1130 Exercises
1130 Announcement of motion
1200 Practice debate
1330 Lunch
1500 Elective 1
1600 Elective 2
1700 Announcement of motion
1730 Practice debate
1900 Dinner
Evening – Open

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22 2007
730-845 Breakfast
845 Morning announcements
900 Lecture
1015-1130 Exercises
1130 Announcement of motion
1200 Practice debate
1330 Lunch
1500 Elective 1
1600 Elective 2
1700 Announcement of motion
1730 Practice debate
1900 Dinner
Evening – Country Exhibition

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23 2007
730-845 Breakfast
845 Morning announcements
900 Bus to Ljubljana
Check into Ljubljana dorms
1300 Lunch
1200-1400 Registration for tournament
1400 Judging briefing
1500 Opening ceremonies
1530 Announcement of motion
1600 Round 1
1730 Announcment of the motion
1800 Round 2
1930 Dinner

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 24 2007
730-830 Breakfast
900 Announcement of the motion
920 Round 3
1130 Announcement of the motion
1150 Round 4
1300 Lunch
1430 Announcement of the motion
1450 Round 5
1700 Announcement of the motion
1720 Round 6
1930 Dinner & Break announcement
Break Party

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 25 2007
730-830
930 Announcement of pairings and motion
1000 Semifinals
Noon Finals
1330 Closing ceremonies

Swiss Public Speaking Contest

From http://emagazine.credit-suisse.com/app/article/index.cfm?fuseaction=OpenArticle&aoid=199709&coid=72934&lang=EN

Raphael Tschanz
Public Policy
If Only There Was No Audience
01.10.2007

Swiss Championship of Public Speaking:
This year’s Swiss Championship of Public Speaking takes place on Saturday, November 3, 2007, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Uetlihof Auditorium, Uetlibergstrasse 231 in Zurich. Doors open: 1:30 p.m.

Entrance fee at the door: CHF 15. Advance ticket sales: CHF 10
www.toastmasters.ch

All those who think holding a speech in front of an audience of strangers is difficult, prick up your ears: Toastmasters International is an association that aims to overcome people’s fear of public speaking. Toastmasters is the name the budding orators use to refer to themselves - and some of them go on to test their mettle at the Swiss Championship of Public Speaking.

Imagine that you are asked to give a short congratulatory speech at your best friend’s birthday party. The eyes of the audience - some of whom you know well, some rather less so - are on you. You can feel your heart begin to race. Your mouth is dry. You think, "I hope I can come up with something sensible to say." Most of us have been in a similar situation. "Public speaking would be easy, if only there was no audience," is a commonly held belief. Giving a presentation in public is a pretty tall order for most people. According to a US study¹, more people are afraid of having to give a speech than they are of sickness, losing their job, or even death. But help is at hand: Toastmasters is an international association that provides a platform for practicing the art of speaking in public. For a small fee, anyone can learn how to master such situations and progressively hone their public speaking skills.

An Idea Travels Around the World
In the US, on social occasions, a "toast" is traditionally proposed to the host and assembled guests. The general idea is to win over the audience in an entertaining manner and to honor those present. Ralph C. Smedley founded the "The Toastmasters Club" in California in 1924. The idea spread quickly and Toastmasters meetings were soon being held all over the nation. Over 80 years later, there are more than 11,000 Toastmasters clubs in over 90 countries throughout the world, with new ones being founded each year.

Toastmasters is also well established in Switzerland. There are presently 14 clubs catering for German, English and French speakers. "Four years ago there was only one Toastmasters club in Zurich. Now we're are about to launch the sixth," smiles Thomas Skipwith, founder of the Rhetorik Club Zürich and public speaking and presentation techniques coach. The underlying principle is the same wherever you go: members meet on a regular basis to practice both prepared and impromptu speaking.

Practice Makes Perfect
"Nobody is born with the ability to speak in front of an audience," says Orlando Gehrig, the present Chairman of the Rhetorik Club Zürich. The declared aim of the Toastmasters is for the greatest possible number of members to speak at each club meeting. These are planned in the minutest detail and resemble a real-life public speaking situation: The chairman opens the gathering and hands over to the "Toastmaster of the Evening", who is responsible for ensuring that things runs smoothly.

The meeting itself comprises three parts: Prepared speeches, impromptu speeches, and evaluation of the speeches. Evaluations are performed by members whose job is to analyze the speech from the point of view of a listener, and to provide the speakers with constructive feedback based on prescribed criteria. The listeners, after all, are the ones the message is intended for. "If I want to impress my clients and colleagues, I need to speak with confidence. The Toastmasters club is the ideal platform to practice," says Remo Di Giorgio, a Managing Director at Credit Suisse and member of Toastmasters.

Competitions at National and International Level
You don't need any particular qualifications to join Toastmasters - just a love of communicating. All the clubs have members whose primary goal is to master their stage fright and overcome their fear of speaking in front of an audience. Others go a step further and fine-tune their performance or work on rhetorical finesse. Long-term members in particular often want to extend their audience beyond the club and to measure their public speaking abilities against others. Toastmasters, therefore, organizes regular contests, the idea being that many people will be spurred on by speaking in competition against other speakers before a sizeable audience.

These competitions take place at national and international level. This year’s Swiss Championship of Public Speaking is once again supported by Credit Suisse and is being held at the Uetlihof Auditorium in Zurich on Saturday, November 3, 2007. The event provides a good opportunity to see the Toastmasters in action and to take the step from panic speaker to public speaker if need be.

Information about Toastmasters and a list of all the Swiss clubs can be found at www.toastmasters.ch.

¹David Wallechinsky et al., The Book of Lists, WM Morrow & Co., Inc., New York, 1987.

UK Northern Juniors Debating Competition

From http://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/article.php?sec=features&id=15929

This story appeared in the Greenock Telegraph Saturday, 6th October, 2007
Pupils show the way to win an argument
by Lorna Campbell

SPEAKING OUT: Two debating teams from St Columba’s travelled to Newcastle for a top competition. They are, from left, William Hesselman, of S3, Andrew Beverstock, Rebecca Meredith and Hannah Reilly, of S4.

YOUNG debaters from Kilmacolm have scooped their first major national prize.
The St Columba’s pupils took the top slot at the UK Northern Juniors Debating Competition.
Nearly 50 teams took part in the event, held at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle last weekend.
St Columba’s fielded two teams in the competition — Rebecca Meredith and Hannah Reilly and Andrew Beverstock and William Hesselman.
They debated well to reach the final of the competition, along with the High School of Dundee and Royal Grammar School of Newcastle.
Rebecca and Hannah, who won their three debates and were jointly the best speakers on tab, went on to win the final with a unanimous decision from the seven judges. Rebecca was also voted the best speaker in the final.
After the event, she said: “This was a tremendous achievement and all our efforts have paid off.
“Teams from our school have reached many finals before, but this the first time anyone has won a UK debating competition.”
Hannah said: “As nervous first-years, we debated as a team at this competition for the first time three years ago to the day.
“It means a lot to come back here and win in what was actually our last chance to debate together.”
The motions the teenagers debated during the competition were: ‘This house would compel all GB political parties to field 50 per cent women candidates in general elections’, ‘Force everyone to donate their organs after death for transplantation and medical research’ and ‘Ban home schooling’.
The final motion was; ‘This house would abolish all limits on immigration except those based on national security’.
Earlier this month, St Columba’s ran its own debating competition for the first time. Twelve schools participated, with Annabel Goldie MSP, Trish Godman MSP and David Cairns MP judging the final.
Schools competing at the Northern Juniors Debating Competition were invited to next year’s debating competition at St Columba’s School.

Budva Open 2007 for Schools

From sokrat@cg.yu

Dear friends,

I am delighted to inform you that Budva will be hosting the International Debate Championship in November 2007 – “Budva Open 2007”, organized by the Centre for Creative Communication “Logos” and “Danilo Kiš” High School. This is the second time we are organizing this kind of event, led by the successful and inspiring experience we had from the previous year. We kindly invite all debaters, coaches and international judges to take part in this international debate event and be our guests.

I am proud to announce that we are celebrating the 10^th year of the “Danilo Kiš” High School Debate club and I am sure that this anniversary will make this event even more unique.

The tournament itself will take place from 1^st to 4^th November in Budva (Montenegro), an ancient town on the Adriatic coast which has always been a place where rhetorics, freedom of speech, and public speaking were valuable part of everyday life. Budva has its special place in the short but meaningful history of debate program not only in Montenegro, but in the region as well.

All other (probably more importantJ) notes about the tournament, can be found in the attachment.

We are looking foreword to seeing you all.

Sincerely yours,

Predrag Zenović

PR manager of ‘Logos’

+381 64 415 4 985

+382 69 405 606

From the attachment

BUDVA OPEN 2007
International Debating Tournament
Budva, November 1st – 4th, 2007
Center for Creative Communication ˝Logos˝ in cooperation with
Secondary School «Danilo Kis» from Budva, is organizing INTERNATION
DEBATE TOURNAMENT FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS – BUDVA OPEN 2007.

MOTIONS:
1. ˝Elite tourism is a better prospect than mass tourism˝
2. ˝All springs of fresh water should be exclusively exploited by state
institution˝
3. Impromptu
4. Impromptu

Format: Karl Popper
Language: English
Participation fee: 25€ per person
Registration: October 3rd-20th, 2007.
For registration and other questions please contact:
Krsto Vukovic vkrsto@cg.yu
Nataša Drcelic +382/ 069/656-155

SCHEDULE

November 1st, 2007.
Arrivals of the participants 12.00
Teams’ registration 13.00
Opening ceremony 15.00
Announcing the motion 16.00
Debate 17.00
Dinner 19.00
Presentation of contestant countries
(Country exhibition) 20.00
Free time

November 2nd, 2007.
Breakfast 8.00
Debate 9.00
Debate 10.30
Lunch 12.00
Excursion 13.00
Debate 16.30
Debate 18.00
Dinner 19.00
Celebration ten years of work
of Debate club Secondary School
˝Danilo Kiš˝ - Budva 20.00

November 3rd, 2007.
Breakfast 8.30
Announcing the motion 9.30
Debate 10.30
Lunch 12.00
Excursion 13.00
Finals 16.00
Closing ceremony 18.00
Dinner 19.00
Free time

November 4th, 2007.
Departure of participants

World Universities Peace Invitational Debates Field Announced

While there is still time to register for this amazing event, which combines the finest competition, adjudication, hospitality and the theme of peace, and now that registration is open, the confirmed teams have been announced.

From hngasia@yahoo.com

Listed below are the institutions that have confirmed their participation for CIMB WUPID,

Australian National University, Australia
International Islamic University, Malaysia
Monash University, Australia
Multimedia University, Malaysia
National University Of Singapore
Queen’s University, Canada
Singapore Management University, Singapore
Universiti Teknologi Mara, Malaysia
University College Cork, Ireland
University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
University of Oxford, United Kingdom
University of Queensland, Australia
University of Sydney, Australia
University of Vermont, United States

IF you have interests in attending CIMB WUPID, or
IF you are interested but need some more time to decide or,
IF you might come but you are still waiting for managements approval, or
IF you would definitely come but you haven’t finalized the debaters, or
IF you are invited and you want the organizers to stop bugging you with reminders, or
IF you don’t know what CIMB WUPID is, or
IF you feeling lonely and need someone to talk to, or
IF you need any advice on relationship, pet care, life, travel, fashion, etc;

Please do not hesitate to contact me at your soonest convenience. Otherwise, looking forward to seeing you at the inaugural CIMB WUPID this December.

Cheers !!

Ahmed Ilyas bin Adam
Tournament Organizer,
CIMB WUPID

Join the best teams and adjudicators in beautiful Malaysia this December http://www.wupid.hngsc.com/
While I'm writing this, there's about 2 months left for the inaugural CIMB Group World Universities Peace Invitational Debate (CIMB WUPID) 2007. Our Sponsors and the organizing committee has been working 24 hours a day to ensure a great and memorable tournament. As registration for the invited teams have been opened, it has come to our notice that there are a few teams that could not make it for the tournament due to some unforeseeable circumstances (exams, university approval etc).

Proudly we at CIMB WUPID would like to open up registration of interests for teams who would like to come and compete in tournament. All you need to do is, email me at Ilyas@hngsc.com and leave your contact details i.e. email add, handphone number.

Another important note is that, an invitation to CIMB WUPID would also mean access to a entirely free tournament and a chance to win prizes worth MYR 18, 000. The cost of accommodation, food, venues and socials would all be absorbed by the organizer. Each institution is allowed to send a maximum of 2 teams (4 debaters) and the N=1 rule would apply for adjudicators. Any more than that, observers would have to pay a rego fee of 100 USD.

Kindly express your interest via email as we are looking forward to finalize the participants. Looking forward to see you at the inaugural CIMB WUPID.

Cheers !!

Organizers,
CIMB WUPID

Worlds MINI & Bangladesh Open Updates

From stalinhasan@yahoo.com

The organizing committee of Worlds MINI and Bangladesh Open would like to thanks all the registered participants form India, Malaysia, Korea, Philippine, Australia, Pakistan and other parts of the world for their registration. We are 20 days way to the registration closing. We would like to remind all of our prospective participants to register as soon as possible. We are going to reach our championship team cap very soon like this year WUDC.

For registration please visits our online registration page at http://www.bangladeshopen.net/registration_policy.htm

We are currently having very experience adjudication panel for this Esteemed Global BP Debating Championship which is led by Ravi Prajapati, chief adjudicator internal to this year WUDC. Participants of this year World Universities Debating Championship and many Teams, who are failed to register to WUDC 2008, all will get the mint of WUDC in this Worlds MINI in Bangladesh. We are planning to accommodate 100 teams which will open the door for these universities to experience World Class BP Debating Championship in South Asian region.

Please visit Bangladesh Open 2007 and Worlds MINI 2007 official website at

http://www.bangladeshopen.net/

The organizing committee has also decided to raise the Local (Bangladeshi Teams) registration fees for the Championship. According to the new registration policy the local teams from Bangladesh have to pay USD 100 for per team. And the Local Adjudicator will pay USD 50 for this grand championship.

We are working 24/7 for this Championship to make it a grate and memorable one for our participants from around the World and we are confident with our Most Experience adjudication panel and with championship utilities; that Bangladesh Open 2007 and Worlds MINI 2007 will give you memories to remember.

The Final Adjudication Core Bangladesh Open 2007 and Worlds MINI

Chief Adjudicator,

Rashedul Hasan Stalin

Team Leader Bangladesh National Debating Championship in 2003, 2004 Top Speaker in Bangladesh Nation Intervarsity Debating Championship 2003 and 2004

Chief Adjudicator in BP Bangladesh Pre Worlds 2005, 2006 and 2007
Chief Adjudicator IUT Bangladesh National Intervarsity Debating Championship 2005
Top Ranked Adjudicator in UU National Intervarsity Debating Championship 2007
Bangladesh National Schools Debating Coach 2006 and 2007
Octofinalist Coach with Team Bangladesh in WSDC 2006
Participated WUDC 2004, 2005 and in 2007, AUDC in 2005

Ravi Prajapati CA External

Ravi is Internal Chief Adjudicator for this year World Universities Debating Championship WUDC 2008. He was the chief adjudicator of All-Asians 2004 and Current Vice President of Australasian
Intervarsity Debating Association AIDA. He has a very strong adjudication profile. He has been Grand Finalist adjudicator at two All Asians. He is also two times Grand Finalist Adjudicator of Asian Universities Debating Championship, broke to Quarter Finals as an adjudicator at the Australs at UTM 2007 .He is DCA for the 4th AUDC 2008 hosted by International Islamic University Malaysia, KL.

Claudia Newman-Martin DCA from Australia (ANU)

Claudia ranked 5th best speaker in Australasian 2007. She adjudicated the Octo finals, semi finals and the Grand Final of Australian National Debating Championships in 2007. This year she
debated at the Melbourne pre-Australs tournament. She was ranked 7th as a speaker at that championship. Claudia attended Australs in 2006 and her team broke 12th. She was the Undefeated Australian National Debating Champions at the Australian National Debating Championship in 2006. She also attended the Sydney British Parliamentary Championships and her team made the semi finals. In December, she attended the Melbourne British Parliamentary Debating Championships and was in the semis. Claudia was ranked 7th as a speaker. In 2005 Claudia attended Australs and was ranked 9th best speaker. Her team broke 4th. She also attended the Australian National Women's British Parliamentary Debating Championships same year and her team was in the grand final.

Alex Dukalskis DCA from USA

Alex was placed 7th 2004 US NPDA National Debating Tournament; 13^th as a speaker in 2004 US NPDA National Tournament; Grand Champion, 2004 IDEA-NPDA Vilnius Open in Vilnius, Lithuania; 1st Speaker, 2004 IDEA-NPDA Minsk Open in Minsk, Belarus. Alex has conducted debate trainings in the US, China, Korea, Uganda, and the Czech Republic. He has also trained students from many countries, including South Africa, Isreal, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, Palestine, Moldova, Slovenia, etc.

Fareez Bin Zahir DCA from Malaysia

As an adjudicator Fareez Bin Zahir was the Chief Adjudicator for IIUM Debate League, DCA for National Inter-school Debate in Malaysia. Fareez Bin Zahir as debater has been very successful:
broken at Australs, reached semi finals of Asian Universities Debating Championship AUDC, He was also crowned as Malaysian National Champion.

Tarique Shakil DCA from Thailand

Top Ten Speakers in Thailand twice, Thailand National Championship Semi-finalist twice; he broke 10th at All-Asians in 2005 and at Singapore Hammers 6th in 2005. Besides that he really loves to organize the championship. He is the Tournament Director of this year WUDC 2008 and for the largest All-Asians in history in 2004. At the Vancouver Worlds he chaired 5 rounds as an adjudicator.

Mohammad Saddam Hossain (Local)

Bangladesh National Intervarsity Debating Champion in 2005
Deputy Chief Adjudicator in Bangladesh Pre Worlds 2005, 2006, 2007
Top Speaker in 2005 IUT Bangladesh National Debating Championship
Participated WUDC 2005, AUDC 2005

Azim Ahmed (Local)

Bangladesh National Intervarsity Debating Champion in 2006
Deputy Chief Adjudicator in Bangladesh Pre Worlds 2005, 2006, 2007
Top Speaker in 2006 IBA Bangladesh National Debating Championship
Participated WUDC 2005, 2006

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin
Chief Adjudicator,
IUT 1st Bangladesh Open 2007, Worlds MINI and South-East Asians 2007
Cell: 88-01715495119
Email: stalinhasan@...
Email in Words: stalinhasan [at] gmail [dot] com
Founding Chair, Bangladesh Debating Council-BDC
Author & Contributor,
World Debating Website http://worlddebating.blogspot.com
Asian Debating Website http://asiandebating.blogspot.com
BDC E-mail list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bdcbd
BDC Website: http://debatebangladesh.tripod.com

Mabroor Wassey
Convener,
IUT 1st Bangladesh Open 2007; Worlds MINI and South-East Asians 2007
President, IUT Debating Society
Cell: 88-01712603444
Email: mabroorw@...
Email in Words: mabroorw[at]gmail[dot]com

National Debate Tournament Policy Debate Swepstakes Rankings

This uses a somewhat different ranking system than the CEDA sweeptakes.

Still early in the season.

From http://commweb.fullerton.edu/jbruschke/web/NDTPoints.aspx

Overall rankings - all levels of debate competition

Rank School Total Points

1 Kansas (Univ. of) 127
2 Kansas State 117
3 Gonzaga 101
4 Southern California 101
5 Wichita State 100
6 Missouri-Kansas City 95
7 Binghamton 85
8 Texas (Austin) 84
9 Texas San Antonio 76
10 Northern Iowa (Univ.) 75
11 Missouri State 75
12 Oklahoma 75
13 Miami 73
14 Texas-Dallas 69
15 John Carroll Univers 68
16 CSU Fullerton 67
17 U.S. Military Academy 66
18 Cornell University 63
19 Liberty University 60
20 Whitman College 51
21 Minnesota 50
22 California 49
23 Redlands 48
24 Appalachian State 46
25 Illinois State University 46
26 Emporia State U. 45
27 Central Oklahoma (Un 45
28 Illinois (University of) 45
29 San Francisco State 44
30 Dartmouth 44

Varsity Debate Rankings

School Total Points

1 Kansas (Univ. of) 127
2 Gonzaga 101
3 Southern California 101
4 Wichita State 87
5 Texas (Austin) 84
6 Kansas State 83
7 Missouri State 75
8 Miami 66
9 CSU Fullerton 64
10 Binghamton 54
11 Texas San Antonio 52
12 Texas-Dallas 52
13 Whitman College 51
14 California 49
15 Redlands 48
16 Liberty University 44
17 Dartmouth 44
18 Idaho State 42
19 Macalester 40
20 Central Oklahoma (Un 39

National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence Top 30 Teams

With only six tournaments counted, and all of them are west of the Mississippi.

Still early in the season.

From http://npte.debateaddict.com/unleashed/rank.php?npteyear=2008

Rank Team Name NPTE Points Prelim Wins Prelim Losses Win Pct
1 Washburn NJ (Chris Neill / Jeff Jones) 24.10 17 4 80.950%
2 Texas Tech PO (Putnicki / Owen) 23.00 11 2 84.620%
3 Drury RD (Scott Ross / Jeff Davis) 22.10 16 5 76.190%
4 Washburn AJ (Joe Allen / Joelle Jasper) 21.06 17 4 80.950%
5 Western Kentucky MP (Mullins / Parke) 16.80 11 1 91.670%
6 Washburn DO (Tyler Dooley / Jessica Otto) 16.50 10 3 76.920%
7 Western Kentucky MS (Chad Meadows / Tom Schally) 14.80 9 3 75.000%
8 Washburn CS (Annaleigh Curtis / Marcus Schultz-Bergin) 14.50 10 3 76.920%
9 Western Kentucky BlH (Brian Bloss / Kelcy Hathaway) 12.80 9 3 75.000%
10 CSU - Long Beach JP (Aj Jenkins / Jacqueline Paterno) 12.30 9 4 69.230%
11 Western Kentucky FM (Jessica Furgerson / Rachel Mosley) 11.80 9 3 75.000%
12 Washburn AU (Scottie Abbott / Daniel Usera) 11.50 8 5 61.540%
13 Willamette CL (Pete Crisalli / Eric Lowe) 11.00 5 1 83.330%
14 Truman AG (Sara Archer / Chris Girouard) 11.00 9 4 69.230%
15 Western Kentucky BH (Don Bailey / Josh Harzman) 10.80 9 3 75.000%
16 Abilene Christian GS (Tony Godfrey / Brandon Smith) 10.30 6 0 99.999%
17 Lewis&Clark AC (Atcheson / Cheesewright) 9.50 6 0 99.999%
18 UNR AP (Max Alderman / David Pena) 9.30 5 1 83.330%
19 Truman BR (Mark Buchheit / Dylan Rothermel) 9.00 7 6 53.850%
20 Washburn CM (Nathan Miller / Shanna Carlson) 9.00 7 6 53.850%
21 Rice DH (Kirti Datla / Hrishi Hari) 8.50 5 2 71.430%
22 Texas Tech HM (Jeremy Henderson / Mike Mitchell) 8.31 9 5 64.290%
23 Oregon PD (Katherine Preston / Ben Dodds) 8.00 6 1 85.710%
24 Wyoming RR (Tony Roberts / Jess Ryan) 8.00 6 1 85.710%
25 Whitman FW (Chris Fleming / Jeff Wilson) 8.00 5 1 83.330%
26 Western Kentucky CS (Jason Carey / Sarah Spiker) 7.80 6 0 99.999%
27 Western Kentucky SW (Rob Strobel / Amber Williams) 7.80 6 0 99.999%
28 Wheaton JS (Ryan June / Talia Staten) 7.80 6 6 50.000%
29 UCM-MG (Janice McCambridge / Andrew Goring) 7.55 10 11 47.620%
30 SIU CD (Kevin Calderwood / Kyle Dennis) 7.50 6 0 99.999%

Policy Sweepstakes: Kansas, Kansas State, Binghamton lead

Here are the top 20 rankings in the Cross Examination Debate Association sweepstakes race for the 2007-2008 school year. Of course, it is very early in the season. Many schools have yet to start the season, and not all tournaments are included.

I would say that the state of Kansas is leading in the states race, with three of the top four schools.

From http://www.cedadebate.org/ceda0708oct4.pdf

Rank School Region Total TB
N1 Kansas MA 19 3 27 3 46 6
N2 K State MA 25 6 17 0 42 6
N3 Binghamton NE 38 10 38 10
N4 Wichita State MA 24 6 13 1 37 7
N5 Southern California SCA 30 4 6 0 36 4
N6 UMKC MA 26 6 8 0 34 6
N7 Gonzaga NW 17 4 17 0 34 4
N8 California W 15 5 17 0 32 5
N9 Miami OH EC 29 8 29 8
N10 Oklahoma MA 24 4 2 0 26 4
11 Texas San Antonio SC 21 2 5 0 26 2
12 Texas SC 11 0 15 0 26 0
13 Northern Iowa NC 17 5 8 0 25 5
14 Army NE 24 4 24 4
15 Liberty MidAtl 24 3 24 3
16 Cornell NE 23 1 23 1
17 Missouri State MA 13 0 8 0 21 0
18 Texas Dallas SC 10 0 10 0 20 0
19 Dartmouth NE 19 5 19 5
20 Minnesota EC 19 5 19 5

"News for Debaters" Website Created

Debaters, especially those involved in the WUDC/BP formats (as well as other branches of extemporaneous debating) need to keep abreast of the news in a broad sense because they never know what kinds of topics they will be debating.

I have been working with my students at the University of Vermont to come up with a website that offers many links to many different news sources to support daily browsing of the news. Of course, this is not comprehensive in any way, and once a topic comes up you would pursue it in a more comprehensive fashion, but for now this is a start. This website was built by and for American debaters, but others might find it useful as well.

It is located at
http://debate.uvm.edu/newsfordebaters.html

Please feel free to send me additional links that would be useful for debaters. Send them to alfred.snider@uvm.edu.

Global Debate Refines its News Selection Process

As each month goes by I post a lot of debate stories at Global Debate http://globaldebateblog.blogspot.com. Last month I posted 60 stories, or about two per day. This post represents an attempt to improve on the news stream and how I choose things for inclusion.

There are some items which should not be carried because any fair addition of them would totally flood the system. These include:

• Stories in the local press about how XYZ high school did in the local tournament;
• Blogs of specific teams talking about how they did at a tournament;
• Local league announcements and business;
• Local tournament invitations and results.

On the other hand, there are stories I should probably continue to carry (and perhaps increase), such as:

• International tournament invitations and results;
• News about international debate organizations;
• News about debate appearing in new sectors of society;
• News about debate appearing in new and unexpected countries;
• New kinds of competitions and organizations;
• International debate rankings;
• Information about new instructional resources;
• Debate related things that are hard to believe;
• News about debate being staged and presented in new ways;
• International conferences and meetings related to debating;
• Reports from the debate frontiers and front lines;
• Other new and interesting things that will certainly happen.

I will be adding an infrequent editorial from time to time. Do not worry, it will be clearly marked as such.

I will also be restructuring the news feeds I use at http://debatenews.blogspot.com/, which is where I get many of my stories.

I want to salute my fellow debate news gatherers who are a resource and an inspiration to me, such as the World Debating Website at http://worlddebating.blogspot.com/ of Colm Flynn as well as the Asian Debating Website at http://asiandebating.blogspot.com/ of Rashedul Hasan Stalin.

Kosovo Television Debate Program Explores Media Performance

From http://www.birn.eu.com/en/1/50/5146/

Life in Kosovo to debate balance-sheet of Kosovo public service broadcaster RTK

21 09 2007

Friday's Life in Kosovo show discussed and analyzed the achievements and shortcomings of RTK, Kosovo's public service radio and television station, on its eighth anniversary.

To discuss these and other issues, the following panellists were in the studio:

Baton Haxhiu, Director of the daily, EXPRESS
Argjentina Grazhdani, East-West Management Institute
Ibrahim Berisha, media expert
Milazim Krasniqi, member of the RTK board, and
Elida Ramadani, head of the Associated Press office in Kosovo

On September 19, 1999, the public radio television of Kosovo, RTK, started terrestrial and satellite broadcasts of a two-hour television programme. In October of the same year the OSCE transferred the former "Radio Pristina" into RTK, and re-launched it as "Radio Kosova."

RTK expanded its program to 15 hours and later on, in 2003, the public broadcaster started a new 24-hour broadcast schedule. In 2002 RTK launched a website. Its concept was renewed in 2006.

RTK now broadcasts terrestrial and satellite programmes, has two radio stations, Radio Kosova and Radio Blue Sky, and a website, where the audience can watch news and shows in video format, read news or listen to diverse radio programmes from RTK's radio stations.

For these services Kosovo electricity customers, pay within their bill an additional amount of €3.50 per month for the public broadcaster RTK.

During the debate the panel discussed if people are satisfied with the programmes that RTK offers. What are the successes of RTK, and which are the areas that need improvement? Where does RTK stand, compared to other public service television stations in the region and across Europe? Should we ask for more, or does RTK reflect the professional skills and abilities that Kosovo currently has to offer?

Milazim Krasniqi, member of the RTK board said that RTK always reports about others, and it is usual practice when marking an anniversary to reflect about one’s own successes and shortcomings.

"RTK on its eighth anniversary shows that there is an evident development", Krasniqi said.

He explained that RTK has always managed to function normally, despite the difficult circumstances.

"RTK doesn't have its own buildings", he said and emphasized that even though RTK operates in the buildings that once belonged to Pristina Radio Television, they didn't have the ownership - the Kosovo Trust Agency, KTA, still manages the buildings.

Baton Haxhiu, said it is worth paying the €3.50 for RTK.

"We're talking here about education and access to information", he said and added: "I think they have done a successful job."

However, Haxhiu criticized the work of the radio stations which operate within RTK.

"RTK has its own weaknesses in the editorial concept, in its concentration on television and not on the radio stations. Radio Kosova is its weakest point", he said.

Argjentina Grazhdani, explained that RTK is on its way to becoming an independent broadcaster, but is still not fully independent.

She also claimed that Haxhiu was too soft in his assessment.

"I see the weakness in television", she said, "RTK doesn’t offer enough to fulfil its task."

Ibrahim Berisha, media expert nominated for the next board of RTK, said that RTK needs to concentrate more on gathering information from the field.

"We have to create seven TV centres in the whole of Kosovo, and to decentralize the staff in order to cover all parts", Berisha explained.

Elida Ramadani, said that she sees the weakness in the journalists who work for RTK.

"They are lazy", she said and added: "RTK could have achieved more, but the problem lies with the journalists and editors".

Haxhiu disagreed with her, saying poor performance was due to lack of competition.

"The competition with the other televisions is weak", he said and explained that "other televisions have to do more regarding news production in order to have a stronger structure of journalists."

Krasniqi agreed at some point with Ramadani.

"Many journalistic standards have not been met", he said.

According to Krasniqi, the selection of the staff was made by the international team in 2001. "The international staff worked without regulations", he complained.

Krasniqi also pointed out that RTK did invest a lot in journalist trainings during the last years.

A few months ago the Kosovo Electricity Corporation decided to cancel the deal for collecting the €3.50 television licence fee, but under pressure from RTK’s supporters that decision was revoked.

Krasniqi complained that the action to remove the licence payment for RTK was an attack on the part of the government.

Grazhdani said that finance is always a problem, but it would not benefit RTK to make such accusations.

“You should not say that it was an attack from the government's side", she said.

Krasniqi disagreed with her strongly.

"If a minister says he hates RTK, isn't that pressure? Isn't that an attack against us?" Krasniqi asked rhetorically.

Panellists analyzed during the debate the professional work of journalists
and took concrete examples when journalists have been unprofessional during their work.

"In these cases it's also the editors’ fault", Haxhiu said.

Meanwhile Grazhdani emphasized that journalists make mistakes because they are not well informed.

"Why do they interview the Minister of Justice instead of interviewing the head of the Judicial Council, when it comes to courts and the judicial system?" she wondered, and pointed out that journalists do not even read basic laws and regulations.

Grazhdani emphasized that it is very important to give the right information to the audience, because RTK is also an educational institution.

Berisha explained that journalists should investigate more, they should also be specialized in different fields in order to cover diverse areas properly and more professionally.

"However, it is also up to the individual how they do their work", Berisha said.

Ramadani also stressed that RTK lacks a place.

"With only two studios, it's difficult to produce programmes of good quality – if everything is constantly on the move", she said.

Ramadani complained again about the work of editors, and Haxhiu interjected by saying that in Kosovo journalists can become editors with only two years’ experience, and that there is nothing else one could expect.

"Kosovo doesn't have enough people", Haxhiu said.

Krasniqi said that he agrees with Haxhiu. "We need good editors and producers and I'm always emphasizing that we need to train them more", he said.

Life in Kosovo is a weekly television debate with the highest audience ratings for current affairs programming in Kosovo after the evening news.

The show is a co-production of BIRN and Kosovo's public service television, RTK. It is broadcast every Friday, beginning at 20.15

World Universities Peace Invitational Debates is Accepting Open Registration

Previously this tournament was only accepting registration from schools in the world top rankings. Now there are some spots for open registration. Act quickly if you want to be part of it!

See website at http://www.wupid.hngsc.com/

While I'm writing this, there's about 72 days left for the inaugural CIMB Group World Universities Peace Invitational Debate (CIMB WUPID) 2007. Our Sponsors and the organizing committee has been working 24 hours a day to ensure a great and memorable tournament. As registration for the invited teams have been opened, it has come to our notice that there are a few teams that could not make it for the tournament due to some unforeseeable circumstances (exams, university approval etc).

Proudly we at CIMB WUPID would like to open up registration of interests for teams who would like to come and compete in tournament. All you need to do is, email me at HYPERLINK "mailto:Ilyas@hngsc.com" Ilyas@hngsc.com and leave your contact details i.e. email add, handphone number.

Another important note is that, an invitation to CIMB WUPID would also mean access to a entirely free tournament and a chance to win prizes worth MYR 18, 000. The cost of accommodation, food, venues and socials would all be absorbed by the organizer. Each institution is allowed to send a maximum of 2 teams (4 debaters) and the N=1 rule would apply for adjudicators. Any more than that, observers would have to pay a rego fee of 100 USD.

Kindly express your interest via email as we are looking forward to finalize the participants. Looking forward to see you at the inaugural CIMB WUPID.

Cheers !!

Organizers,
CIMB WUPID

Here is a note I wrote about the event with some things you might want to consider.

The CIMB Group World Universities Peace Invitational Debate is a unique debating opportunity that any eligible school should be anxious to attend. It provides a unique opportunity for competition, acting as a veritable “tournament of champions” as well as featuring a unique theme that the debating community should embrace more, “peace.” This is especially important at this time for American debating universities.

There are a number of elite schools that are eligible to attend the CIMB WUPID. Most of them get a chance to debate against a few other elite schools from time to time at tournaments in their region, or every year they might have a chance to debate some of them at WUDC. But, these opportunities are rare and punctuated by debates against other fine teams that are not among the global elite. At CIMB WUPID, however, debate after debate will be against the finest teams in the worlds, and the elimination rounds should be some of the finest debates anywhere in the world. Each round will consist of an incredibly impressive foursome of debate teams. Such an event would only happen in the later elimination rounds at WUDC. This will be a unique opportunity to debate the best and become even better in the process. Such an opportunity just before WUDC in Bangkok is ideal for teams hoping for a strong finish at WUDC. CIMB WUPID is, without a doubt, a tournament of champions. A strong
CIMB WUPID showing, against the best in the world, is something any debate program can be extremely proud of.

Every debater knows many quotations from Winston Churchill, but one of my favorites is, “To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war.” It is a quotation I remembered reading in one of the first real international relations books that I saw as a very young man and it remained in my mind. It also seeded in me the idea that debate and discussion are not only better to be in than a battle, but that they just might, with effort and time, come to be a technique that might be used to replace battle. While in previous eras some deliberative establishments were mocked as just “talking shops,” now we see that such activities can be very useful in avoiding conflicts that cost sacred blood and valuable treasure. The CIMB WUPID has come out bravely with the theme of peace, and backs it up with the best debating universities in the world. This juxtaposition is a continuation of a theme that I have dedicated my life to. Events in a region such as Korea, on the brink of war with peace never negotiated, have themes such as “replacing weapons with words,” that has also been used with inner city American students from communities rife with gang violence and at various training programs in different parts of the world. We see around us the follies and difficulties of the pre-emptive use of arms while at the same time seeing the successes of pre-emptive use of discussion between those who disagree, such as the progress in the six party talks with the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea about nuclear issues. We are not naïve, instead we are hopeful. We make a personal commitment to this process by supporting the CIMB WUPID. I think it is one of the most important things that those invited to attend can do. Stand and debate with us in a celebration of the possibilities that debate can promote peace and decrease the need for war.

Finally, I want to share some thoughts with American institutions that have been invited but have not yet confirmed. There is a growing movement in America towards British parliamentary debate in the WUDC mold. Many schools committed to American parliamentary debating are now embracing the WUDC format, a number of schools doing non-parliamentary debating are beginning to adopt WUDC style debating (such as a group of schools from New England who are beginning this fall) and American schools are doing better and better at WUDC. I urge all invited American schools to attend so that they can fully join this elite community at a tournament of champions while embracing a powerful theme for the 21st Century, peace. With the rewards that come with placing in the top universities in the world comes the responsibility to represent. I strongly believe that American debaters can show their talents, but to do so they should take this chance to debate the best of the best.

I am proud to have been invited as the external observer to CIMB WUPID. I intend to learn from the best and share my hopes for a better future. I urge all of you who are eligible to attend this wonderful and timely opportunity, the CIMB Group World Universities Peace Invitational Debate.

Written by:
Alfred C. Snider aka Tuna
University of Vermont
World Debate Institute
He can be contacted at alfred.snider@uvm.edu

For more news on CIMB WUPID, visit http://www.wupid.hngsc.com or http://wordpress.com/tag/cimb-wupid/

Dutch to Have National Debate on the State of their Democracy

From http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/236740/PREVIEW_Dutch_to_hold_public_debate_on_state_of_their_democracy

<== Holland from space

Dutch to hold public debate on state of their democracy

The Dutch are due to launch a public debate on the state of their national democracy Friday.

The week-long event is to be launched on public television Friday evening with the publication of the largest opinion poll ever held on the state of the Dutch democracy.

Some 200,000 Dutch nationals spent 21 minutes between August and October 1 filling out an online survey developed by consultancy company McKinsey. The survey asked Dutch citizens about the state of Dutch democracy, civil rights and current affairs.

The Dutch democracy week is part of a global event, Why Democracy?, a project initiated by 40 international television broadcasters.

Among them are the BBC, Finnish and Danish public broadcasters, as well as the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television channel. The international free newspaper Metro is also participating in the event.

Between October 5 and October 12, the 40 broadcasters participating in the global event will air a variety of talk shows, documentaries and movies dealing with the theme of democracy.

They hope to reach an audience of some 300 million people in Europe and beyond.

Independent filmmakers from China, India, Japan, Liberia, US, Bolivia, Denmark, Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan and Russia have made films on a great variety of subjects.

There are documentaries on themes as diverse as torture methods employed by the authorities in the US, the election of a class monitor in a Chinese primary school and the scandal arising from the publication of caricatures of Mohammed in a Danish newspaper.

The audience is invited to join in the national and international debate in real life and in internet-based discussions.

There will be public debates in several cities, including Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

On the website www.wijzijndebaas.nl (we are the boss), Dutch nationals can participate in a number of debates on how to improve Dutch governance and local democracy.

Most of the polls carried out in the Netherlands match personal preference with official party programmes, not with actual policies practised once politicians are elected in parliament.

The poll developed by Institute for Public and Politics (IPP) for Democracy Week is based on political choices made by the legislators after their election in parliament.

By asking people their opinion on 25 current affairs issues in national politics, the poll will then make voting recommendations to people based on legislators' actual political behaviour.

The results from the last similar poll developed by IPP, in which some 100,000 people participated, demonstrated the enormous gap between the Dutch electorate and the legislators.

On some issues, up to 85 per cent of the voters diverted from the legislator's opinion.

The symbolic election of a new national anthem by Dutch media on October 10 also forms part of the week.

The week will close on October 12 with a special debate aired on national public television, in which Dutch nationals may put questions directly to Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

Botswana WUDC Website Launched

Hello Everyone!

The University of Botswana Debate Masters Association is pleased to announce our bid website to the rest of the world debating community.

The website is at www.botswanaworlds.com, and more information will be put on the website in due course. All questions and comments should be emailed to debatemasters@yahoo.com or debate@botswanaworlds.com

We will be releasing more information about the bid soon. And hopefully we will be welcoming you to Botswana next year!

Justice Motlhabani
On behalf of the organising committee
Cell: +267 72467417
Email: jmotlhabani@yahoo.co.uk
--
Botswana Worlds 2010 : Visit http://www.botswanaworlds.com

Miami Urban Debate League is Loved by Students

From http://www.miamiherald.com/519/story/255402.html

Urban teenagers discover a passion for lively debates
Miami-Dade's Urban Debate League is giving hundreds of children -- most from inner-city schools -- a chance to find talents many didn't know they had.
Posted on Sun, Sep. 30, 2007

BY LAURA MORALES
llmorales@MiamiHerald.com

Elijah Drinks-Covenas argued with dramatic flair and expansive gestures that ''a poor work environment negatively affects retention and performance of health workers'' sent to Africa.

''About half of all funds donated for health efforts in sub-Saharan Africa will never reach the clinics and hospitals at the end of the line,'' said the 17-year-old Booker T. Washington High junior. ``We're throwing money into a bucket with no bottom.''

When his time ran out, Maria Bastos of Miami Beach Senior High stepped up to the podium. ''The African healthcare system is doomed to failure without reinforcement of human resources,'' she said. ``We must act fast to implement this plan for the future of Africa and the world.''

The lively exchange on lofty global affairs took place at the University of Miami, where the Miami-Dade Urban Debate League held its first debate of the school year, bringing together scores of teens from inner-city high schools across the county. Students represented such high schools as Carol City, Northwestern, Miami Senior, Miami Central and South Miami.

Reading used to bore many of them, but after joining the Debate League, which was founded in 2005 and targets high-poverty schools, the kids can't get enough trophies, medals and admiration from peers and parents.

Anthony Bonamy, 16, a junior at Miami Central, said there's no feeling like it. ``It makes me look forward to becoming a lawyer.''

''Many of these students come from difficult home lives, sometimes they just have so little interest in learning,'' said Anthony Jennings, a retired attorney who now teaches history and coaches the Booker T. debate team. ``But it's amazing how their attitudes can change after they realize that they can do this.''

So the kids show up. They spend hours after school and on weekends poring over evidence packets, looking up articles on the Web and bouncing arguments off one another. And all of Jennings' debate kids have improved their reading skills and passed their FCATs. They've also formed a bond with their coach.

''I had a kid call me at night because of a fight at home between his mom and sister,'' Jennings said. ``We've become like a family.''

Barbara Garrett, director of Miami-Dade's league, said she is pleasantly surprised at how the program has taken off here. ''Kids end up recruiting other kids and asking teachers to get involved,'' she said.

Garrett said that in 2005, the program had between 65 and 70 high school participants. In 2006, that number jumped to almost 100, with a new middle-school program attracting close to 40 students.

Now there are about 122 advanced (or varsity) debaters and 104 junior varsity novices, with 110 middle-school members. ''If you engage the kids and challenge them with an activity they enjoy, they come back,'' she said.

Angelo Brooks, a Baltimore cop who coaches that city's top urban debate team, the Walbrook High School Warriors, has been helping Garrett run the Miami-Dade competitions.

'Even though it's hard to quantify, the impact debate has on the kids' lives is tremendous. We're affecting tens of thousands of students who have to learn about intricate social topics,'' Brooks said.

This year, the team to beat comes from Bay Point, an alternative boarding school for boys who have had problems at home or scrapes with the law. Michael Hinkle, 17, whose parents have long been either physically or emotionally unavailable, was running with a bad crowd and jacking cars, his debate coach Sophia Elder said.

Now he leads his team, which won the top prize last year, and wants to study law. ''I've changed my way of looking at life,'' Michael said during a break Saturday. ``You learn patience, respect and discipline. I want to help more kids in the same situation I was.''

The kids are still waiting to learn who won Saturday's top prize. ''The tabulation software crashed,'' Garrett said.

James Roland, who helped develop the first urban debate league in Atlanta's Emory University, said the best thing is hearing about the kids' newfound ambitions. ``I love it when they tell me, I want to change my community. I want to change the world.''

Tabbie Software for BP Available for Free

From http://tabbie.wikidot.com/

Tabbie is Tab Software for British Parliamentary Debating Tournaments. It calculates the fairest possible draw for you, based on the official WUDC rules. It has an easy to use Web Interface, allowing input from multiple computers. Tabbie is very stable - it's been around since the NTU Worlds 2004 and is the software of choice for Bangkok Worlds 2008. Tabbie is Free (Open Source) Software.

Here is some Tabbie news:

September 30th, 2007

Klaas van Schelven has launched a new site: Smooth Tournament, which allows you to get you own password protected Tabbie installation in less than a minute.

15 August 2007

The Bangkok Worlds 2008 team has chosen Tabbie as its Tab system. A roadmap of features is to be prepared for the tournament in the coming weeks. We are looking for tournaments that are willing to try Tabbie out before the big one.

1 August 2007

The developer team is growing quickly after recent PR activities. Most noticably, the orginal developers (Deepak Jois and Aditya Krishnan) have joined the team. The current team size is 4 people. 30th July 2007
Tabbie 1.2 is released. This version has not yet been tested on a live tournament, if you want this, use version 1.0. New features are:

Reorganisation of the print module
Print module works in the online demo (example)
Draw is publically defended and claimed to be the world's best (more…)
Sat 21th July 2007

Tabbie 1.1 is released. This release contains a number of features from the wishlist that followed out of the IDC tournament. This version has not yet been tested on a live tournament, if you want this, take version 1.0. New features are:

Added Overview Page / Dashboard / Wizard.
Added motions input module.
Added an integrated one-click backup module (for linux/unix systems).

California State Tournament Refuses to Apologize or Move from Passover Date

From http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=18279

2007-10-01
No debate about it -- California high school tournament takes place on Passover
By Julie Gruenbaum Fax, Education Editor

The California high school debate tournament traditionally attracts more than 800 contestants to its weekend-long event, many of them Jewish and all of them students who have worked long and hard to prepare for the intense competition.

Last May, when it was discovered that the next tournament, which long ago was scheduled for April 18-20, 2008, would conflict with the first night of Passover, Jewish leaders requested a date change from the California High School Speech Association (CHSSA), an independent group that organizes of the event. They were turned down.

After additional attempts to change the schedule failed, Jewish leaders this week issued an "Action Alert," asking people to contact the CHSSA and their school districts to pressure organizers to reschedule the tournament.

"There has been a real lack of flexibility," said Alison Mayersohn, senior associate director of the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) Pacific Southwest Region. "I think the irony is this is a group that sponsors debate tournaments, and one would expect that there could be a lot of open debate." The Southern and Northern California offices of the ADL and the Board of Rabbis, as well as the Jewish Community Relations Committees of the Los Angeles and San Francisco Federations have coalesced to try to try to get the date changed.

CHSSA president Sharon Prefontaine says the date has been on the calendar for more than two years, and she argues that changing it now would require breaking costly contracts with blocks of hotels and with Santa Clara University, where the tournament is scheduled to be held.

The annual State Speech and Debate Tournament attracts thousands of coaches, students and parents to the three-day championship event that is the culmination of local and regional competitions. Everyone agrees that the scheduling conflict was inadvertent, and even Jewish board members of CHSSA did not realize the problem until it was pointed out last spring. But because the family-oriented night of the seder is the most observed major holiday on the Jewish calendar, many Jewish students and coaches will not be able to participate and could lose their motivation for the year-round debates leading up to the state tournament.

CHSSA would not comment directly for this article, but referred inquiries to a statement recently posted on the organization's homepage: "We know that this conflict will force some of our membership to make a very difficult choice. Despite many individuals' involvement in the planning of the tournament, this circumstance was not realized until late May 2007. By the time it was brought to our attention, the venue (Santa Clara University) and the hotel blocks had already been contracted for. We pledge to make every effort to be aware of important religious and cultural dates in the future and take them into account when scheduling future state championship tournaments. We also encourage our membership to notify CHSSA in a timely manner of future dates that might create scheduling difficulties," the statement read.

The words "apology" and "sorry" were taken out of the final draft after prolonged debate among CHSSA board members, according to Doug Lasken, a board member who is the coach of the debate team at Taft High School in Woodland Hills, and who exposed the conflict last May.

CHSSA also refused to issue an apology when Jewish leaders appeared before its board Sept. 15. At that meeting, representatives of the Jewish community made the case for a date change, or at least a two-week period during which Jewish community members could work with CHSSA to investigate the feasibility of a change.

CHSSA voted down both motions, which were proposed by Lasken. The board also denied a request by Jackie Berman of the San Francisco Federation, who was speaking on behalf of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, to issue an apology to the Jewish community.

"I find this astonishing and frustrating, and I take that as a slap in the face to the Jewish community," said Southern California Board of Rabbis executive director Rabbi Mark Diamond, who himself competed as a high-school student on the debate team. "There is an attitude here that is profoundly disturbing, a total unwillingness to grapple with the issues, to even apologize for the mistakes and to work with people of good will toward trying to resolve this. There seems to be an attitude of, 'Tough. Too bad. Life is filled with difficult choices.' And I do not accept that."

Being granted slots at the Sept. 15 board meeting was the first direct response Jewish organizations have had from CHSSA.

Prefontaine, a teacher in Northern California who is president of the organization, did not respond to letters in June from the Jewish Community Relations Committees of San Francisco and Los Angeles, who were alerted to the issue by Lasken, the coach from Taft.

In response to an inquiry from The Jewish Journal in July, Prefontaine sent a statement detailing the logistical and procedural impossibility of changing the date.

While CHSSA operates on the academic calendar and does not meet over the summer, momentum has been building among the Jewish community as Lasken has gotten more organizations involved. But additional letters in September from the Federations as well as ADL went unanswered.

Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith leaders, part of the Los Angeles Council of Religious Leaders signed a letter supporting a date change after Diamond of the Board of Rabbis alerted the group to the situation.

Diamond also called in Dr. David Long, secretary of education for the State of California, who has worked to facilitate communication with CHSSA. Prior to the Sept. 15 meeting - which Diamond couldn't attend because it was the Shabbat after Rosh Hashanah -- Long arranged for a phone meeting between Diamond and a CHSSA vice president. Diamond says he felt like he was "talking to a wall."

Caron Specter, associate director of the L.A. Federation's Community Relations, is baffled by CHSSA's insistence that rescheduling is impossible, since she has worked with similar situations where dates for large events were changed with even less notice.

Specter is coordinating the Action Alert that went out this week, asking people to contact CHSSA directly and to ask local school boards to pressure CHSSA.

Concurrent with efforts to reschedule the tournament, the coalition is trying to get a formal commitment from CHSSA to avoid this in the future -- especially since CHSSA bylaws state that the tournament must occur on one of the last two weekends in April. With dialogue and debate on the issue hard to come by so far, Jewish leaders are hoping CHSSA will stand by its own stated goals, as posted on the group's mission statement:

"Every student will develop interpersonal skills necessary for establishing understanding among members of a diverse society," one goal reads.

And another:

"Every student will develop skills necessary for the peaceful resolution of conflict."



Contacts:

California High School Speech Association

Click here for JCRC Action Alert (PDF file)

Candidates Debate - Voters Pay to Attend, then Donate Money to the Winner

From http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071001/NEWS01/710010308/1002

Political debate with a twist

The city government general election is coming up in five weeks and members of the public will have more than one chance to hear from City Commission candidates in person before Election Day.

Several Great Falls bloggers have come up with a unique political debate scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 17, at the Northwest Center west of Montana ExpoPark. City Commission candidates have been invited to take part in the debate, which is being conducted with the assistance of the C.M. Russell High School debate team.

Members of the audience will pay $5 to get in the door, and then vote at the end of the event on who won the debate. Each paying member of the audience then will give his or her winning candidate a $10 campaign donation. The bloggers say the donation part has been cleared by the state commissioner of political practices.

Organizers of the event include Great Falls bloggers David Sherman and Gregg Smith, who have taken some heat in the blogosphere for the unusual nature of the event. The boldest part of the plan probably is deciding to charge people five bucks to attend a political forum, and then requiring a $10 donation. Smith said on his blog that at least some students may get in free.

Sherman said he was surprised by some of the criticism.

"I think that the benefits of this debate far outweigh any drawbacks," Sherman said Friday. He added that he's hopeful all the candidates will take part, saying "they have nothing to lose and plenty to gain by appearing and talking with voters."

Good luck to the blog folks, who get points for creativity.

A more traditional candidates' forum sponsored by the Tribune is planned for Thursday, Oct. 25 in the Great Falls Civic Center Missouri Room.

In the Oct. 25 event, six city commissioner candidates will answer questions submitted by newspaper readers and staff from 5:30 to 7 p.m. After a break, four mayoral candidates will answer questions from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. There will be no charge for admission. All the candidates have agreed to the date.

In addition, a new Native American group called United Native Voters plans to invite candidates to a forum where Indian issues will be discussed, according to Glenn Gopher of Great Falls. No date or time for that forum has been announced.

Local labor unions are not planning a forum for city candidates this year, according to Duane Mellinger, an official with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local. Mellinger said the union usually concentrates on state-level races for candidate forums in Great Falls.