Korea Intervarsity Debate Championship 2008 Results

From sophielee84@yahoo.com

I'm just reposting the following message from www.knc08.org just
because i think it might be safer to keep the record and more
beneficial to fellow debaters!

Again, thank you everyone for supporting the tournament!

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I¡¯m sorry that I¡¯m a bit late, but still it is my utmost pleasure
to announce the new champion of the Korea Intervarsity Debate
Association National Championship 2008 hosted by Debate Association
of Ewha.

The grand final between Korea University 2 (Jisoo Kang, Jaeyong
Shin, and Minkyong Cho) and EdiS 4 (Hanna Ko, Yulan Kim, and Selim
Choi) was judged by Sophie Lee (Chief Adjudicator: Debate
Association of Ewha), Mikyung Kim (DCA:Kyunghee Int¡¯l Studies),
Jayhyun Lee(DCA:Kyunghee Int¡¯l Studies), Logan(Chungang), Hyesoo
Monica Jang(Debate Association of Ewha), Taekwan An(Hanyang), and
Jingzhi Ye(Debate Association of Ewha) and Four judges voted for
Korea 2. Congratulations to the national champion team!

EFL Division
Debate Association of Ewha 5 def. CUDS (3-0)
Best Speaker: Yoon Hyo Jung (DAE 4)

Rookie Division
Seoul National University 2 def. Seoul National University 1 (3-0)
Best Speaker: Rose Chang (Hanyang)

Quarters:
Edis 4 def. Hanyang 2 (2-1)
Yonsei 1 def. Yonsei 2 (2-1)
KU 2 def. Yonsei 3 (3-0)
KU 1 def. Edis 1 (2-1)

Semis
Edis 4 defeated KU1
KU 2 Defeated Yon 1

Best Speakers

1st: (tied)
Hannah Ko (Edis 4)
Yulan Kim (Edis 4)

3: Suhyun Yuoo (Hufs)
4: Wonjun Jang (Yonsei 3)
5: Min Young Kim (Edis 3)
6: Bokyeong Kwon (KU 4)
7: Hyewon Rho (KU 1)
8: Nayoung Song (Yonsei 2)
9: Tied-
Hoyoon You (Edis 1)
Kyungeun Park (HUFS)

Demo debate
THW not confiscate land from descendants of collaborators with Japan
during its colonial rule.

Round 1.
Korea
THBT Korea should priortize China over the US in diplomatic
relations.
THW nationalize the tele-communications industry.
THW exclude Soju from the list of essential items announced by the
Korean government to monitor inflation.

Round 2.
Social Contract
1. THBT all democratic governments should abandon laws which allow
prosecution of citizens for insulting their nations.
2. THBT government should not financially profit from its citizens¡¯
sins.
3. THW limit civilian use of guns in America.

Round 3.
Human Body
1. THW allow commercial surrogate motherhood.
2. THW give prisoners with a life sentence the right to choose the
death penalty.
3. THW chemically castrate pedophiles.

Round 4.
Ideology
1. THBT socialism in Latin America has done more harm than good.
2. THBT authoritarian regimes are justifiable in developing nations.
3. THBT feminism has not contributed to the well-being of women in
the world.

Round 5.
International Institutions
1. THW limit the number of times United Nations Security Council
members can veto.
2. THBT democracy should be the condition for debt relief for
African nations.
3. THBT it is legitimate to use aid to buy votes in international
organizations.

(Rookie Final)
Cute Animals
1. THW ban fur imports from developing nations. (debated)
2. THBT zoos bring more benefits than harms to society.
3. THW allow the police to shoot poachers.

(EFL Final)
Celebrities¡¦ on the spotlight!!!
1. THBT paparazzi are beneficial for celebrities.
2. TH supports celebrities entering politics.
3. THBT celebrities should not adopt children from developing
nations. (debated)

Quarter
Elections
1. THW repudiate the democratic election in Bhutan.
2. THW discourage women in Pakistan from casting ballots in order to
protect their lives.
3. THW place a cap on the spending of candidates during election
campaigns.

Semi
Greater Asia
1. THBT China¡¯s quest for raw materials from developing
nations/rogue regimes is detrimental to the world.
2. THW pressure India to open its border to accept Tibetan exiles.
3. THBT the Kurds are better off without a Kurdish state.

Final
Law and Justice
1. THBT civil disobedience is essential to democracy. (debated)
2. THW abolish the use of insanity as a legal defense.
3. THW require doctors to report minors with HIV to their parents
regardless of patients¡¯ consent.

Sophie Jiseon Lee

Chief Adjudicator,
Korea Intervarsity Debate Association National Championship 2008

Debate Association of Ewha

James Unger, Legendary USA Debate Coach, Pases Away

From http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/28/AR2008042802670.html?nav=rss_metro/obituaries

James Unger, 66; Debate Coach at Georgetown, AU

By Joe Holley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 29, 2008; Page B07

James John Unger, a highly successful debate coach at Georgetown and American universities who also was a past director of the National Forensics Institute and an innovative argument theorist, died April 3 at his home in the District. He was 66.

The cause of death is pending, said Leigh Fields of the D.C. medical examiner's office.

Mr. Unger was a national champion debater at Boston College, from which he graduated in 1964, and coached debaters while at Harvard Law School, where he received a degree in 1967. The next year, he became Georgetown's coach. His teams were ranked first in the national coaches' poll five times.

In a 1970s poll of leading intercollegiate coaches and debaters, he was named Outstanding Debate Coach and Outstanding Debate Judge of the decade.

"He had a steel-trap mind, and he taught you strategies that guaranteed steel-trap success," said Thomas M. Rollins, a lawyer and former Georgetown debater.

Instantly recognizable on the Georgetown campus thanks to his usual three-piece suit, bow tie and walking cane, Mr. Unger was, in Rollins's words, "relentless in pushing an argument and in testing any position that you took."

Some people considered him difficult because of that relentlessness -- in debate and elsewhere -- but Rollins said he found him to be "an incredibly kind and generous guy." He recalled that Mr. Unger once bought him a plane ticket home to Houston so he could try to patch up a fractured romance.

Mr. Unger recruited nationwide and selected only the top high school talent to compete for a position on the Georgetown squad, which had about 20 students. He insisted that they report to campus a month before fall classes began to prepare for the season, and most spent school holidays honing their competitive skills for about 30 debates a season. He also required prodigious amounts of research.

In the late 1970s, Mr. Unger's "policymaking" approach to debate strategy became standard practice for debate teams at the high school and college levels.

"Jim is regarded as a pacesetter in terms of theory and technique of debate," University of Kentucky debate coach J.W. Patterson told The Washington Post in 1978. "He is regarded as one of the two or three best coaches in the nation. If there is any criticism of Jim, it is that his teams are over-coached, but they always acquit themselves well."

In 1985, Mr. Unger became director of forensics at American. He led its National Forensics Institute summer program, which brought thousands of high school students to Washington to study competitive speech. He retired from AU in 1996.

Mr. Unger served as a debate consultant to NBC and ABC and to the Associated Press and United Press International.

In a 1992 debate, he gave high marks to the studio audience. "The people are the winners," he said. "The quality of the ordinary folks asking relevant questions is superior to the politicians trying to answer them."

Four years later, he credited Republican Robert J. Dole with raising the ethics issue in his presidential election debate with Democrat Bill Clinton but faulted the former Kansas senator for not following through. Mr. Unger said that Dole resorted to "shorthand rhetoric" and "catchy phrases" without explaining their importance.

In a 2000 vice presidential debate between Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, then a Democrat, and Dick Cheney (R) , Mr. Unger declared Cheney the winner in a close contest because he came across "as a person and as a professional."

Mr. Unger also was a wily and tenacious tennis player.

The Cleveland native had epilepsy for much of his life. He hated taking anti-seizure medication, his friends said, because it left him groggy. That reluctance might have contributed to his death, Rollins said.

There are no immediate survivors.

Stutterer Finds Voice Through Speech Competitions

From http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-stutter30apr30,1,2340984.story

Stutterer finds his voice in speech competitions

Marcus Hill, urged to join his college speech team, recently helped the squad shine in a national competition.

By Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 30, 2008

It's a point that bears repeating. Silencing a stutter is a matter of pitting mind over mouth, according to Marcus Hill.

That's what the 20-year-old Arleta resident did to become the country's top speaker this month by winning a national public-speaking contest for community college students.

The Los Angeles Valley College sophomore has stuttered since age 7, when he suffered a deep cut on a leg and was so traumatized that he couldn't explain to his family what had happened.

Elementary and middle school were traumatic in a different way. Schoolmates teased him mercilessly when he became tongue-tied.

"I stuttered in front of other kids a lot. You get slammed for it, especially when you're younger," he said.

Ethan Braun, a 20-year-old Cal State Northridge student who attended eighth grade with Hill, remembers his friend's struggle.

"It would take him a long time to begin a sentence," Braun said.

By high school, Hill had come to accept stuttering as a way of life, particularly when he was nervous or under stress.

His moment of truth came when he enrolled in a required speech class as a freshman at the Valley College campus in Valley Glen.

Teacher Duane Smith challenged the 40 students at the opening-day session to memorize every classmate's name.

"Nobody raised their hand after we went around the room and introduced ourselves. So I did. I repeated everybody's name," Hill recalled.

"I'm really weird about remembering small things. They're big things to me. And people always appreciate that you remember their names after hearing it only once."

Impressed, Smith asked Hill if he wanted to join the college's speech and debate team. In forensics contests, the ability to memorize presentations and talking points is invaluable.

But Hill shook his head. "I have a stuttering problem," he confided.

Smith set out to change that. "The speech team is for anybody with a pulse and a mouth," he explained.

It was slow going at first.

"In my class he couldn't get through a sentence without what we call a flub in speech competition," Smith said. "His tongue was always getting tied.

"After three or four months, I wasn't certain how much competitive success he'd have. You have to get through a speech perfectly because your competition can. If you can't, you're not going to win."

Hill was urged by Smith to coordinate his talking with his thinking.

"He said it's just a matter of clearing my thoughts and having confidence when I speak," Hill said.

"I repeated a catchphrase over and over to clear my mind. I'd repeat 'I'm here to win gold' again and again. Coach Duane called it a 'positive internal refrain.' Early on, stuttering would get the best of me. I'd forget what I was saying. It cost me a couple of tournaments."

Finally, in a competition at Azusa Pacific College, Hill seemed ready to give up after he stammered and flubbed a few lines of his carefully prepared speech.

"I looked at the judges, and instead of frowns on their faces I saw smiles. They encouraged me to go on," he said. And he came away with his first competition medal.

During this year's forensics contest season, Hill worked at keeping his stuttering in check.

When the Valley College speech team traveled to St. Charles, Ill., in mid-April for the Phi Rho Pi National Public Speaking Championships, the "positive internal refrain" technique paid off. Hill took first place in the theater, prose and persuasive categories and second place in drama and speech to entertain.

His showing -- and medals won by teammates Ashley Bashioum, Annie Leroux, Thomas Petersen, Arthur Valenzuela, Eric Patten, LeCoya LeJeune, Corina Adaskaveg and Pariya Beheshti -- helped Valley College edge out the 74 other community college teams for first place.

The team's success has had a ripple effect, according to speech teacher Josh Miller, who with Paul Davis helped Smith coach the squad. "At the beginning of this year I was thinking about retiring from forensics," Miller said. "Now I'm engaged more than ever."

So is Hill. He plans to study political science and communications at Cal State Long Beach this fall and eventually attend law school. After that, he wants to teach at the community college level.

"In Illinois, a guy from New York came up and said he had been so discouraged that he was going to quit until he saw me and got pumped up," Hill said.

"Stuttering can come back when you get nervous. But I've learned to be confident; don't doubt yourself. If you do, other people will see it and feed on it."

Nicely put.

Amsterdam Open Results

From Bojana Skrt via Slovenian debaters

Amsterdam tab, 52 teams.

Winning team: Bristol Temple Mead, the one with Car Okar
The best ESL team: Leeds A

The best speaker: Jessica Harvey Smith
The best ESL speaker: Leela Koening, Leiden A

Click on images to see tab.

World Schools Incorporates

From Claire Ryan Claire.Ryan@MEREDITHCONNELL.CO.NZ

The April 2008 postal ballot of the World Schools Debating Council has concluded. 31 nations were eligible to vote. 29 nations voted. Thank you very much to all who participated.

Incorporation of the World Schools Debating Championships

In order for the proposals to be passed, two-thirds of the eligible nations had to vote for them. Two-thirds of 31 = 20.66 or 21.

The result of this ballot is as follows:

VOTING FOR THE PROPOSALS TO INCORPORATE: 29

VOTING AGAINST: 0

Congratulations to James Probert and his team who have worked very hard on the incorporation proposals, the documents and the explanatory material.

The following proposals have therefore been passed:

(a) That a company named the World Schools Debating Championships Limited be created, as described in the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association.

(b) That this company shall assume the duties currently carried out by informal bodies called the World Schools Debating Council and the Executive Committee of the World Schools Debating Council, and that the company shall assume the ownership of the name and logo of the current World Schools Debating Championships.

(c) That the Directors of the newly established company shall adopt such rules for the company as are described in the documents ‘The Charity Rules’ and ‘The Debating Rules’, shall apply for the company to be given charitable status, and shall make such appointments and take such actions as are necessary to begin the work of the Charity.

Election of the 2008 Motions Selection Committee

This results of the election are as follows:

- Ria Nuri Dharmawan (Indonesia) 24 votes

- Hayah Eichler (Israel) 25 votes

- Albert Fornis (Greece) 24 votes

- Jumin Lee (South Korea) 15 votes

- Aaron Maniam (Singapore) 27 votes

- Noel McGrath (Ireland) 21 votes

Accordingly, Ria Nuri Dharmawan, Hayah Eichler, Albert Fornis, Aaron Maniam and Noel McGrath are the elected members of the 2008 Motions Select Committee.

The rules provide that the host nation can nominate up to two people to join that Committee. The United States of America's nominees are J.J. Rodriguez and Ian Lising.

Kind regards,

Claire Ryan
Secretary
World Schools Debating Council Executive Committee

Houston High School Wins $10,000 at NPPF Final

From http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/education&id=6108724

HOUSTON -- There's no debating this -- Bellaire High School has the top debaters in the country.

The Bellaire debate team took top honors at a competition in New York City this past weekend, their first title in the Bickel & Brewer/New York University National Public Policy Forum after making it to the finals four consecutive years.

"Our students were determined to win it all this year, and put in the extra time and effort to get there," said Bellaire debate coach Russell Rach. "I'm extremely proud of the accomplishments of our student debaters."

The Bellaire team defeated the team from Kahuku, Hawaii, in the semi-finals and in the final round, Bellaire defeated the team from Colleyville High School in Colleyville, Texas, to take home the grand prize.

The students were awarded $10,000 in scholarships and the "Bickel & Brewer Cup" at a special ceremony Saturday evening on the New York University campus.

Huge Korean Rookie Debate Tournament

From Logan

As part of my debate course in Chung Ang University, I am running an internal debate tournament to give the students the experience of the debate atmosphere and an opportunity to use some of their recently learned debate skills.

All the students in the course must debate (in total 300+ students, divided over two days).

There will be two tournaments, on two days (Saturday and Sunday). Each day will see more than 150 participants (maximum 54 teams), who will debate two rounds and judge 1 round. So there will be 3 rounds of debate each day, with 18 debates happening each round.

In order to make this a success, I need your help. I need volunteers to help me judge the rounds. Your job will be to
a) chair the debate rounds
b) collect the ballots from the student judges in your rooms
c) moderate the discussion and feedback among the students in your room
d) give feedback to the debaters

This project will happen on the 24th and 25th of May. If you can't come for both days (or the whole of any day), you can come for as much time as you can afford to donate. I will be grateful for anything you can offer.

A few other things
- you don't have to be an expert judge to qualify, just have seen/been in a few debates before. Your role is more of a guide than an expert judge at a debate tournament. I will brief you before the rounds on what you need to do
- I will not be able to provide any form of financial compensation, but I will buy you plentiful amounts of beer/soju/cider/

cola during the dinner after the debates
- in return for helping me out here, I am also willing to come to your school and run a debate/adjudication workshop for free. The more people you send, the more workshops/sessions I can do for you =]

I think this is a big step towards enlarging your debate community and building debate programs in more schools in Korea. Let's see how much bigger we can make this grow! =]

Thank you very much for your time. Please email or call me if you're interested or have the time.

Cheers
Logan

USA National Development Conference on Speaking Events

From Larry Schnoor at LGene9535@aol.com

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE ON INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

May 1, 2008

Greetings:

Now that all of the national tournaments are over and the semester grades are being decided, maybe even submitted, we can turn our full attention to the Developmental Conference. We are pleased to announce the Chairs of the topic areas to be covered at the Conference as well as to invite individuals to participate in the conference, either by agreeing to write a paper for presentation or to be an observer and be involved in the discussion groups.

If you are willing to write a paper, please fill out the form following this letter. The form should be returned by June 10th to Larry Schnoor. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will try to answer all of your questions.

Individuals that agree to write a position paper for the conference will be contacted by the Chair of the topic panel selected with more information about the panel. The Chair of the panel will need to have an abstract of your paper by JULY 15. We will need to have a complete copy of your paper at the Conference Registration for publication in the Conference Proceedings.

Please return the Conference Registration Form to Larry Schnoor (address below and on the form) by June 10th to confirm your participation at the Conference. You need to make reservations at the Pere Marquette by JULY 10.

Interaction between everyone attending the Conference is essential. We hope everyone will take full advantage of this opportunity. The Conference has been designed to provide you with plenty of time to work and to have fun as well.

The first session of each group will be devoted to the presentation of papers. We ask that questions and comments about the papers be held until the second session. During the second session, the presenters and observers will have the opportunity to be engaged in full discussion about the views and opinions presented in the papers. The final session of each group will focus on the development of recommendations to be presented at the Legislative Session on Saturday afternoon. Each group will have time to present their recommendations and rationale to the rest of the Conference attendees. Recommendations accepted and passed will also be included in the Conference Proceedings.

On Behalf of the Conference Committee: Larry Schnoor
CONFERENCE TOPIC AREAS

Papers are needed for the following areas:


Ethics and Forensics -- Chair: David Gaer, Laramie County Community College
(Dealing with types of ethical issues and judging standards)

Role of A Director of Forensics -- Chair: Dawn Bartlett, Doane College
(Dealing with retention of judges, coaches, directors and duties)

Forensics Tournaments -- Chair: Karen Morris, Univ. of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
(Dealing with length of season, swings, tournament management, practices)

Systematic Look at Events -- Craig Brown, Kansas State University
(Dealing with issues related to types of events, criteria for events, audiences to be addressed)

Educational / Competitive Duality -- Leah White, MN State University, Mankato
(Dealing with the question of educational and/or competitive nature of the activity and links between theory and what is done in actual practice)

Awareness of Forensics -- M’Liss Hindman, Tyler Community College
(Dealing with administrative support, departmental support, publicity, community awareness, alumni relations)

Debate and IE Relationship -- Glenn Prince, Rice University
(Dealing with IE programs vs. Debate programs, how both can survive)

Growth of the Activity -- Dan West, Ohio University
(Dealing with training of both undergraduate and graduate students, the role of graduate assistants, the training of judges, mentoring others)

Research and the Internet -- Edward Hinck, Central Michigan University
(Dealing with general research in forensics, impact of the Internet on research in both academic and forensic contexts, material and evidence used in forensics)

Growth of Forensics Programs -- Brendan Kelly, Univ. of West Florida
(Dealing with the problem of disappearing programs, how to foster new forensic programs and student run programs)

Anyone interested in submitting papers for the above areas should contact Larry Schnoor at Lschnoor@hickorytech.net or Lgene9535@aol.com







NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
ON INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

JULY 31 – AUGUST 2
BRADLEY UNIVERSITY
PEORIA, ILLINOIS


HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS
Pere Marquette
501 Main Street
Peoria, Il 61602
Reservations Toll Free: 1-800-447-1676

Guest Rooms: $99.00 + tax
(single or doubles)
Complimentary hot breakfast buffet is included for all over-night guests.


*****Please make your reservations by July 10, 2008*****

CONFERENCE FEES
Registration Fees = $60.00
Special Reduced Fee for Students = $40.00


REGISTRATION FORM
REGISTRATION FORM WILL BE POSTED ON THE DEVELOPMENTAL CONFERENCE WEB PAGE

http://www.mnsu.edu/spcomm/ndc-ie/
or
Contact Larry Schnoor at Lschnoor@hickorytech.net
for registration materials

REGISTRATION FEES
Registration fees may be paid prior to check-in at the Conference or paid at the Conference. Please make checks payable to SUMMER DEVELOPMENTAL CONFERENCE or Larry Schnoor.

Please return this form by June 10th, 2008 to
Larry Schnoor – Lgene9535@aol.com or
Lschnoor@hickorytech.net

If mailing the form, the address is
107 Agency Road
Mankato, MN 56001

Reminder: Conference will be held at Bradley University, Peoria, IL
And the hotel is the Pere Marquette in Peoria, IL






NATIONAL DEVELOPMENTAL CONFERENCE ON INDIVIDUAL EVENTS
General Information


1. Hotel Information: Pere Marquette Hotel – downtown Peoria: Rooms: Single or Double: $99 plus tax. Room rate includes a full Breakfast Buffet.

2. Structure of the Conference: As in the past conferences, there have been various topics for the sessions. Each topic area (group) will have a Chair, and then participants who present position papers on the topic. Observers may attend sessions of their choice and engage in the discussion. Groups will be the same for sessions 1-2-3, and new groups will be in sessions 4-5-6.

3. Panel Format: Each topic area Chair will be responsible to have their group come up with recommendations/resolutions to be further discussed and debated at a General Assembly session, which will conclude the Conference. As in previous developmental conferences, none of the recommendations/resolutions will have a binding affect but will be printed in the Conference Proceedings and can be used by individuals in working with their respective forensic organizations.

4. Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings will be printed and made available to all the participants attending the Conference. Individuals not able to attend may purchase a copy of the proceedings when available.

5. Tentative Conference Schedule:

Thursday, July 31
7:00-9:00 p.m. Registration at the Pere Marquette Hotel

Friday, August 1
7:30-8:30 a.m. Breakfast – Pere Marquette Hotel
8:30 a.m. Leave for campus
9:00-10:30 a.m. Session 1
10:40-10:45 a.m. Break
10:45-12:15 p.m. Session 2
12:15-1:30 p.m. Lunch (on our own)
1:45-3:15 p.m. Session 3
3:14-3:30 p.m. Break
3:30-5:00 p.m. Session 4
Evening Free

Saturday, August 2
7:30-8:30 a.m. Breakfast – Pere Marquette Hotel 7:30-8:30 a.m.
8:30 a.m. Leave for campus at 8:30 a.m.
9:00-10:30 a.m. Session 5: 9:00-10:30 a.m.
10:30-10:45 a.m. Break 10:30-10:45 a.m.
10:45-12:15 p.m. Session 6: 10:45-12:15 p.m.
12:15-1:30 p.m. Lunch (on our own)
1:45-5:00 p.m. Group Assembly: Legislative assembly with recommendations/resolutions that come out of the sessions for the
whole group to discuss and vote upon.
6:30-7:30 p.m. Cocktail Hour at the Pere Marquette Hotel
7:30 p.m. Closing Banquet at the Pere Marquette Hotel (included in Conference Fees)
Sunday, August 3
Morning Breakfast – Pere Marquette Hotel.
People leave the conference.

Stanford WIns USA APDA Nationals

From http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2008/4/28/debateSocietyTakesHomeTwoBigWins

Debate Society takes home two big wins
April 28, 2008
By Jaslyn Law
Over three days of competition, Michael Baer ‘08 and Anish Mitra ‘09 talked their way into Stanford debate history with two big wins at the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA) National Championships, held from April 18 to 20 at the Mass. Institute of Technology.

The pair navigated six preliminary rounds and one final round to become the first varsity team champions from Stanford. Baer, who has been debating for Stanford since his freshman year, achieved another Stanford first when he was named the tournament’s top speaker. In the final round of competition, Baer and Mitra defeated Princeton, arguing that when faced with the choice, an evolutionary biologist should choose to publicly debate an intelligent design advocate.

“We were definitely an underdog,” said Christine Su ‘08, president of the Stanford Debate Society. “It was pretty amazing that we won Nationals.”

Stanford’s parliamentary debate team competes within APDA, a league consisting of mostly East Coast schools. Consequently, Stanford’s much higher travel expenses means that the team only competes in about half the number of debates that East Coast schools are able to attend.

“We thought that we could be competitive,” Mitra said. “There is a ranking system for teams on the circuit based on points accumulated during the year, [one] which favors the schools that are able to travel to the East Coast debates, and we didn’t travel a lot. Even then, we were fourth in the rankings, so we thought we had a chance. But we didn’t think we were favorites to win or anything.”

Both Baer and Mitra began debating in high school. Baer, a Public Policy major, joined the Stanford Debate Society after signing up at an activities fair and quickly grew to enjoy the parliamentary debate format that he focuses on.


“Parliamentary debate emphasizes extemporaneous speaking and the ability to come up with an argument quickly, on your feet,” Baer said. These skills translate into the classroom. “I write papers better, I’m better in section — everything about school becomes easier with the skills I learned through debate.”

While debate fits logically into many Stanford Debate Society members’ academic and career plans, Mitra is a rare math major on the team. The team captain nonetheless believes debate’s benefits span across all disciplines.

“Debate is nice because whatever your field happens to be, it encourages a lot of critical thinking,” Mitra said. “It makes you think about both sides and justify everything you say.”

After graduating in June, Baer plans to move back to his hometown of Washington, D.C., where he hopes to pursue public policy before going to law school.

Mitra has every intention of continuing with debate.

“I’ve had a fantastic time debating with Michael,” he said. “He’s an excellent partner and his experience helped me a lot, so I hope that next year I will be able to help my partner in the same way.”

Watch NPPF Semis & Finals Tomorrow

2007 Winners with check (this year it is twice as large)

What is it?
A debate contest for high school students using written and oral argument. Sponsored by Bickel & Brewer Law Firm, New York University and major USA forensic organizations.
The winner gets a $10,000 prize.

When is it?
See the semifinals and finals of a unique debate competition on Saturday, 26 April 2008.
Semifinals #1 are at 9 AM Eastern Time USA (3 PM European consult for your time zone, basically USA Eastern is –4 GMT). Semifinal #2 at 10:45 AM Eastern Time USA, and the finals will be at 4 PM Eastern Time USA.

What is the topic?
“Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its AIDS/HIV public health assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Where is it happening?
New York University Law School, New York, New York.
After over 100 schools competed in the written part of the contest, the top four teams have been flown to New York for the oral part of the contest.

Who is debating?
Semifinal #1:
Colleyville Heritage High School, Colleyville, Texas
Vs.
Wellington High School, Village of Wellington, Florida
Semifinal #2:
Bellaire High School, Bellaire, Texas
Vs.
Kahuku High & Intermediate School, Kahuku, Hawaii

Who is judging?
Semifinals:

• Will Baker, Director of Debate, New York University and CEO, Impact Coalition
• Marshall Donat, Assoc. General Counsel, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
• Luke McGrath, Partner, Bickel & Brewer
• Alfred “Tuna” Snider, Professor of Forensics, University of Vermont
• Pam Spiliadis, Executive Director, Baltimore Urban Debate League

Finals:

• William A. Brewer III, Partner, Bickel & Brewer
• Lenny Gail, Chairman of the Board, National Assoc. of Urban Debate Leagues
• Hon. John G. Koeltl, U.S. District Judge (SDNY)
• Sheldon Prentice
• John Sexton, President, New York University
• Melissa Maxcy Wade, Director of Forensics, Emory University
• Scott Wunn, Executive Director, National Forensic League

How can you watch it?
Go to http://nppf.net/
Click on the link for the video feed, provided by Debate Central (http://debate.uvm.edu), the World Debate Institute (http://debate.uvm.edu/wdi) and the University of Vermont (http://www.uvm.edu).
You must have the newest version of QuickTime installed on your computer. Go to http://www.apple.com/downloads/ for this free download.

What else can you tell us?

“These deserving students will soon compete on one of the greatest stages in high school debate – competition that involves some of our nation’s best debaters and a panel of judges, all nationally known for their achievements inside and outside of debate,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at Bickel & Brewer and founder of the NPPF. “The NPPF Finals is unlike any other debate competition taking place today. The judges will engage the contestants in an interactive competition with questions from the panel. This creates a live forum for debaters that is uniquely dynamic and challenging.”

This year’s NPPF began in October when students from more than 100 high schools (representing 26 states) submitted case studies on the 2007-2008 topic, “Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its AIDS/HIV public health assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa.” From the original pool of more than 100 debate teams, sixteen advanced to a single-elimination written debate tournament. In each round, competitors volleyed written debates back and forth via e-mail. A panel of judges reviewed the papers in the order they were presented and voted for the winning school. This process continued for several rounds – over a six-month period – until the Final Four teams were announced.

The upcoming finals competition is a unique test of research and oral advocacy skills. Students will present their positions before a panel of judges that include some of the world’s foremost experts in law, business, debate and politics. The debates will be televised live via the Internet – and viewed by debaters around the world.

Along with Brewer, scheduled judges for the finals weekend include John Sexton, president of New York University; Scott Wunn, secretary, National Forensic League; Melissa Maxcy-Wade, director of forensics, Emory University; Lenny Gail, chairman, National Association of Urban Debate Leagues; and Alfred M. Snider, director of forensics; University of Vermont.

During their stay in New York, students from the final four schools will be honored at a special banquet and awards ceremony at New York University, where the winning school will receive $10,000 to be used for scholarships and the “Bickel & Brewer Cup,” a traveling trophy that resides annually with the NPPF champion.

The keynote speaker for the banquet ceremony is the Hon. John G. Koeltl, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York.

The NPPF was founded by the Bickel & Brewer Foundation in 2001, and is jointly administered with New York University. The program is available to all high schools nationwide – public and private – for free. Since the NPPF’s inception, the Bickel & Brewer Foundation has awarded more than $400,000 in support of forensic activities at the secondary school and collegiate levels. The NPPF is endorsed by leading forensic agencies, such as the National Forensic League and National Associate of Urban Debate Leagues.

The Bickel & Brewer Foundation is a private, non-profit organization funded by companies, individuals and the national litigation firm of Bickel & Brewer. With offices in Dallas and New York, the Foundation has achieved widespread recognition for its efforts to create, fund and manage a variety of educational outreach programs. Visit The Bickel & Brewer Foundation at www.bickelbrewer.com.

Debatewise Websites Seeks To Promote Online Debates

From http://www.debatewise.com/

Debatewise was born from a deep and abiding respect for the genius that lies within us all. We believe each one of us are experts in our own areas, that each one of us has something we could teach others, and that all of us can learn a great deal from other people.

People express their genius in forums and blogs throughout the internet. The problem is that it's difficult to collate various opinions into one co-ordinated view and, most importantly, it's often hard to see how the excellent points one side raises are answered by the other.

That's why we created Debatewise. We encourage the best minds to collaborate and form the definitive argument for their position, we place their views side-by-side with their opponent's and we provide voting mechanisms so that everyone can see who's winning the debate.

Our aim is for Debatewise to be the first place you think of when you want to make your mind up about anything. Our role is to help people undecided become less so, to provide a forum for people who want to convince others that they're right and to encourage and to further the very idea of debate.

Debatewise will always free to access. We'll never charge a subscription for reading the site, nor will we create a two-tiered site where paying customers get access to more. After all, you created the content, we couldn't make you pay to read it.

In addition, we, like Wikipedia, adhere to a policy of Copyleft. Wikipedia describes Copyleft in the following way:

"[Debatewise] content can be copied, modified, and redistributed so long as the new version grants the same freedoms to others and acknowledges the authors of the [Debatewise] article used (a direct link back to the article satisfies our author credit requirement). [Debatewise] articles therefore will remain free forever and can be used by anybody subject to certain restrictions, most of which serve to ensure that freedom.

For more information about the Copyleft please see the Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights

At present we don't have any adverts, however, this may change. We believe we can make the ads of interest, so that rather than an interruption they'll become an addition. Though if you really hate them that much you can always use Firefox and the Adblock plug-in.

We are at a very early stage in development and welcome your feedback, comments, bug reports or advice. We'd also love you to get involved. Start a debate, edit a debate, answer a debate or just vote on a debate.

Thank you.

Philadelphia Debate Tournament Awards $10,000 Scholarship

From http://www.philadebate.org/news/eddie-amador-of-franklin-towne-charter-school-wins-10000-scholarship-at-2nd-annual-voices-of-philadelphia-debate-tournament/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Lilly Deng
Perspectives Debate Inc.
lilly@philadebate.org
(215) 498-0589

Eddie Amador of Franklin Towne Charter School
Wins $10,000 Scholarship at 2nd Annual
Voices of Philadelphia Debate Tournament

Philadelphia, PA — The 2nd Annual Voices of Philadelphia Debate Tournament was held this past weekend on Saturday, April 19, 2008, at Drexel University’s Main Building. More than 100 students, coaches, volunteers, judges, and observers gathered to celebrate student achievement. Students from Perspectives’ 10 afterschool programs in the City of Philadelphia participated. The tournament represented the culmination of year-long debating programs.



The students debated the Lincoln-Douglas debate topic, “It is just for the United States to use military force to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons by nations that pose a military threat.” After three rounds of preliminary competition, the Top 8 varsity students and Top 4 novice students advanced in the competition. In the final round of the novice tournament, Xavier Brown of Paul Robeson High School for Human Services defeated Brittany Davis of Constitution High School, for which Xavier Brown will earn a $2,500 scholarship to Drexel University. At the same time, a demonstration debate was held between Alex Bores (Hunter College, NY) and Ellen Noble (Walt Whitman, MD) for observers to see national-level competition.

During the Final Round of the varsity tournament, Eddie Amador of Franklin Towne Charter School and Parkway Center City High School’s Ryan Rudolph debated an exciting round. On a close 4-3 decision, Eddie Amador was declared the Champion of the 2nd Annual Voices of Philadelphia Debate Tournament. Eddie Amador earned a $10,000 scholarship to Drexel University while Ryan Rudolph was presented with a $7,500 scholarships. The two varsity semi-finalists, Jalon Alexander of Bodine High School and Yong Lin Lee of Franklin Towne Charter School, each earned $5,000 scholarships to Drexel University.

Following the Final Round, Perspectives held an awards ceremony to recognize all those who have participated in Perspectives’ programs. All students received medals of honor for their participation, while every coach received a plaque and a gift certificate for a restaurant of their choice.

AFTERSCHOOL AWARDS

Outstanding Senior Awards
Eddie Amador, Franklin Towne Charter School (PA)
Yong Lin Lee, Franklin Towne Charter School (PA)

Rising Star Coaching Awards
Maria Fitzgerald, Bodine High School (PA)
Bart Poindexter, Paul Robeson High School (PA)
Paul Perry, Shaw Middle School (PA)
Traveling Trophy Awards

School of the Year: Franklin Towne Charter School (PA)
Coach of the Year: Lauren Geschel, Franklin Towne Charter School (PA)
Student of the Year: Subee Jacob, Parkway Center City High School (PA)
Principal of the Year: Dr. Tom Davidson, Constitution High School (PA)

—

VARSITY RESULTS

Champion (1st Place) and Recipient of $10,000 Drexel University Scholarship
Eddie Amador — Franklin Towne High School (PA)

Runner-Up (2nd Place) and Recipient of $7,500 Drexel University Scholarship
Ryan Rudolph — Parkway Center City High School (PA)

Semi-Finalists (Top 4) and Recipient of $5,000 Drexel University Scholarship
Yong Lin Lee — Franklin Towne High School (PA)
Jalon Alexander — Bodine High School (PA)

Quarter-Finalists (Top 8 )
Subee Jacob — Parkway Center City High School (PA)
Rubin Rhodes — Parkway Center City High School (PA)
Janeisa Davis — Mathematics, Civics, and Sciences Charter School (PA)
Melanie Young — Bodine High School (PA)

Speaker Awards

Yong Lin Lee — Franklin Towne High School (PA)
Rubin Rhodes — Parkway Center City High School (PA)
Eddie Amador — Franklin Towne High School (PA)
Subee Jacob — Parkway Center City High School (PA)
Ryan Rudolph — Parkway Center City High School (PA)
—

NOVICE RESULTS

Champion (1st Place) and Recipient of $2,500 Drexel University Scholarship
Xavier Brown — Paul Robeson High School for Human Services (PA)

Runner-Up (2nd Place)
Brittany Davis — Constitution High School (PA)

Semi-Finalists (Top 4)
Nikki Branhut — Constitution High School (PA)
Ashley Hannah — Franklin Towne High School (PA)

Speaker Awards

Xavier Brown — Paul Robeson High School for Human Services (PA)
Ashley Hanna — Franklin Towne High School (PA)
Brittany Davis — Constitution High School (PA)

ABOUT PERSPECTIVES DEBATE INC.
Perspectives is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2005 by college students now at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, who are former debaters themselves. Perspectives was founded with an angel grant from H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest and have since been supported by the Samuel S. Fels Fund, Phoebe Haas Charitable Trust “A”, as recommended by Carole Haas Gravagno, and the Philadelphia Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Since its founding, Perspectives has educated students from 40 schools in 8 states, with a focus on the Philadelphia region. Perspectives seeks to provide opportunities for students to participate in debate through its afterschool, tournament, and summer enrichment programs, with an emphasis on underserved students in Philadelphia schools. See www.philadebate.org for more details.

Punjab Debaters Win European Contest

From http://thepost.com.pk/CityNews.aspx?dtlid=157090&catid=3

PU debaters earn laurels in Europe


Staff Reporter

LAHORE: Students-cum-debaters of Punjab University have won the title of "Most Outstanding Team" in an International Debate Contest, UN and European Model conferences known as EuroMUN, organised by the University of Muenster, Germany from April 1 till April 5 and University of Maastricht, Netherlands from April 17 to 20.

A total 450 delegates from 35 countries participated in the contest/conference, with the PU delegation of debaters/students been declared the "Best." The 12-member team was supervised by Director External Linkages Prof Dr Najma Najam and Prof Dr Iftikhar Baloch.

Sher Afgan Malik from PU Law College was declared the "outstanding delegate" of Disarmament Committee and won Diplomacy Award, followed by Maria Mujib from PU College of Information Technology, of the World Environment Organisation.

Two other PU students, Amina Khan of Molecular Biology and Molecular Genetics and Tasneem Sarwar from PUCIT were also declared outstanding delegates and awarded with Diplomacy Award. Amina Khan sat on SOCHUM (Social Human & Cultural Committee) while Tasnim Sarwar participated in WTO (World Trade Organization).

Four more PU students were given "honourable mention", Amir Ijaz for participating in Green Peace, Hassan Naqvi for SPECPOL (Social, Political and Economic Policy), Nishat Kazmi for representing China in General Assembly and Aziz Nauman Butt for Journalistic Coverage of the Conference. Mian Naqib Hamid of Institute of Social and Cultural Studies has become the first ever South Asian student who chaired a committee in the EuroMUN. He led SPECPOL and later showed a film, produced by him.

Reportedly, this is said to be a first in the history of Pakistan when any public sector university won such an important title at the international level. Vice-Chancellor Dr Mujahid Kamran and Adviser Students Affairs Dr Mujahid Ali Mansoori has sent a congratulatory message to the PU delegation and said a special reception would be arranged on their arrival.

USA Court Justices Hear Future Lawyers Debate

From http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/us/22bar.html?bl&ex=1209009600&en=f10af5b340aaa412&ei=5087%0A

Appellate Argument: An Artist’s View

By ADAM LIPTAK
For three days last week, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. heard arguments in a real court in Washington. Then he came to New York to preside over a fake one — the finals of the moot court competition at Columbia Law School.

Though he looked a little weary, Chief Justice Roberts’s questions were deft, and his wit was dry. A few of his remarks, during and after the argument, lit up a large lecture hall like summer lightning.

He talked a bit about the art of appellate argument, of which he is an acknowledged master, and he gave some hints about his judicial philosophy, which he presented as cautious and practical.

Moot court is a funny institution, part debate club and part “American Idol.” Students are assigned a case, often loosely based on a real one, and they pretend to be appellate lawyers, writing briefs and making arguments. The best advocate wins.

The four students who presented arguments on Thursday had been winnowed from a field of 55. After they made their pitches, Chief Justice Roberts and the three stars of the appellate bench who sat with him gave brief critiques and then selected a winner.

“I particularly liked your rebuttal, Mollie,” said Judge Diana Gribbon Motz of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. “Jordan, I liked the way you started your argument.”

(Judge Motz, the author of an important decision in an enemy-combatant case last year, praised all four of the finalists: Mollie M. Kornreich, David A. Scherr, Jordan W. Connors and Christopher M. Hogan. Mr. Hogan won the competition.)

Chief Justice Roberts spoke more generally, drawing on his experiences on the other side of the bench. He argued 39 Supreme Court cases in private practice and as one of the elite lawyers who represents the government in the Supreme Court in the solicitor general’s office.

The chief justice seems to get a kick out of judging moot courts, which is surely a busman’s holiday. That is probably because he is a connoisseur of the art of oral argument.

“Quite often the judges are debating among themselves and just using the lawyers as a backboard,” Chief Justice Roberts explained to the students afterward, referring to appellate arguments in his court and others. “One of the real challenges for lawyers is to get involved in that debate.”

The fake case the students were arguing had two parts, each impossibly complex. The first concerned whether poor pregnant women who were denied access to medical care can sue a state health agency under a federal law even though Congress had not said they were allowed to do that in so many words. Layered on top of the first question was whether the women may use a federal civil rights law as the way to get into court.

The second question was whether the trial judge could certify a class action to consider only some of the issues in the case.

Whew.

The four finalists were all plenty smart and in full command of the statutes and precedents in play. They fielded questions with self-confidence and, for the most part, a fluid, conversational style. But their approach was sometimes awfully technical.

Judge Michael W. McConnell of the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit gently reminded the students afterward that the law is more than a series of propositions to be fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle.

“It may be the former academic in me,” Judge McConnell said, “but I do think this was a case that might have invited going a little deeper.”

Instead of arguing about which of two inconsistent Supreme Court decisions should apply, Judge McConnell said, the students might have used the confused state of the law as an opportunity to talk about justice in a broader sense.

Chief Justice Roberts suggested in his questions, though perhaps only for effect, that he was no fan of either class actions or of allowing judges to make broad policy judgments.

“A class action is a dramatic departure from the normal rules of litigation,” he said. He asked one student whether the practical impact of allowing a class action was not merely to grant the plaintiff leverage in settlement talks.

Discussing a federal law that requires states to run medical programs “consistent with efficiency, economy and quality of care,” Chief Justice Roberts sounded exasperated.

“How in the world is a judge supposed to apply those terms — economy, efficiency?” he asked. “Those sound like legislative judgments.”

The post-argument critiques were not limited to the students. Two of the appeals court judges said the Supreme Court might work a little harder to establish clear principles.

“The multipart tests that come down from on high are not particularly helpful,” Judge McConnell said. And Judge Diane P. Wood of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit said she did not always enjoy traversing the “difficult terrain of decisions of the Supreme Court that seem to point in different directions.”

Chief Justice Roberts laughed along with everyone else. He had earlier sorted out the relationship between the two conflicting precedents, Wilder v. Virginia Hospital Association and Gonzaga University v. Doe, to his own satisfaction.

“Wilder is limited to its facts, I guess is the most charitable way to put it,” he said during the argument, meaning the Gonzaga decision had effectively overruled it.

Afterward, he discussed why he had spoken with such easy authority — aside from being chief justice of the United States.

“I argued and lost, of course, the Wilder case and argued and won the Gonzaga case,” he said. He was smiling as he recalled the victory.

Community organizes Its Own Middle School Debates

From http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/042008/04222008/371884

Debate: Videos harm youth?

April 22, 2008 12:15 am

By REBECCA J. BARNABI

The first Spotsylvania Middle School Great Debaters Invitational held on Saturday at Thornburg Middle School was won by two seventh-graders from Thornburg.

In the final round of debating, Thornburg's "pro" team successfully argued why video games, music videos and commercial television broadcasts are harmful to youth.

Katie Brennan and Ashley Martin argued that music videos are desensitizing youth and infringing upon their First Amendment rights.

They repeatedly mentioned the portrayal of women in music videos. According to Katie and Ashley, the lack of clothing worn by women and the way they are treated by men is harmful to youth.

Chancellor Middle School's "con" team, sixth-grader Joelle Reed, 11, and seventh-grader Anjelika Blackman, 14, argued that video games increase eye-hand coordination and reflexes for youth. Also, the video game industry provides lucrative employment for many young people.

Anjelika pointed out that television programming such as the Discovery Channel and PBS "gets kids' minds in the state of learning."

All four contestants of the final round will receive $100 and were given trophies at the end of the debate.

The two teams in second place also received trophies and members will each be given $75. Third-place team members received trophies and will be awarded $50 each.

All participants in the debate will be given certificates of participation.

Donald Alvey, director of secondary education for Spotsylvania County, said 70 students attended the event from Spotsylvania middle schools and churches.

Massaponax Middle School, Walker-Grant Middle School, Ni River Middle School and Battlefield Middle School were among those represented in the debate.

In middle school, there are no debate classes or teams, said Alvey. High school is when students usually first encounter debate. The invitational this year allowed middle-school students an opportunity to experience debate before they enter high school.

With a council including Massaponax High School's debate coach Lorraine DelGrasso, Alvey and president of the Spotsylvania NAACP Mozette Petway created this year's debate invitational. They hope it will become an annual event in Spotsylvania County.

According to Anita Roberson, secretary of the Spotsylvania NAACP, the invitational was an example of how the community can come together for students.

She said the debate topic was chosen by the students. Surveys were sent out in schools to find out what students are interested in.

Judges of the competition included area high school debate team members and former Fredericksburg Mayor Lawrence Davies.

Princeton Wins APDA Sweepstakes

From http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2008/04/22/20931/

U. debate team best in country
By KATIE WALSH
CONTRIBUTOR

Published: Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

Last weekend, the Princeton Debate Panel received the inaugural College of the Year Award for being the top debate panel in the country. The award was given at the American Parliamentary Debating Association National Championship, at which Princeton also was one of the few schools in the competition’s history to have two teams advance to the semifinals.
At the MIT-hosted tournament, Jason Sheltzer ’08 and David Kwasniewski ’08 placed second, and panel president Daniel Rauch ’10 and Mike Shih ’09 placed fourth, making Princeton the school with the most teams in the varsity elimination rounds. Kwasniewski and Sheltzer also received second and seventh place for varsity speaker awards, respectively.

“We’ve had a very strong season prior to [the national championships]. We were consistently leading in the standings,” Rauch said. Rauch is also a member of The Daily Princetonian Editorial Board.

The College of the Year award is given to reward a school’s aggregate success over the course of the debate season. The University debate panel attended more than 20 tournaments this year, including the World Championships in Thailand and the North American Championship in Ottawa, Canada.

In parliamentary debate, teams take turns proposing topics: Each team chooses its own topic, and the opposing team must think on its feet. Kwasniewski said that the only real way to prepare is to keep up with current events and maintain a wide spectrum of knowledge.

“It’s a very interesting challenge, to come up with arguments about things you never thought about before,” he said.

Rauch credits the team’s success to more than just preparation.

“I think it was because of our organizational structure and support from the University,” he said, adding that novice members of the panel were great assets.

The top-ranked novice debater in league, Zayn Siddique ’11, received the second place novice speaker award. Siddique is also a staff photographer for the ‘Prince.’

Rush Doshi ’11 received the fourth place speaker award. The team of Doshi and Daniel May ’11 placed second in the novice division.

Doshi said he was very excited to have done so well, explaining that he and his partner had not been able to attend as many tournaments as they would have liked in preparation for nationals, but noted that the duo benefitted from the debate panel tradition of having seasoned teammates train new members.

Unlike younger teammates making their first trip to nationals, this is the second year in a row that Sheltzer and Kwasniewski have reached the finals of the national championship.

“Last year we went in as underdogs. We were juniors ... not that much was expected of us, and we surprised everyone, including ourselves” Sheltzer said. Sheltzer is a former ‘Prince’ columnist.

“We went into this season with a bit of momentum, and it has carried us throughout the year,” he added.

Sheltzer was pleased to end his debating career on a high note.

“It feels really nice to be able to leave at the top of your game,” Sheltzer said. “We are both so happy to have [had] such a successful run on the circuit.”

Even with senior talent leaving the team, Kwasniewski is optimistic about the panel’s future. “I think [the College of the Year award] speaks more than anything to how much talent we have on the team,” he said.

In addition to all the preparation, Rauch also credits the team’s success to its members.

“Although we have been very successful competitively, the thing I’m most proud of is that, as a team, we are all friends,” Rauch said. “We always help each other out, and I think we are the most cohesive team on the circuit.”

The Princeton Debate Panel is a subsidiary of Princeton’s American Whig-Cliosophic Society.

USA Two-Year College NatioNals Results

From http://www.phirhopi.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Phi Rho Pi is an organization committed to increasing knowledge and appreciation of the forensics arts at the junior and community college level. It has the distinct honor of being one of the oldest forensics organizations having been founded by Texan, Sylvia Mariner in 1939. World War II disrupted competition for five years however, in 2007 Phi Rho Pi held its 73rd annual national tournament. The Phi Rho Pi National Tournament is consistently one of the largest in the nation, last year welcoming over 76 schools and 600 coaches and students.
Phi Rho Pi offers community college students the only full service national tournament with 11 individual events, three forms of debate and interpreter’s theatre.
Phi Rho Pi’s purpose is to:

• Promote forensics programs in individual junior and community colleges throughout the United States.
• Promote regional forensics associations to foster the growth, development, and participation of forensics in that area.
• Promote a national association to foster growth, development and participation of all member Junior and Community Colleges in the forensic arts; to promote educational services to the membership; to provide national conventions and tournaments; to provide a national Honorary society; to promote competitive forensic activities, and educational, professional, and leadership.

DEBATE RESULTS

NFA L-D
Name Prelims Bronze Gold Honors
705-05Lillian Cavalieri W L W W W W WWL WLW GOLD
401-02Jon Cottrell W W L W L W WWW WLW GOLD
713-08Chris Maciel W W W L L W WWL WWW GOLD
302-06Travis Smith W W L W W L WWL WLW GOLD
714-01Kyle Armstrong W W L W W L WWL WLW GOLD

PARLI DEBATE

Parli Debate
Name Prelims Bronze Gold Honors
713-05/08Harris - Maciel W W W W W W LWW WWW GOLD
701-04/05Newkirk - Nuckels W W L W W W WLW WLW GOLD
409-04/05McRae - Poff L L W W W W WWW LWW GOLD
404-04/02Wittke - Macbeth L W W W W W WWW WWW GOLD
408-02/05Burkett - Taube W L W W W W WWW WLW GOLD
308-01/02Gibson - Park W L W L W W LWW WWL GOLD
404-03/01Shimp - Cooper W W W L W L WWW LWW GOLD
409-01/03Debolt - Lee W W W L W W WWW WLW GOLD
501-02/05Montee - Rohan W W W L L W WLW WLW GOLD

POLICY DEBATE
Team Debate
Name Prelims Bronze Gold Honors
501-02/05Montee - Rohan W W W W W WWW WLW GOLD
503-01/02Hartkopp - Jacobs W L L W W WWW LWL SILVER

PERPETUAL SWEEPSTAKES AWARD

Sylvia D. Mariner
Perpetual Sweepstakes Award
Prior Current Total
713 Moorpark College 1268.00 160.00 1428.00
409 Solano 1260.50 105.00 1365.50
302 Tyler Junior College 1301.00 47.50 1348.50
705 El Camino College 1263.50 75.00 1338.50
401 Modesto Junior College 1289.00 40.00 1329.00
102 Northwest College 1164.00 124.50 1288.50
309 San Antonio College 1192.50 57.50 1250.00
208 Harper College 1128.00 85.00 1213.00
101 Glendale Community College 1133.00 65.00 1198.00
203 Illinois Central College 1168.00 26.00 1194.00

INDIVIDUAL SWEEPSTAKES AWARD

Bovero-Tabor Award
Individual Sweepstakes
709-03 Sean Connor Orange Coast College 35.0
718-04 Marcus Hill Los Angeles Valley College 35.0
701-05 Ashley Nuckels Palomar College 35.0
409-02 Michael Holms Solano 32.5
705-05 Lillian Cavalieri El Camino College 32.5
102-02 Bryce Cornatzer Northwest College 30.0
713-11 Matthew Strawbridge Moorpark College 30.0
701-04 Todd Newkirk Palomar College 27.5
204-08 Rachel Parish Southeastern Illinois College 25.0
708-06 Anthony Mendez Mt San Antonio College 25.0

African Schools Debating Championship This Weekend

From http://africa.debate.org.za/

This tournament aims to bring together the top students from across South Africa, and teams from countries from all over Africa, to participate in critical dialogue. They will compete in a debating tournament while at the same time, the public and students will be invited to engage on topical issues with prominent members of business, government and civil society. With the immense support of FNB, Umsobomvu Youth Fund and St John's College, the ASDC is set to become the premier youth dialogue event on the continent! We hope you will be joining us between 29 April and 3 May 2008 at St John's!

Finals to be held at Pan African Parliament
Saturday, 19 April 2008 20:06
The finals of the African Schools Debating Championships will be held at the Pan African Parliament in Midrand.

The Pan African Parliament was established in March 2004. Its establishment was informed by a vision to provide a common platform for African peoples to be more involved in duscussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent. The Pan-African Parliamentarians represent all the peoples of Africa. The ultimate aim of the PAP is to evolve into an institution with full legislative powers, whose members are elected by universal adult suffrage.

It is fitting that the finals of the premier youth dialogue event on the continent be held at a venue which exists to promote debate and discussion about issues facing Africa.

More information about the Pan African Parliament and its work can be found here.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 April 2008 20:20 )

List of Participating Countries
Monday, 17 March 2008 08:24
Botswana
Kenya
Lesotho
Malawi
Namibia
South Africa (Open Team)
South Africa - FNB/Umsobomvu Youth Fund Development Team
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe

NPPF Finals to be Webcast from New York

The semifinals and finals of the Bickel and Brewer/NYU National Public Policy Forum will be webcast live through he sponsor's cooperation with Debate Central (debate.uvm.edu) and the Global Debate blog (globaldebateblog.blogspot.com).

For more information about this exciting national contest, go to http://www.nppf.net/

The event will begin at approximately 9 AM (Eastern time) Saturday morning 26 April 2008 for the two semifinal rounds. After a lunch break there will be the final round. Specific times are coming up and will be announced on Saturday at 9 AM as well.

You can watch from http://www.uvm.edu/debate_theater/

Make sure that you have the latest version of Apple's QuickTime installed on your computer.

Here is some additional information about the finals:

Members of four high school debate teams from across the nation will soon be packing their bags – they’ve earned an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City. The teams have been named “Final Four” schools in the Bickel & Brewer / New York University National Public Policy Forum (NPPF), the only national contest that gives high school students the opportunity to participate in written and oral debates on issues of public policy.

Advancing schools include:

Colleyville Heritage High School
Colleyville, TX

Bellaire High School
Bellaire, TX

Kahuku High & Intermediate School
Kahuku, HI

Wellington High School
Village of Wellington, FL

By advancing to the finals, the debaters remain eligible for the $10,000 grand prize. The finals competition takes place April 26, 2008 on the New York University campus.

“These deserving students will soon compete on one of the greatest stages in high school debate – competition that involves some of our nation’s best debaters and a panel of judges, all nationally known for their achievements inside and outside of debate,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at Bickel & Brewer and founder of the NPPF. “The NPPF Finals is unlike any other debate competition taking place today. The judges will engage the contestants in an interactive competition with questions from the panel. This creates a live forum for debaters that is uniquely dynamic and challenging.”

This year’s NPPF began in October when students from more than 100 high schools (representing 26 states) submitted case studies on the 2007-2008 topic, “Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its AIDS/HIV public health assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa.” From the original pool of more than 100 debate teams, sixteen advanced to a single-elimination written debate tournament. In each round, competitors volleyed written debates back and forth via e-mail. A panel of judges reviewed the papers in the order they were presented and voted for the winning school. This process continued for several rounds – over a six-month period – until the Final Four teams were announced today.

The upcoming finals competition is a unique test of research and oral advocacy skills. Students will present their positions before a panel of judges that includes some of the world’s foremost experts in law, business, debate and politics. The debates will be televised live via the Internet – and viewed by debaters across the country.

Along with Brewer, scheduled judges for the finals weekend include John Sexton, president of New York University; Scott Wunn, secretary, National Forensic League; Melissa Maxcy-Wade, director of forensics, Emory University; Lenny Gail, chairman, National Association of Urban Debate Leagues; and Alfred M. Snider, director of forensics; University of Vermont.

During their stay in New York, students from the final four schools will be honored at a special banquet and awards ceremony at New York University, where the winning school will receive $10,000 to be used for scholarships and the “Bickel & Brewer Cup,” a traveling trophy that resides annually with the NPPF champion.

The keynote speaker for the banquet ceremony is the Hon. John G. Koeltl, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York.

The NPPF was founded by the Bickel & Brewer Foundation in 2001, and is jointly administered with New York University. The program is available to all high schools nationwide – public and private – for free. Since the NPPF’s inception, the Bickel & Brewer Foundation has awarded more than $400,000 in support of forensic activities at the secondary school and collegiate levels. The NPPF is endorsed by leading forensic agencies, such as the National Forensic League and National Associate of Urban Debate Leagues.

The Bickel & Brewer Foundation is a private, non-profit organization funded by companies, individuals and the national litigation firm of Bickel & Brewer. With offices in Dallas and New York, the Foundation has achieved widespread recognition for its efforts to create, fund and manage a variety of educational outreach programs. Visit The Bickel & Brewer Foundation at www.bickelbrewer.com.

Binghamton & Kansas Win NDT Sweepstakes Race in USA

The results are out for the 2007-2008 season.

From http://www.whitman.edu/rhetoric/ndt/

In the overall rankings:

1. Binghamton 583
2. Liberty University 561
3. Kansas (Univ. of) 526
4. Emory 513
5. Kansas State 491
6. Oklahoma 490
7. Harvard 481
8. Mary Washington 465
9. U.S. Military Academy 459
10. Wake Forest 456

In the varsity rankings

1. Kansas (Univ. of) 515
2. Emory 509
3. Harvard 481
4. Binghamton 464
5. Wake Forest 456
6. Dartmouth 442
7. Northwestern 428
8. Michigan State Univ. 417
9. California 395
10. Missouri State 393

Kate Shuster Keynote - What We Know and Don't Know About Debate Education

Kate Shuster with Zoran Jankovic, Mayor of Ljubljana, Slovenia

A speech about what we know and don't know about the links between debate and educational outcomes. Delivered by Kate Shuster of the Claremont Graduate School in California. For more about Kate see http://betterworldconference.blogspot.com/2007/09/kate-shuster-to-keynote-at-2008.html

Click to view or right click to download:
http://www.uvm.edu/~debate/watch/better08shuster.m4v

From the 2nd International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment, April 2008, held at the Faculty of Administration, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Sponsored by Institute of Education Republic of Slovenia, World Debate Institute University of Vermont, and Za in Proti (ZIP) Slovenia. The next conference will be held in 2010.

Website: http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html
Blogsite: http://betterworldconference.blogspot.com/

You will need QuickTime from Apple installed on your computer to watch the video:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/

Get Ready for All Asians Next Month

From the oganizers at sinhahumayun@yahoo.com:

Dear All,

We, the OrgCom of NSU All Asians draw your attention to some important issues.

1. We have already forwarded the Names and the Passport Numbers of the participants who have already mailed us, to ‘Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh’ so that your Visa process gets easier. Participants, who haven’t sent their names and passport numbers, please send them by 25th of April, 2008. Otherwise, we may not be able to assist you regarding the Visa procedure.

2. Adjudicators, please send your CVs. The deadline of the CV submission has been extended to 25th of April,2008. We need all the CVs to ensure the quality of adjudication in our tournament. The CV form is again attached with this mail. Thanks to all of them who have already mailed their CVs.

3. Please fill your Detail "participant information" form (Institution wise) by 30th of April. We need all the names to prepare our database and tab. The form has been attached with this mail as well.

Thank you. Hope to meet you soon in Bangladesh.


Sinha Humayun
Assistant Chief Adjudicator
NSU ALL ASIANS 2008

Canadian Hosts Debate Television Show in Korea

Ian Yovdoshuk, a debate expert at Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies, hosts the debate program “Face to Face” on Arirang TV.

From http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2008/04/178_22837.html

04-20-2008 19:41
Debate Show Host’s Passion Toward Debate

/ Korea Times
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

Learning English has many ways ― from listening to music, watching movies to just writing a diary ― but one effective way recommended by students and English experts alike would be none other than: debating.

Ian Yovdoshuk is the host of a debate program ``Face to Face'' on Arirang TV. , and also a debate instructor at Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies (HAFS), high school that is affiliated with Hankuk Universtiy of Foreign Studies. He is a strong believer of debate who says that it is not only a great way to learn English effectively, but also a great method of building self-confidence and much more.

``Debate is the best way for students to acquire so many skills at the same time, and have fun doing it,'' he told The Korea Times.

Debate was not Ian's initial expertise, it was simply one of his many interests. After graduating from high school, he studies the culinary arts, worked as a professional chef, received his undergraduate degree in fine arts at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) and also worked at the National Gallery of Canada for two years.

He first visited Korea as an exchange student at his third year of NSCAD and ended up staying for a year. He came back after graduation and after working at foreign high schools, he settled at HAFS and now organizes the Korea High School Debate Championships (KHSDC).

Living in Korea, it was not hard to realize that learning English was one of the top priorities for Korean students and also the parents. However, high as the demand may be, he says Korea still needs a more efficient education management system. Ian mentioned that ``education management as a field of specialization is yet to reach Korea'' and that many teachers are just used to their old routine, rather than picking up more efficient and effective tactics, like debating.

``Students learn to research, how to take dictation and concentrate on what people are thinking to derive meaning. This is all active thinking, listening, comprehension, speaking and writing,'' he said.

In this sense, ``Face to Face'' is a program for students who are eager to come up onstage, express their ideas of current issues and more than willing to handle pressure. The program is carried out with a type of debate that allows the speaker to interrupt the opponent at certain times, making the process more interesting and interactive. The debate is presented in English, obviously, but Ian said that it is not the language ability that matters, but the presentation skills.

``It's just a great opportunity that students get out there and voice their opinions on topics and issues that are current in society,'' he said.

Despite the efforts made by some programs and teachers, he also pointed out some problems of Korean high schools and their English education system. As a former teacher at foreign language high schools, he said that it is important to understand the true effect of debating and put efforts to merge the debating culture into the everyday lives of high school students.

``At the high school level, everything is subverted to the suneung (the state-run College Scholastic Ability Test). But as high school debate grows, and if the principals (of high schools) acknowledge debate as an activity (in learning English), that will be the rainfall that turns into the river. And then that river will flow into the collegiate ocean,'' he said.

Ian's expectations were high and he had his teams to back him up. His team won the KHSDC 2008, and despite the fierce competition in international debate championships, he was confident that Korean students were one of the best in the world.

``Debate is an activity. In places where English is a second language, as a vehicle to practice and learn English, it's great. That's why I do it. And (that's why I'm) so hooked on it,'' Ian said.

``Face to Face'' is aired on Saturdays at 8:30, Arirang TV.

California Passover Conflict Solved by Jewish Community

From http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_8991829

Far from family, speech competitors still enjoy Passover ritual meal

HILLEL HOSTS SEDER FOR JEWISH HIGH SCHOOLERS COMPETING IN SPEECH CONTEST AT SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY ON HOLIDAY
By Lisa Fernandez
Mercury News
Article Launched: 04/20/2008 01:47:11 AM PDT

On the surface, it seemed like a typical Seder. Guests ate matzo ball soup, sang songs and remembered the Israelites' exodus from Egypt.
But why was this Seder on Saturday evening different from all others? It was born from a scheduling conflict.
The 50th annual California High School Speech Association tournament was put on the calendar, landing smack dab in the middle of one of the most important Jewish holidays - a time when extended families gather around the table to eat and tell stories during a Seder, the Passover ritual meal.
The tournament, hosted by Santa Clara University, was planned more than a year ago, much to the Jewish community's chagrin. For many Jews, not being with family for a Passover Seder - where Jews tell the story of the Israelites' exodus from slavery in Egypt - is like not being home for Easter or Christmas.
And after months of unsuccessful lobbying attempts by some major Jewish organizations to change the date, the Jewish community came up with Plan B: Hillel of Silicon Valley would host a Seder for anyone in town for the tournament.
Saturday, the logistical miracle of putting on a kosher-catered Seder for about two dozen students, and a dozen or so other community members, came to fruition.
"While, obviously, we don't think it's ideal to hold a tournament on a big Jewish holiday, it was, 'Let's make a holiday for any student who is away from home,' " said Sue Maltiel, executive director of Hillel
of Silicon Valley, a nationwide university-based non-profit that hosts Jewish events.
Maltiel's three children have all participated in speech and debate events, including son Eric, a student at Bellarmine College Preparatory, who is competing this year.
The state tournament is being held this weekend - which coincides with the first two nights of Passover. About 1,300 students from more than 150 schools are participating. An unknown number of Jewish students bowed out of the tournament, choosing instead to be with their families for Passover.
"This is really nice," Carly Olenick, 16, of San Diego. "I really wanted to come to compete, but I'm looking forward to this Seder."
Tournament director Nermin Kamel said speech-and-debate organizers felt horrible that the competition was scheduled on Passover, and association members signed a resolution last week to try their best to avoid a similar gaffe in the future. "We value all kids," Kamel said. "But sometimes there's not much you can do logistically. We tried to reschedule, but contracts were signed a year and a half ago. We felt our hands were tied."
Passover is a lunar holiday and rotates slightly each year. Traditionally, the state debate tournament has been held on either the last, or second to last, weekend in April.
Tournament organizers looked at the calendar through 2015 and realized that the only time there might be a problem is 2011, when Easter is on one weekend and Passover is on the other. She said the committee will have to figure something out that year. The tournament used to be held the first week in May, but it had to be rescheduled because that now conflicts with Advanced Placement testing.
Kamel, who was born in Egypt and is a practicing Coptic Orthodox Christian, said she is personally aware of being sensitive to others' cultures and religions. Last year's debate tournament was on Orthodox Easter. She decided to celebrate with her family the following week so she could attend the tournament.
Kamel said she thought hosting a home-away-from-home Seder was a good solution.
So did Jake Novak, 16, a debater from San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas. It made his parents happy, too.
"I think my parents were less likely to let me go to the tournament before they heard there would be a Seder," he said. "Seders are usually at my grandmother's house, our whole family gets together. So, I was kind of upset, at first, but got more excited when I heard about this Seder. This is an important holiday in our religion."

Wits and Verbal Prowess on Display in Brunei

Senior Category Two champion Sarah Hanaa and Senior Category One champion Izzah Farzanah with their certificate and trophy. - ZASIKA MUSDI

From http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/thu/apr17h18.htm

Wits, verbal prowess on show at Maktab Sains

By Zasika Musdi

The 12th Annual Maktab Sains PSBS Senior Prepared Speech Competition reached its apex yesterday as eight finalists used their wits and verbal persuasion to claim the number one spot of 'Best Speaker'.
Izzah Farhanah bte Ahmad from MA 5I impressed the judges and the audience with her speech entitled "Where School Fails Us" and was declared the Champion for the Senior Category One. This particular category included three other finalists from Forms Four and Five, of which second place went to Md Abd Hafia bin Hapni from MA 4C for his speech "Achievers" and the third place went to Nuraqilah bte Arifin from MA 5I for her speech "The Benefits of Immortality". The consolation price was received by Dk Nur Zarifah bte Pg Omar Ali from MA 4H for her speech "Pollution".

For the Senior Category Two for Pre-U classes, Sarah Hanaa bte Hj Ahmad Ghazali from PU 1D clinched the number one spot for her speech entitled "P2F is better than American Idol", defeating first runner-up Ian Chan Xiao Zhang from PU 1Z with his hilarious speech "How to Be the Perfect Party Host", second runner-up Muhammad Sulaiman bin Hj Sukardi from PU 1Z with his speech "The Bulging Bruneian Man" and Nur Izzati bin Hj Shahari from PU 1A with her speech "The Secret of Success".

It was the first time both winners have taken part in a speech competition, and both weren't completely confident about winning, as some of the other finalists have taken part before. Sarah Hanaa's role as the school's Head Girl helped in giving her the confidence to speak in front of a huge crowd, she said, so she has at least a little experience in delivering a public speech.

"The main thing is to practice," she said. "Initially, it is very difficult to speak in public because you have this fear that the audience is expecting too much from you, but in time, it gets a little easier."

Izzah Farzanah said her participation during the Brunei Global Issues Conference (BGIC) played a big role in giving her the confidence to speak in public. "The difference, however, is that there was a bigger audience during the BGIC and interaction with other speakers were important," she said. "I've also done a lot of class presentations, and have grabbed every available opportunity to speak in public. That helped me a lot.

"A tip when it comes to speaking in public is that you should really believe in what you're talking about, and you should be passionate about your topic; make sure your content is relevant and it is what the audience is expecting," said Izzah Farzanah.

Presenting the prizes to all the finalists was Koh Hong Puah, Acting Assistant Director of Schools (Secondary), Ministry of Education. In his speech, he highlighted the importance of public speaking and how it has outdone other academically related activities.

"Children in primary schools are encouraged to compete in story-telling competitions and thus move on further to be involved in speech competitions like these as well as pidato and debate," he said. "The community has taken action and produced the Brunei Speaker's Club for individuals to carry on outside the academic field. Students are handpicked to compete nationally and test their skills beyond this on an international level. We have the potential to show the world who we are and place our name firmly on the map.

"In line with the Ministry of Education's aspirations of producing high calibre students, who not only excel academically but are also able to speak up with confidence in an articulate and intelligent manner. Suffice to say, this speech competition will give students the opportunity to speak up and thus prepare them to face the real challenging job market in the future," he added.

The speech competition is used as a yardstick to measure students' competency and proficiency in the English language. Previous winners of the competition have represented the college in national and international events and competitions such as Bridging Minds, Debates and the likes.

Every year, each class from all Form Four, Form Five, Pre U1 and Pre U2 organises a class speech competition. The best speaker from each class will be competing in a semi-final, upon which only the best eight speakers are selected to participate in the final competition, chosen for their remarkable delivery, inspiring and entertaining content.

However, the Chief Adjudicator Mr Chris Rockwell stated a number of flaws. He said that students had the tendency to breeze through their speech and not make full use of the four-six minute time limit. "Additionally, I find that students seemed to be shouting at the audience," he commented with amusement. Tone control, in other words, is also important during public speaking.

To show the college's appreciation and support, especially the English Department, the students' scripts will be published in the college yearbook for others to read and as a remembrance for them.

Critical Thinking Key in the Classroom AND in Debate

Martin Glendinning works managing NFL Nationals 2007

From http://ocolly.com/2008/04/18/high-school-speech-programs-in-jeopardy/

Friday, April 18, 2008

High school speech programs in jeopardy

By SHAYNA RAQUEL DAITCH
Opinion Columnist
Jerry Seinfeld said, “According to most studies, people’s No. 1 fear is public speaking. No. 2 is death. Death is No. 2.

Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

I realized how true Seinfeld’s words are. The art of rhetoric has been revered since ancient times. Along with grammar and logic, rhetoric was considered part of the “trivium” in Medieval institutions of learning. I believe the main reason so many people are afraid of public speaking is because oratory is not emphasized in the classroom.

Learning to speak and participate in a civil debate are useful talents. It is sad to learn that schools across the state are slashing budgets for forensics. Districts such as Edmond and Putnam City Public Schools, are diverting students away from acting and debate in order for them to take Advanced Placement classes.

This kind of classroom shuffling is degenerative considering the concentration of high GPA’s, National Merit Scholars and elevated test scores evident in high school speech classes. Instead of encouraging students to have tangible skills, school districts are pushing purely for test scores.

One of the best examples of how debate culminates in the classroom is the work of Martin Glendinning, Teacher of the Year for Edmond Schools.

The former debate coach teaches Advanced Placement American History at Edmond North. According to the Edmond Sun, the pass rate of his students on the End of Instruction test was 99 percent in 2007. Glendenning told the Sun, “Even now, as an AP U.S. history teacher, the key skills of my class are critical thinking and reasoning.” These two skills form the foundation of the art of debate.

Glendinning was in charge of last weekend’s 2008 State Speech and Debate Tournament for Oklahoma high school students. Competitors were from schools big and small. These students have worked tirelessly to get to the State “tourney.”

Tournaments happen nearly every weekend starting early in the morning and ending late at night on Fridays and Saturdays. The regional and state tournaments run for three days. In order to get to State, the competitors have to qualify at a local tourney, then participate in the regional Tournament and finally place there.

My favorite event, Extemporaneous, involves drawing questions on social or political issues. Competitors have 30 minutes to construct a 7 minute speech answering the question. The speech is given from memory.

It is a dichotomous event- one section deals with domestic issues and the other with foreign affairs. The performances are incredible. I cannot imagine most college students or adults being able to give a coherent and in-depth oration on topics such as the clash between democracy and Islam, the looming U.S. economic crisis, the violence in Nepal or the Mugabe dictatorship in Zimbabwe; and the list goes on.

Often, the delivery is humorous. The speakers are articulate, offer actual analysis and give a researched oratory — all with smooth transitions including an introduction and conclusion.

The prowess learned in speech class greatly affects students’ abilities in other disciplines. Construction of an argument is very similar to writing a proper paper. You must have a thesis, evidence and explain the impact of an action. Everything must link and be presented in a coherent fashion.

By encouraging this analytical thought process we can bring about the return of intellectual enlightenment. Isn’t that better than enjoying the casket?

Exhibition Debate From Ljubljana Conference

Debaters pose before the event

This is an exhibition debate staged at the 2nd International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment held in April 2008 at the Faculty of Administration, University if Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Government: Sam Nelson, Cornell USA, Alex Just, Oxford UK; Alfred Snider, Vermont USA, Omar Salahuddin, Multimedia Univ. Malaysia.
Opposition: Candace Williams, Claremont USA, Manolis Polychronides, Univ. Athens Greece; Sam Greenland, Univ. of Sydney Australia, Anna England Kerr, Ljubljana Slovenia.

Motion:
This House believes that in schools testing is the enemy of learning.

Click to watch as a podcast, or right click to download
http://www.uvm.edu/~debate/watch/bpbetter08tsting.m4v

Learn more about the conference at
http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html

Slovenia World Schools Documentary Now Online

Now archived as a podcast, the quality is excellent, but you probably need a good connection to stream it quickly enough.

The film is called "Svetovci." This is a special word that indicates "world attendee" as well as "on top of the world."

This is in the Slovene language and documents the Slovenian team's triumph at the 2007 World Schools Debating Championship in Seoul, Korea. Lots of it is in English and it is fairly easy to understand even if you do not know Slovene. Congratulations to Sinisha Gachic who produced and directed the documentary.

You can view it or right click to download at
http://www.uvm.edu/~debate/watch/svetovci.m4v

Victoria Wins New Zealand Easters - Again

From http://vicdebsoc.blogspot.com/

THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2008
It's official - 10 years in a row of Vic winning the Officers Cup - Vic 1 wins
Vic 1 beat Vic 2 in the Grand Final.

Congrats to Vic 1 and commiserations to Vic 2.

On the Speaker Tab front:

New Zealand Team:
Polly Higbee
Richard D'ath

Best Speaker:
Polly Higbee

NZ Team Captain:
Polly Higbee

Most Promising
Ella Edginton

Promising:
Ioana Gordon-Smith

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2008
V1 beats V3 in a split decision
V1 has beaten V3 on a split decision.

The topic was employers should be able to discriminate on religious grounds with V3 affirming.

That makes it a V1 versus V2 final for the second year in a row.

Tara Tate Named USA Educator of the Year

From http://glenbrooksouth.blogspot.com/2008/04/gbs-debate-coach-tara-tate-named-2008.html

THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2008
GBS Debate Coach Tara Tate Named 2008 Educator of the Year
The National Debate Coaches Association, the largest professional organization for high school and college debate coaches in the country, recognized Ms. Tara Tate on Sunday, April 13 as the organization's 2008 Educator of the Year.

There were seven nominations from all over the country and the organization announced the winner this past weekend. The award recognizes one debate coach in the country each year who, according to the description, "has had substantial impact on the debate community through their service, commitment to students, and teaching. The recipient is not one who merely coaches their students to win but truly defines what it means to be an educator in this community."

Congratulations to Ms. Tate for this well deserved honor.

Viewers Complain about Clinton-Obama Debate

From http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/04/the-travesty-of.html

The ABC News "Freak Show"
16 Apr 2008 10:06 pm
If you are any guide, this was a debacle for the network. One reader:
This debate was disgusting. But, it only motivated me more and made me realize how very important it is that Obama and the politics that he represents wins this election. I don't make much, but ABC just convinced me to make another small donation to Senator Obama. And, as a side note, it seems like it would've been better to have had George Will moderate the debate. I have much more faith in his fairness and concern with policy than what these two just put forward.
Another:
This debate was the biggest sham I've ever seen. The first hour was nothing but substance-less nonsense, soft ball questions and prattle.
Another:
The best part of this "debate" (likely the worst I've ever seen) just occurred a few minutes ago when the audience booed Charlie. I can't believe I just sat through 2 hours of that.
How many debate moderators actually get booed on live television? That's how bad it was. Another:
You can tell Gibson and Stephanopoulous are out of touch. They both don't have to worry about health care. It's why not a single question was asked about the issue that I care about so deeply, and instead hours were spent discussing the inane and insane. As an American who can't find a job because of my health care problems, I'm ashamed of ABC News.
Stephanopoulos was schooled in Morris-Rove politics. Under the tutelage of Hillary Clinton and James Carville. I repeat the obvious:
"No questions on the environment, none on terror, none on interrogation, none on torture, none on education, none on spending, none on healthcare, none on Iran ... but four separate questions in the first hour about a lapel-pin, Bitter-gate, Wright-gate and Ayers. I'm all for keeping candidates on their toes. But this was ridiculous. And now we have affirmative action? Again, it's not illegitimate as such - but the only reason it is asked is to try and trip these people up and make Gibson and Stephanopoulos look smart."
Yes, Clinton narrowly bested Obama. But all you could see was the trainwreck of the network. Don't you miss the League Of Women Voters?

High School Speech and Debate Finals Conflict with Passover in Missouri

There has been much written and said about this conflict in California, and now in Missouri.

From http://www.stljewishlight.com/news/291418892046579.php

State competition competes with Passover
BY JILL KASSANDER, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT

Clayton High School junior Rebeccah Singer was very excited about being part of the school's Readers Theatre team this year.

Then she discovered that the state speech, debate and drama finals, which are held at the University of Missouri in Columbia, are scheduled for April 19; the first Passover Seder is that evening. Last year she was part of the school's team which captured first place at the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) competition.

"I had asked about the forward dates of the competition and saw the conflict with Passover," Rebeccah said. "It was a deal breaker."

Rebecca's father, Steve Singer, is the president of the Board of Education of the School District of Clayton. He called Dr. Don Senti, superintendent of the district and told him about the situation. The two called the MSHSAA with the understanding the date could not be changed for this year, but wanted to avoid conflicts in the future. They spoke with the organization's executive director, Dr. Kerwin Urhahn, according to the letter sent by the school district.

"We were told that they checked with their attorney and could not consider religious holidays when they make out their schedule," Singer said. "But they clearly do consider some holidays since nothing ever is scheduled on Good Friday, Easter and Christmas."

It was that initial response which prompted Singer and the School District of Clayton Board of Education to further pursue the matter.

"The board discussed the problem and unanimously approved a letter on Feb. 20 to be sent to Dr. Kerwin Urhahn, executive director of MSHSAA," Director of Communications for School District of Clayton Chris Tennill said. "All seven school board members signed it — only two of the members are Jewish."

The school board letter encourages MSHSAA to consider the major religious holidays when doing their scheduling and not create "unnecessary conflicts for students and parents." It also says MSHSAA needs to "avoid treating certain religions or their holidays on a preferential basis. If you would not schedule an event on Christmas Eve, then the same standard should be applied to other major religious holidays." The letter included an interfaith calendar website address and suggested the MSHSAA use it for future planning.

It is not just a Jewish issue, Singer pointed out.

"We live in an increasingly multicultural state," Singer said. "We have a large Bosnian population some of which are Muslim. We need to be more sensitive of our differences; and religious holidays ought to be a factor for all high school events. It isn't just for the kids. The parents want to be able to see their kids compete."

Rick Kindhart, MSHSAA Assistant Executive Director for Communications, spoke with Urhahn before clarifying the organization's position.

"We are going to be very sensitive to this issue in the future," Kindhart said. "We can't preclude every possibility but we need to be cognizant of key religious holidays."

The MSHSAA board discussed the situation as new business at their Board of Directors March 6 meeting. Kindhart provided the motion and action taken by the board to the St. Louis Jewish Light for this article though the minutes of the meeting were not available in their final form at press time.

The motion acknowledges "receipt of Clayton's letter of concern regarding the speech and debate tournament taking place on Passover" and recommends sending "a letter thanking Clayton for sharing its concerns..." It also said it will "take these concerns under advisement when scheduling future event." The motion passed 7-0.

Kindhart said Urhahn had called the Clayton school district to advise them of the board action but had not sent an official letter yet.

Tennill understands the challenges to work around so many things when planning calendars two, three, four and five years out. He said Clayton is probably able to do it "95%" of the time. The district reminds teachers not to assign tests or papers on the Jewish High Holy Days.

"We do not want to create conflicts for students and/or their parents by forcing them to choose," Tennill said. "It is usually easy to steer clear of the big issues."

Kindhart said most of the speech, debate and drama competition occurs on Friday and the finals on Saturday would be done by 2 p.m. which would give participating students the opportunity to get home before the seder. However, he understands that that response doesn't address the issue of parents and others coming to support their students or acknowledge the depth of the holiday.

"It's not just about showing up for dinner," Rebeccah said. "It's about the preparations and being with your family, which is just as important as the meal."

Several other school districts contacted said they had not heard of any problems or knew that their students had made alternative arrangements. Cathy Kelly of Communications and Public Information at Parkway School District had not heard of any conflicts. Ladue Director of Communications, Kathy Reznikov, said she knew of students who had made ride arrangements so they are able to leave right after they compete.

Clayton High School sophomore Hannah Klein was also a member of the 2007 award winning Readers Theatre team. She didn't recognize the conflict when the dates were posted and actually had a part and started rehearsals when she found out about the problem. She went home to talk to her family and decided to withdraw from the competition.

She knows about the MSHSAA response that the competition would be completed in time for the students to be home in time for the holiday.

"I don't find that acceptable," Klein said. "It is a family holiday and often people come in from out of town. It is an entire day of preparation and visiting, not just popping in for dinner. And what if there was a traffic problem or things ran late? It shouldn't have been scheduled on that day in the first place."

Indian Parents in Saudi Arabia Organize Speech Contest

Students who participated in ISPAF speech contest in Jeddah. (AN photo)

From http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=108589&d=5&m=4&y=2008&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom

Indian School Parents Forum Holds Speech Competition
Arab News

JEDDAH, 5 April 2008 — Vaseem A. Latheef won first position, Aleena Fathim second and Shalini Jethendran third in a speech contest organized by the Indian School Parents Forum (ISPAF) at Rafa auditorium in Sharafiyah.

Other winners were: Baseema Abdul Ghani, Wafa Naseem and Ayisha A. G. among the senior (above Class VIII) and Edvin J. Xavier, Fahana Jabin and Sona Sam from the juniors. Thirty-one students took part in the contest.

“Almost all participants nurtured fabulous dreams. Some wanted to be professional teachers like Dr. Radha Krishnan, others software professionals like Bill Gates, yet others cherished the dream of becoming leaders like Martin Luther King,” said P.M. Mayinkutty, ISPAF secretary.

“Many of the contestants had even made plans how they are going to achieve their goals. It was really great,” he said. “One thing is that there has been considerable improvement in the performance as compared to previous programs,” Mayinkutty said.

The contest was mainly for students from Class VI to VIII. Out of the total contestants, 25 were from VI to VIII while four were from higher classes. Winners were given prizes during parenting program organized by ISPAF.

The panel of judges comprised four Toastmasters — Ashokan, Shafiq-ul Rahman, Iftikhar Ahmed and Mahboob Ahmed. Judges also provided useful guidance and advice to the contestants.

Website Catalogs Debate Motions and More

Peter, on the right, when I met him in 2003

Peter Mesarec is at it again, doing good work. I'll be checking here for ideas about motions, that is for sure. The blog is also very entertaining.

From http://www.debate-motions.info/

This is a site that has cumulated motions from the Worlds University Debate championship, European University Debate Championship and motions from other tournaments. You can use these motions for your preparation for BP tournaments or for your tournament. Finding a good motion is always important for running a good tournament. This is where we help you. We have the motions organized by tournaments, so that you can get an idea, what tournament uses what motions, and you can use the motions, that were used on tournaments that are similar to your tournament, to the tournament, that you are prepping for.

The calendar that you can click on, shows all the BP debate tournaments in Europe. Jens et all, thanks for allowing me to use it.


The site also features videos from different debates from around the world and different educational videos. You are of of curse invited to help us here, send us links from videos you have uploaded or you just found and think that they would interest the world debate community.

What is a debate topic or debate motion?

Debate motion is the topic or the title of the debate. It is always set by someone else and not the debaters, so that no one in the debate has any specific knowledge about the topic. The topics should not be too narrow, because all debaters should be able to debate the motion, meaning that they have the basic knowledge about the topic.

Well, you can have different ones, for the British parliamentary debate we normally use motions that start with This house would (THW) or This house believes (THB), this house is taken from the British parliament. Open motions are those, where the government has a lot of space to define what they would like to debate about. An open motion would be "THW open the doors", and closed motion would be "THB that the EU should do more to promote condoms to help prevent the spreading of HIV/AIDS in Africa". You will find more articles about "how to debate" on this website, so just browse the menus on the top and on the left.

Kansas City Champion Debater Teams with Coach as Legal Guardian

From http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/573439.html

Top debater garners respect his own way
By JOE ROBERTSON
The Kansas City Star

Jane Rinehart is Sean Easterwood’s debate coach and legal guardian.

Sean Easterwood doesn’t back down. No one sees any hint of weakness.
That’s how you stand face to face with steely-eyed brainiacs and win top speaker in a national debate tournament representing Kansas City’s Central High School.

That’s how you survive as a self-described “misfit.”

That’s how, at 17, you bear the weight of having walked up the steps to your home after returning from another out-of-town tournament and finding the window blinds gone, the furniture gone…

Want Easterwood’s photograph? He’ll consent to that. After all, it is a big deal for the senior, who just turned 19.

Thirty-four teams from 19 debate leagues across the nation battled it out in Chicago last weekend at the Chase Urban Debate National Championship. He earned a $2,500 scholarship for snaring the top individual award.

And he did it while attacking some of the hectic, rapid-fire tactics of debate even as he showed he could dominate that style, said judge Andrew Brokos.

“He was charismatic and principled,” Brokos said. “He had all the skills … to play within the game while getting the judges to acknowledge his criticism of the game.”

So take a picture, but don’t expect him to smile.

“Actually,” he said first off, “I despise debate.”

His debate teacher, Jane Rinehart, overheard and shook her head with a wry smile.

She knows better. She’s not just his teacher. She’s his legal guardian.

Rinehart is the one who saw him the day after that tournament in May 2006. She was driving away from the school and saw Easterwood walking. She knew he had not come to school that day. Something looked wrong.

Easterwood doesn’t remember what he was thinking or where he was going. He’d spent the night at a cousin’s house.

Rinehart and her husband took him in.

She isn’t surprised by his success. Easterwood has cousins who also excelled at debate. Easterwood came home with a sixth-place award from St. Louis early in his freshman year, despite being paired with a partner he’d never worked with before.

He was making it as a debater, and that earned status at Central.

“There are sides you have to choose at this school,” Easterwood said. “You have your sports, ROTC, hooligans and intellects.”

The intellects — the debaters — were clearly his niche. Debate was a cool place to be. Under Rinehart, the school’s debate program has achieved great acclaim, racking up awards and triumphs.

Easterwood contends that the only reason he came around his freshman year was because “J.R.” — as he calls Rinehart — provided peanut- butter-and-jelly sandwiches after school.

“I just came for the sandwiches,” he said. And Rinehart rolled her eyes.

He stayed, and here’s why.

“You see the walls of this school,” he said, gesturing out into the hall. “White-painted cinder block.” The structure reflects high school environments that are “intellectually restricting,” he said. “More like a holding cell.

“Debate is the place to reach outside those walls. There are no limits. You can gain the knowledge to do the stuff of CEOs, policymakers, doctors and lawyers.

“Critical thinking. Independent thinking.”

It doesn’t always work, rebelling against some of the rules of the game, biting back at protocol.

Easterwood and his usual partner, Deshawnta Brunson, won’t necessarily follow the conventions of what Rinehart calls “machine-gun debating” — packing as much information as possible into an affirmative or negative argument. They may invoke poetry, or even rap. Sometimes they win raves. Other times, judges or opponents object.

“Sometimes we’ve walked out on a debate,” he said.

“That just happened once,” Rinehart interjected.

“There were other times you don’t know about,” Easterwood said. Rinehart sighed.

Both she and her student/ward have made a lot of adjustments to each other. She and her husband had to learn the idiosyncrasies of an adolescent male. Her husband has two grown children, but Rinehart has no children of her own.

Easterwood had to accept regular meal times, eating together, telling his guardians where he’s going when he’s heading out the door and whom he’s going with.

“It’s been an interesting two years,” Rinehart said.

And it’s been a thrill, seeing the success of a teenager who is bound for the University of Missouri-Kansas City next year to debate and study political science or communications or philosophy — he hasn’t made up his mind yet.

In many ways, Easterwood has followed the path of many previous champion debaters at Central.

“He’s so focused,” Rinehart said. “Students here are very competitive. It becomes personal.”

That’s why, Easterwood said, he and Brunson “don’t just spit out facts and information” to try to rebut every opponent “who brings tubs (of data) stacked six high.”

“My motivation is not success,” Easterwood said. “We share how we feel. We go in with our will and our ideas, and we come out with respect.

“That’s the only reason I am in it.”

The details
Four Central High School seniors with Debate-Kansas City won awards at the inaugural Chase Urban Debate National Championship in Chicago last weekend. Sean Easterwood was the top speaker, Matheno Fraizer-Bey was awarded 11th place, Aaron Thomas got 14th place and Deshawnta Brunson got 18th place. Thirty-four teams from across the country competed, and Central’s two teams reached the quarterfinals.

IDEA-NFL Korea Qualifier Results

From http://idebate.blogspot.com/

IDEA-NFL Korea Qualifying Tournament Results

The IDEA-NFL Qualifier in Korea at Indianhead International School successfully concluded on Saturday evening. After 6 debate rounds, 4 oratory rounds, and 3 duo and dramatic rounds all packed into Friday evening and Saturday, the qualifiers for the NFL National Tournament in Las Vegas have been determined. There are 10 people and they come from 5 different schools, indicating the level and balance of competition in speech and debate in Korea. Without further ado, the results:


Duo Interpretation:

3rd place (2nd alternate for Las Vegas): Haeun Park and Amy Byun from Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS).

2nd place (1st alternate for Las Vegas): Joyce Lee and Michelle Kim from Korea International School (KIS)

1st place (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Kristin Chung and Hanna Kim from KIS



Dramatic Interpretation:

4th place (finalist): Julia Shin from Seoul International School (SIS)

3rd place (2nd alternate): Megan Song from KIS

2nd place (1st alternate): Soomin Kim from Cheongshim International Academy

1st place (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Sukyeon Won from SIS

Original Oratory:

5th place (2nd alternate): Minjoo Kim from Daewon Foreign Language High School

4th place (1st alternate): Sung Woo Yang from SIS

3rd place (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Sejin Park from KIS

2nd place (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Suyeon Kim from Cheongshim International Academy

1st place (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Ashley Shin from Taejeon Christian International School

Public Forum Debate:

4th place (2nd alternate): Jeewon Yoo and Do Hyeong Kwon from Daewon FLHS

3rd place (1st alternate): Jun-bin Yun and Ku-ri Park from Daeil FLHS

2nd place, 5-1 record (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Janice Yoon and Stephanie Char from SIS

1st place, 6-0 record (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Youjin Song and Jongmin Lee from Daewon FLHS

Congratulations to all! Thank you everyone for all of your hard work to make this year's tournament a success. I want to especially recognize Tammi Wenzig from Indianhead International School for hosting this tournament. The facilities were beautiful and IDEA owes a debt of gratitude to Tammi and IIS for hosting the tournament this year. Thanks, Tammi!

News from IDEA April 14 2008

From Arminda Lathrop:

The IDEA summer calendar is filling up! Are you planning to attend an IDEA event? We’d love to see you. This summer, in addition to our usual events, IDEA is also partnering with the UN Foundation and NFL to hold the first annual Global Youth Leadership Summit. If you have been active in Global Debates, you know about this event because the top six international school TPS point earners will score a free trip to the Summit this July 17th-19th in New York City! It has been a tight race; UNF is working hard to tally points, while IDEA is totaling ballot results. If your school isn’t a top TPS point earner, but you’re still interested in attending this exciting event, you can! All high school students are invited to attend (with a chaperone). The Summit will feature a UN tour, presentations by UN speakers, and the chance to discuss with and get to know students from across the globe, and the registration fee is only $125 if you register by June 1! For more information, you can visit www.thepeoplespeak.org and click on “Global Youth Summit.” We’ll keep you informed on who will be attending for free thanks to hard work during the Global Debates. ~ Arminda

IDEA/HWS Round Robin BP Tournament
Congratulations to all of the teams who participated in the Round Robin BP Tournament this year. The competition was intense, and every speaker did a wonderful job. For full tab of tournament rankings, please visit: http://people.hws.edu/barnes/debate/Round-Robin-Tab-2008.pdf. A short list below:
1. Hart House (U. of Toronto) 2. Harvard 3. Oxford 4. Claremont 5. Swarthmore 6. Queen's 7. LaVerne 8. Rochester Institute of Technology 9. Seattle University 10. Vassar 11. University of Alaska-Anchorage 12. Portland State University 13. Yale 14. Amherst 15. Cornell 16. University of Vermont
IDEA is looking forward to partnering with HWS again for this event next year! We will have news out this fall about how university teams can be a part of this prestigious tournament.

IDEA-NFL Korea Qualifier Tournament
The 3rd annual IDEA-NFL Qualifier in Korea at Indianhead International School successfully concluded on Saturday evening. After 6 debate rounds, 4 oratory rounds, and 3 duo and dramatic rounds all packed into Friday evening and Saturday, the qualifiers for the NFL National Tournament in Las Vegas have been determined. There are 10 student qualifiers, and they come from 5 different schools, indicating the level and balance of competition in speech and debate in Korea. If you would like to see the results of this tournament, please visit IDEA’s Blog. Thank you to all of the excellent teams who participated. We’ll see you next year in Seoul!

One Month until IDEA Tournament of Champions
Have you registered for IDEA’s high school parliamentary debate tournament yet? This year will mark the biggest TOC thus far, promising great competition, fun events, and good food. Come and join us at Willamette University in Oregon! Register for the ITOC at: http://willamette.edu/cla/debate/events/itoc2008/index.php. Registration spots are filling up fast!

Debate In the Neighbourhood Rotterdam Championship a Great Success!
By Bettina Perremuto
The Debate In the Neighbourhood (Rdebate) finals held on March 29 at Arminius in Rotterdam was a great success. Four two-person teams from the school, Albeda, and youth centres Fijenoord and Krakeling, competed for the most wanted title, “Rdebater of the year 2008”. The tournament was well-attended by participants, mentors, trainees, jury and other enthusiastic spectators. The judges evaluated the teams based on several criteria such as content, form, presentation, delivery style, and guts. In each round, two MC’s introduced the resolution. All teams were challenging and it was a head-to-head race. After an interesting and detailed debate, the judges deliberated. The mayor of Rotterdam presented every participant a certificate of the event and announced the winners of “Rdebater of the year 2008.” Overall the Debate In the Neighbourhood festival was a great achievement; supporters, mentors, trainers and spectators had a great time and the teams were able to show how much they have learned about debating!

Vermont to Host US Universities in 2009

At the 2008 US Universities Debating Championship at Portland State University, Vermont was selected and will host in April of 2009.

Current plans now involve moving forward:

• Securing sponsorship for the event. Negotiations are underway.
• Planning and reservation of the best possible space on campus for a rapidly growing tournament.
• Finalizing plans with an excellent hotel within five minutes of campus and the airport.
• Reworking the website to shift from a “choose us” to a “welcome in 2009” website.

Congratulations to Colgate University who had a very strong bid. Thanks to all of those who supported out bid.

I congratulate all of those who are working to build a strong WUDC circuit in the hope of mounting a serious presence at the international and national levels as well as to train many students how to debate in this exciting format.

Our website for the event is at http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/usu/Welcome.html

Alfred Snider, Convener

Humanitarian Law Debate in Malaysia

From aizek_machoman@yahoo.com

Hello fellow debaters

UT MARA Debate Society in collaboration with the Student Representative
Council of Law Faculty together with ICRC is proud to host the next ICRC
International Humanitarian Law Debate 2008.

This tournament will be held from the 2nd to 5th of June 2008 at the Law
Faculty of UiTM Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. This tournament will be
using the Australs style of debating for obvious purpose as of which it
is near the Australasian season. The theme for this year's tournament is
"War, Suffering & Humanity".

The registration is now open. Please be noted that this tournament is
open to ALL, law or non law students. The fee for each person (debaters,
adjudicators, observers) is only RM60(including food). For those who
require accommodation, it is upon request. As of now, the accommodation
fee for non-UiTM participants is only RM15 per night, plus RM5 for
laundry. We are still negotiating with the university administrator in
reducing the fee.

The team cap for each institution is 6 teams, with only 3 breaking
teams. The N=1 Rule applies for adjudicators.

For those who require invitation letters, we will post it up very soon
in the Internet or we can send it to you by fax. Please be reminded that
the deadline for registration is 19th May 2008. The details of methods
of payment will be inserted together with the invite letters.

For any inquiries, please contact Rafiezi(Convenor)

+60126876212 or
Aizek(Tournament Director) +60122529187 or you can email us at
icrcihldebate.uitm@gmail.com

Thank you

Best regards,

Rafiezi (Convenor) & Aizek (Tournament Director

Loyola Marymount Wins US Universities

From Chris Richter:

Winners:
Loyola Marymount University - Alexander Schwab and Kevin Kiley

Finalists
Claremont Colleges - Charles Sprague and Kari Wohlschlegel
Seattle - Michael Imeson and James Kilcup
University of LaVerne - Rob Ruiz and Thomas Allison

Final Round Panel
Chris Kolerok (Alaska) - Chair
Alistair Cormack (Durham)
Rory Gillis (Yale)
J. Scott Rodriguez (Cal State San Bernardino)
Eric Sanelle (Portland State)

Top Speaker
Kari Wohlschlegel - Claremont Colleges

Novice Champions
Alaska HS - Michelle Hart and Aimee Stanley

Top Novice Speaker
Dennis Sapranov - Regis

Please feel free to cross-post these results to anyone who might be interested in them. And, if you have any questions, or need additional information, please contact me at richter.christopher@gmail.com.

Best,

Chris Richter
Head Coach - PSU Debate

2nd International Conference Concludes in Ljubljana

Omar Salahuddin (Malaysia), Anna Swersky (Israel) and Sam Nelson (USA)

Hello from Ljubljana, Slovenia.

As I write this the Second International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment, Thinking and Speaking a Better World, has just concluded at the Faculty of Administration at the University of Ljubljana.

With 22 countries represented and a full program of academic papers presented it would be hard not to call it a success. Exchange of ideas, learning and networking all abounded at the event. Including:

• Excellent keynote speeches by Frans van Eemeren of Netherlands, Kate Shuster of the USA and Omar Salahuddin on Malaysia.
• Wonderful reception at City Hall provided by the mayor, Zoran Jankovic, including a private tour of the city castle battlements.
• Sharp and focused interchange between panelists and audience at the many sessions.
• Wonderful breaks where plans were made for future cooperation and refinement of ideas.
• An excellent banquet featuring mountains of delicious Slovenian food.
• Videos, exhibition debates and panel discussions.

Many of these events were videotaped and will be on the web soon as well as announcements about the publication of a proceedings volume. We are proud to announce a new cooperative arrangement with the journal Controversia to seek submission to some of our papers.

Thanks to all hosts and organizers, and especially to all who attended. World Debate Institute University of Vermont and Za in Proti Slovenia were proud to be the organizers.

More to come about the next conference, now planned or 2010.

Thinking and Speaking a Better World Conferance Program Book Available

From Alfred Snider:

The program booklet is now available online. Bojana Skrt will check for and change some of the characters that did not come through and add a few other things, but this is it.

You can find it at http://debate.uvm.edu/betterworldbook2008.doc

Thanks to everyone who helped with this project, and especially all of the authors of our many fine papers.

I am very excited about the conference.

See you in Ljubljana!

NPDA Nationals Teaches a Lifelong Lesson

From http://media.www.lsureveille.com/media/storage/paper868/news/2008/03/31/Opinion/National.Debate.Tournament.Teaches.Lifelong.Lesson-3291720.shtml

National debate tournament teaches lifelong lesson
Ginger Gibson

I am a nerd.

I have spent the past weekend engaging in an activity that is high-stress and requires me to talk fast and know a lot of random information about a large variety of topics.

I have been called upon to agree and disagree with positions that are not just black and white.

I have engaged in a type of discourse that is educational and taxing.

I have spent the past four days at the National Parliamentary Debate Association national tournament at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. I will admit outright that I did not win; in fact, I did not even make it past the eight preliminary rounds.

But the education and life experience I garnered from participating in a highly-competitive tournament outweigh the absence of a trophy.

Most people have no idea what the NPDA is or even what a debate tournament entails. In short, the NPDA is a two-on-two format of debate that requires participants to take opposing sides on a given topic. The participants are informed of the topic and what position they will take and then have about 20 minutes to prepare for the debate. After that point, all bets are off.

Debates require participants to not only be able to discuss the given topic, which could range from environmental protection to the Iraq War to stopping sex trafficking in parts of Africa. But they also may be called upon to discuss the complicated technicalities of debate and what type of discussions and activism should be taking place in the world on a larger level outside the tournament.

Basically, debate tournaments are a laboratory for discussion, a place where people can - generally without restraint - discuss and argue the issues that have the biggest impacts on the world and attempt to come to some sort of resolution about what should be done.

The types of people who participate in debate are much like the people who read the Op/Ed page of a newspaper - those who enjoy conflict, discussion and disagreement on important issues.

There is an additional level to competitive debate - competition. Not only are we idealistic because we think in an eight-minute speech we can convince you that American hegemony is good, but we also are simply trying to beat the other team. It is kind of like athletics - we as a team may know that our perimeter shooting game is the best route, but we cannot beat the other team unless we score in the paint, so we have to adapt each game.

Debate functions as academic athletics. We travel to tournaments showing the country the University is about more than football. We are educating people to engage in academic activities off the field.

When we boarded the plane to travel to Colorado Springs, there were no fans to cheer us on. No one was checking the NPDA Web site to see how we were doing. And when our plane lands Monday night, no one will be there to congratulate our A-team (the one I am not on) about how well they did in making it to the triple-octofinal round.

And next year, when it comes time for the team to participate again and use the experience from this year to be more successful, there is a possibility that they will not have the money to do so.

The University was able to compete at nationals this year because of Student Government funds given to the team. Without those funds, we would never have been able to represent the University in such a positive manner and show schools from around the country that our University is place for academic success. Our team is overwhelmingly grateful for SG's assistance and their willingness to recognize this as an important activity.

But that money was a one time deal, and the team may not have the financial means to travel again next year without added assistance from some source.

Since I am graduating in May, this was my last NPDA tournament, and I will never be able to have an experience like this one again. But the education one gains from participating is a lifelong lesson.

It is imperative that the University recognizes this as an important endeavor and provides more assistance to the debaters who are repeatedly representing the University in a way that shows the country that the "U" in LSU stands for "University," not athletic program.

IDEA Releases Youth Forum Topics

From Veronika Vlckova:

The weather in April may be changing but these motions surely aren't!
These are the extended time preparation topics to be debated at the Karl Popper Debate Championships!

* Topic 1: Governments should permit the display of religious symbols in public institutions.

* Topic 2:Censoring expression that promotes violence is just.

The extended time preparation topic for the mixed team tournament, held as the finale of the Mixed Team track is:

* This house would promote bio-fuels.


Have a nice day and start preparing!

Veronika

Veronika Vlckova
IDEA Forum Coordinator
IDEA NL
Prinsengracht 397
1016 HL Amsterdam
The Netherlands
office: +31(0)206927299
cell: +31(0)619074358
www.idebate.org
www.idebate.org/ideaforum

University of Alaska Stages Pebble Mine Debate

From http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/040608/hom_20080406031.shtml

Web posted Sunday, April 6, 2008

UAA debate team banters over proposed Pebble mine
By Margaret Bauman
Alaska Journal of Commerce

A debate team from the University of Alaska Anchorage posed vigorous arguments for and against development of the Pebble project during an event held March 27 before a rapt audience of project supporters and the opposition.

“Let the government function as it is supposed to do,” argued Severin Randall, a junior majoring in philosophy, in support of the Pebble project. “The goal of government is to balance interests, what does the most good for the most people. Everyone presents their evidence and then the government must decide. There are some things so compelling that even a majority vote cannot decide.”

“We are talking about giving up a renewable resource for jewelry,” countered Jennifer Lucas-Duffy, a graduate student in psychology. “Let's talk about how the mine will fail and why it matters if the mine fails. Pebble is on a fault line. The likelihood of an earthquake happening is great. Gold does not create life and it does not protect it. Fish are a renewable resource. Ultimately it will harm the people of Alaska and America.”

Randall and debate team partner Michaela Hernandez, a freshman philosophy major, argued the reasons why the mine should be allowed to proceed, while Lucas-Duffy, with partner Nick Byrne, a junior majoring in English, argued just as vigorously against it.

The award-winning debate team, joined by four university faculty members, attracted a cross-range of supporters and opponents of the mine at the event, organized by UAA's Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence. It was facilitated by the center's Libby Roderick.

By the end of the two-hour session, the audience seemed agreed on one thing: More discussions like this are needed to give Alaskans more information on the subject.

Development of the proposed Pebble project, located at the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed in Southwest Alaska, has become an increasingly hot topic as exploration continues.

Partners in the venture, Northern Dynasty Minerals, of Vancouver, British Columbia, and London-based mining major Anglo American, have said repeatedly that the copper, gold and molybdenum mine can be developed in harmony with the fisheries. They, along with other resource developers, say it will bring a flow of jobs and tax dollars to Alaska.

State mining officials have said that unless specific standards are met, they will not permit the project.

Mine opponents, including sport, subsistence and commercial fishermen, conservation groups, and some Pacific Northwest fisheries biologists, have said the mine would result in environmental disaster for the Bristol Bay watershed and the people and wildlife dependant on it.

Despite the heated discussion and print and broadcast advertisements paid for by both sides of the issue, there are still many Alaskans puzzled about what and where the project is. Many remain puzzled over the economic impacts the mine would have on the state, or the economic impact that commercial, sport and subsistence fisheries and hunting already have on Alaska.

“The people of Bristol Bay deserve jobs that pay a decent wage to support their families,” Hernandez said in her presentation. “We are not going to stand for irresponsible development. We can't live our big life without the resources of extrication and development. We are here because of development and the role of the government is fundamental. We are here because of development. Let's never forget that.”

Byrne countered with a question. “Are we really going to develop our state to death?”

Byrne agreed that both sides of the issue should have a say, but what Pebble has to offer comes at too great a cost.

“This is about the fish,” he said. “Fish is the point at which everything lies in sub-text. The people of Bristol Bay are not out-of-work miners waiting for a mine to come.”

Faculty member Jeff Welker, a structural ecologist by training and who is originally from Montana, told the audience that his former state suffered for resource extraction that was not handled well.

“Are we willing to pay the price to destroy something that has lasted tens of thousands of years?” he asked. “I would gladly sacrifice the gold in my wedding band for fresh water.”

Gunnar Knapp, a fisheries economist and researcher at the UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research, said he felt it is still too early to decide whether the mine should be built, but he was critical of the process designated to make that decision.

“I am quite concerned that the permitting process in place is inadequate,” Knapp said. “The process in place does not adequately allow for input for the people from the local area. We run a risk if we short change the process.”

Still, said Knapp, “I don't trust a bunch of well-meaning government scientists (to answer the question of) is that the way we want to go with this beautiful wilderness area. I'd like to see the Legislature act to formally allow for significant public input and debate and a real process that represents us as Alaskans.”

Paul Ongtooguk, a UAA English professor raised in the Nome area, added another perspective. Ongtooguk said when he went to college he didn't know about student loans or Alaska Native scholarships “because I was paying cash.” It was cash earned working on dredge 5 of the Alaska Gold Co. in Nome, he said.

“I have inside knowledge of the mining industry,” he said. “We knew well before any OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) people got off the plane when they were going to show up. Any good mining operation keeps track of that. We knew when they would show up and what they saw was not what we did the other six days of the week.

“On the other hand,” he added, “I was deeply grateful that I could pay cash when I went to the university.”

Ongtooguk also questioned the permitting process, pointing to examples of environmental damage caused by mining in other states, including South Dakota and Montana.

“A tribe in Montana is dealing with the Pegasus mine,” he said. “Their mountain was destroyed for temporary gain. They live with a permanently contaminated water system. I don't understand it. It seems there should be a means of cleaning it up, but it hasn't happened.

Pegasus, incorporated in Canada in 1973, pioneered heap leach techniques used to extract gold from ore bodies otherwise too poor to exploit for profit. Pegasus ultimately went bankrupt and the state of Montana reportedly ended up with a $33 million cleanup bill.

National Hispanic University Wins Bioethics Debate Tournament

From http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8848600

National Hispanic University debate team notches another big prize

By Joe Rodriguez
Mercury News
Article Launched: 04/08/2008 01:41:38 AM PDT

National Hispanic University's surprising debate team won its second big prize when it defeated powerful University of Miami in the Bioethics Debate tournament, held last weekend in New York state.
"Like all young people would say, I feel awesome," said a jubilant Jose Candia, a 19-year-old sophomore at the East San Jose campus and a newcomer to the team, which was founded in 2003.
Michael Jordan, the team's coach and a philosophy instructor at NHU, rebuilt the varsity team after losing four seniors who helped win the 2007 state Ethics Bowl championship and finish a respectable ninth at the nationwide Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl championships.
"For this team, it was only their second event, which makes this win an amazing accomplishment," Jordan said.
New team members include Alondra Cardenas, Eric Morales and Luis Ruelas. Ana Castro returned from last year's squad.
Hosted by Union College, last weekend's contest was the first Ethics Bowl debate focused on the moral dilemmas posed by modern advancements in science and medicine. After beating Dartmouth College in the semi-final round, NHU faced Miami in the final.
The two questions put to the finalist teams were whether all school-age girls should be vaccinated against a deadly virus, and at what point should medical treatment stop for victims of Alzheimer's disease.
NHU beat Miami by three points.

USA Junior College Nationals Loom as Showdown

"This tournament is the one we've been building up to all year, and this is the one the coaches care the most about," Matt Strawbridge said of the coming Phi Rho Pi National Forensics Tournament.

From http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/apr/03/quotdebate-is-a-tool-to-teach-you-how-to-think-i/

College team seeks national title after five state wins

By Rachel McGrath
Correspondent
Thursday, April 3, 2008


Photos by Juan Carlo / Star staff From left, Chris Maciel of Ventura, Matt Strawbridge of Camarillo, Scott Leonard, of Westlake, and Justin Harris and Eric Evelhoch, both of Thousand Oaks, are members of the Moorpark College debate team.



"This tournament is the one we've been building up to all year, and this is the one the coaches care the most about," Matt Strawbridge said of the coming Phi Rho Pi National Forensics Tournament.

Thirteen Moorpark College students will travel to Illinois later this month to compete in a national debate and speech tournament.

The college's forensics team last month won the state championship for the fifth year in a row and also was victorious in last weekend's Community College Sweepstakes at the National Parliamentary Debate Association tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"We have the best record of any junior college in America," said James Wyman, the director of forensics at Moorpark College. "We've never been out of the top eight and at the nationals level they have anywhere from 75 to 80 schools competing, so we're really proud of that."

Matt Strawbridge of Camarillo is the only member of the team who competed in the Phi Rho Pi National Forensics Tournament last year. This year's tournament will be April 14-19 in St. Charles, Ill.

"This tournament is the one we've been building up to all year, and this is the one the coaches care the most about," said Strawbridge, 19. "Im fortunate to have been in the role of returning team member and to have been able to help out, organizing extra practices and research assignments and stuff like that."

The forensics department's budget will cover all costs of the coming trip except meals. The team will hold its annual Night Before Nationals fundraiser Friday to raise money for meals.

"I'm looking forward to it and to some of my family members being there and helping support the team to go to the nationals," Chris Maciel, 18, of Ventura said of the fundraiser.

"It is one of the more entertaining nights you will have," Wyman said. "Many parents have never seen their kid speak, and they'll come out afterwards saying, I never knew my kid could do that.'"

Forensics coach Rolland Petrello, a speech and theater professor, said the fundraiser will give the 13 team members the chance to showcase what they do.

"There will be an impromptu speech and platform speeches such as a persuasive speech and a speech to entertain, where a student makes a serious point but uses humor to do so," he said. "There will be acting events as well, including prose interpretation and someone performing a piece of poetry."

The team members say they devote 15 to 20 hours a week to practicing for competitions.

"I find debates engaging and it's a lot of fun," said Justin Harris, 23, of Thousand Oaks. "Debate is a tool to teach you how to think, and I know everyone in the team has experienced tremendous growth through this."

Strawbridge hopes to pursue a career as a litigation attorney and said his experience with the forensics team has helped him become more confident about that.

"I wasn't the most naturally gifted public speaker at all," he said. "Now I've got to the point where I'm not only not afraid to talk to people, but I actually like being in front of an audience, and that's probably the biggest difference forensics has made in my life — this ability to communicate with confidence."

Friday's fundraiser will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Moorpark College Performing Arts Center, 7075 Campus Road. Tickets are $8. For more information, call 378-1485.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/story/549800.html

No argument here: KCK college debaters national dynasty
By DAWN BORMANN
The Kansas City Star
Now this is a March madness dynasty: The Kansas City Kansas Community College debate team this week won an unprecedented fifth straight title at a national tournament.

The team captured the McClintock Trophy for community colleges at the Cross Examination Debate Association’s national tournament in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and — as of Monday — 2008.

Coach Darren Elliott is too polite to call his team a dynasty, but it’s not stopping campus officials.

Even though many of the top debaters are plucked away by recruiters for four-year colleges, Elliott’s teams manage to pull off victories with fresh, young faces virtually every year. Then Elliott and his team do their best to debate their former team leaders.

“Every year, we’ve had students who have gotten debate scholarships from four-year schools,” Elliott said.

Some of the same students “right out of high school would never have gotten those scholarships,” he said.

It’s part of what keeps Elliott at the school despite offers from larger institutions.

Unlike in athletics, the debate team competes against four-year institutions through much of the season. Its season record factors into the overall standing for the national competition.

And this year it wasn’t looking good for the community college, which was trailing a California community college heading into the national competition this year in Wichita.

The team pulled out a win thanks, in part, to sophomores Chris Rohan of Lansing and Andy Montee of St. Joseph. Elliott said the two advanced to the final elimination rounds.

“Their accomplishment is truly amazing — akin to a community college qualifying for the NCAA basketball tournament,” Elliott said.

“The elimination round is always dominated by juniors and seniors from four-year colleges and universities, and with only 64 teams advancing from a starting field of 190, it is tough.”

Rohan said the last-minute victory made it even sweeter.

“Winning at the last tournament was like a photo finish or hitting a shot at the buzzer. This year was more of a rebuilding year, and we got off to a slow start. It took a while to find out how we were going to argue,” he said.

The team is celebrating, but not too much because the season isn’t over just yet. It will compete in Chicago at the National Debate Tournament for community colleges in April. If the community college takes first, it will be its fifth consecutive win there, too.

“When you’re No. 1, everyone is shooting for you,” said Elliott.

Hobart and William Smith Final Video Now Available

Judges from left to right: Chris Richter, Eric Barnes, Steve Johnson, Lisa Jorgenson

Motion: this House would establish an international force to arrest those indicted by the International Criminal Court.

Link to the podcast is at
http://www.uvm.edu/~debate/watch/bphwsfinal0408iccarmy.m4v

Winners:
1. Harvard (1st Govt)
2. Claremont (2nd Govt)
Finalists:
Hart House-Univ fo Toronto (2nd Opp)
Oxford (1st Opp)

Hobart and William Smith Results

Finalists pose after the round in St. John's Chapel

Sixteen top teams gathered in Geneva, New York, and the finals featured Harvard, Claremont, Hart House and Oxford.

The debate was on the motion: This House would allow the ICC to have an armed international force for the arrest of war criminals. There was a splt decision dcided by the vote of the critics: Eric Barnes of Hobart and William Smith, Steve Johnson of Alaska, Lisa Jorgenson of Queens, Chris Richter of Portland State and Alfred SNider of Vermont.

First, Harvard (first government)
Second, Claremont (second government)
Finalists: Oxford (first opposition) and Hart House (second opposition).

Motions from HW Smith Round Robin 1-4

Sixteen of the top teams in the world are facing off yesterday and today at HW Smith College in Geneva, New York, in a tournament sponsored by the colleges and IDEA.

Teams are: Alaska, Amherst, Claremont, Cornell, Hart House, Harvard, LaVerne, Oxford, Portland State, Queen's (Canada), Rochester Institute of Technology, Seattle, Swarthmore, Vermont, Vassar and Yale.

Motions:

1. This House would bar some nations from sitting on the UN Committee on Human Rights.
2. This House would force lenders to renegotiate subprime mortgages.
3. This House would publicly recognize the right of the Tibetan people to national independence.
4. This House believes that fashion magazines do more harm to women than pornographic magazines.

Results coming up later today.

Brazilian Born Debate Star Faces Biggest Challenge

From http://www.miamiherald.com/tropical_life/story/473486.html

Brazilian-born debate wiz facing challenge of his life
Posted on Sat, Mar. 29, 2008
Diggdel.icio.usAIMreprintprintemail
BY ANDRES AMERIKANER
aamerikaner@MiamiHerald.com

MARSHA HALPER / MIAMI HERALD STAFF

The first came at age 6, when he left his native Rio de Janeiro for the United States not knowing a word of English.

By high school, he was a master of the language. At J.P. Taravella High School, Fernando Cutz was a debate champion, racking up dozens of awards. He worked his way to the ultimate recognition: a Silver Knight award for Speech in 2006.

At age 20, the lanky college student with a reassuring smile is facing a new challenge: Cancer.

Cutz was diagnosed in November, when he came back to his Coral Springs home for Thanksgiving break.

He'd been feeling a sharp pain in his lower abdomen. Doctors found a cancerous mass below his stomach.

The first surgery was Dec. 2; he went right back to St. Louis' Washington University afterward. Doctors then checked to see if the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes. It had. Those were removed, too.

On Monday, he started eight weeks of chemotherapy. And he's bringing the same attitude that turned him into a top-notch debater into his treatment.

''I kind of like pressure situations,'' Cutz said. ``I feel like I do better when I'm nervous.''

Cutz and his family came to Coral Springs to escape an unstable Brazilian economy. His parents, both engineers, found new careers. His mother now works in community relations for the city of Coral Springs; his father owns Beck's Smokery in Pompano Beach, which specializes in fish spreads.

His first year in elementary school here, Cutz had the lowest English level in his class. Improvement came gradually, much of it from the TV. He watched Nickelodeon shows and worked on his reading and writing at a school known for its ESOL program.

He flourished, fast.

''By the time I got to the third or fourth grade, people wouldn't believe I was from Brazil,'' Cutz said.

His first debate came in seventh grade, at Sawgrass Springs Middle School. His science teacher, Mrs. Americo, asked the class to prepare a discussion on the environment. Cutz was hooked, and in high school he decided he would take debate as an elective.

At Taravella, he wowed the debate coach, Beth Goldman, who has been teaching there for 26 years. She calls him ``the kind of student you'd like to clone.''

''He was very focused and motivated; he immediately won tournaments,'' Goldman said. ``He has a very nice, fluent, mild-mannered delivery that's very easy to listen to.''

It wasn't just about winning, though. During his freshman year at Taravella, Cutz went back to Sawgrass Springs and set up a debate program there, stopping by once a week to coach students. He then expanded the debate program to two other area middle schools, Silver Lakes and Ramblewood.

Meanwhile, he reaped awards, which he keeps on an overflowing shelf in his room, and plaques, which plaster his bedroom walls.

''When it got to a certain point, I just started stacking them up in the attic,'' Cutz said.

His first car, a red Honda Civic that his parents gave him when he turned 17, came with a custom license plate: DEBATER.

During high school, Cutz tirelessly took on projects and responsibilities. He was picked as most likely to succeed his senior year.

'I'm tired of telling him, `Slow down, don't do so much,' '' said his mother, Lydia Cutz. ``But, you know, it's him. We've never pushed.''

His family's house, in a neatly landscaped neighborhood in Coral Springs, is eclectically decorated. There are Asian-themed prints and decorations he brought back from a trip to Okinawa his senior year in high school. There's a color-splashed butterfly by Romero Britto that adds some Latin-American flavor.

The family keeps some Brazilian traditions. The cookouts on weekends; the feijoada, or stew, and the flour-based farofa. Cutz still roots for his favorite soccer team, Flamengo, although he can't catch their games on TV here. The family returns to Brazil every four years, not-so-coincidentally matching up with the World Cup.

After the emotion of his Silver Knight win came a full scholarship -- all expenses paid -- to Washington University. He joined the university's mock trial team, and is now thinking about law school. He'll be heading to Lisbon this summer, working for the U.S. embassy. He's getting secret clearance right now, he said, cracking a smile.

Because of the chemotherapy, Cutz has had to take off the rest of the school semester. His greatest worry is falling behind on classes and activities.

''That's what's really bothering me,'' he said.

But while he's home, he'll be closer to the budding debate students at Taravella. They look to him for advice, guidance and inspiration, Goldman said.

''He's like the shining light of the team,'' she said. ``He's still giving back.''

Boston Urban Debate League Seeks Director

From Timothy Averill:

Dear Colleagues,

The Boston Debate League Advisory Board is in the early stages of hiring a League Director. The process is still informal at the moment, but we would greatly appreciate your assistance in getting the word so that we can begin a conversation with qualified candidates. We need someone for the upcoming school year, running roughly from June 2008 to June 2009, but the ideal candidate will be interested and available to serve for several years.

Since January 2005, the BDL has been a small program serving fewer than 100 students each year at a handful of BPS high schools. However, thanks to a new partnership with BPS and the NAUDL, it is on the cusp of becoming something much larger. We seek a Director who can guide the League's development from a small pilot program to a system-wide activity. It's a big job, and we are prepared to offer a full-time salary with benefits, commensurate with the experience and qualifications of the candidate. The League's founder and current Director, Andrew Brokos, will stay involved until December 2008 to t! rain an d assist the new Director and insure the League's stable transition to new leadership.

The League Director must be equal parts teacher, manager, and administrator. Her tasks will include recruiting and training new schools, coaches, debaters, and judges; scheduling and managing the logistics of League events; communicating with League personnel and supporters about League news, accomplishments, needs, and upcoming events; coordinating and managing the work of coaches, volunteers, and Board members; and assisting the Board with media relations, networking, volunteer development, and fundraising.

The ideal candidate will possess the time management skills to prioritize these tasks appropriately. She will have the knowledge of and experience with policy debate to teach the activity to teachers and students, novices and veterans alike. She will also possess the management skills to coordinate the efforts of hundreds of participants towards a large, sustainable, educational, fun, and academically rigorous debate league that provides a valuable experience for all stakeholders.

A background in policy debate is essential, and experience with urban debate leagues will be highly preferred. Teaching, especially at the high school level, and debate coaching experience, particularly with beginning debaters, are also pluses.

The benefits of the job are many and will be a major selling point to any qualified candidate. The League Director will have a lot of work to do, but much of it will be on her own terms. The hours are often flexible and a substantial portion of the work can be done from home, though a lot of travel throughout Boston and occasionally beyond will also be required. The people with whom the Director works, from the students to the coaches to the volunteers to the Board members, are overwhelmingly amazing, energizing, uplifting people to be around. Above all, the Director will have the challenging and exceedingly rewarding experience of building something big, important, and highly valuable for the city of Boston and for the deserving young people of the Boston Public Schools.

If there is anyone to whom you think we ought to speak about this position, please pass along contact information to the League’s current director, Andrew Brokos, who can be reached at Andrew@bostondebate.org or 443-866-2408. Interested candidates should also inquire with Andrew.

--
Timothy C. Averill
Debate Coach Emeritus
Manchester Essex Regional HS
978-578-0540 (Cell)
978-927-6105 (Home)

Philippines Xavier School Wins Title, Places Students on World Schools Team

From http://w3.xs.edu.ph/?p=3372

Xavier Debate Team Seals Dominance with 5th Straight Victory
Posted by Aimee Apolinario on Thursday, 3 April 2008 at 1:41 pm · Filed under Magis

by Mr. Brian Marana, XS Debate Team Moderator

On Saturday, March 8th, eight Xaverians participated in the Interschool Debate Association (IDeA) Grands Championship. The championship was a culmination of this year’s IDeA debate tournament, a series of three competitions throughout the year that drew teams from top schools in the Metro Manila area, including ICA, Poveda, Assumption College, Ateneo, and Southridge, to name a few. Xavier won the 1st IDeA tournament and the 3rd. The team did not compete in IDeA 2, since the event was hosted here at Xavier. Because of the team’s successes in these two tournaments, Xavier qualified four teams (out of 16) to compete in the Grands Tournament. In fact, for a first in IDeA history, the top four teams out of the qualifying 16 all came from Xavier.

The eight members representing Xavier in the Grands tournament were:

Team A: Peterson Poon (4A) and Evan Chen (4A)

Team B: Kenneth Reyes (3D) and Phillip Poon (3A)

Team C: Lance Tan (4D) and Stanly Sy (4B)

Team D: Timothy Chua (4B) and Carlo Borromeo (3B)

Teams A and D made it all the way to the finals, with team A winning the entire tournament.

With this victory, Xavier sealed its dominance in the debate arena for the 2007-2008 school year. The team participated in five tournaments throughout the year, each featuring at least 60 teams (in some cases, more than 100). In an overwhelming performance, Xavier won all five tournaments. Special mention should be made to the two leaders of the team, Peterson Poon and Evan Chen, who won every tournament in which they participated. Among these were two national level tournaments–the National Asians High School Debate Championship (NAsHDC) sponsored by DLSU, and the Philippine Schools Debate Championship (PSDC) sponsored by the Ateneo Debate Society.

In addition to the wins mentioned above, the team as a whole consistently qualified into the elimination rounds of each tournament. In every tournament, the team qualified the maximum number of teams allowed to break into the elimination rounds, and each finals round featured at least two Xavier teams (meaning in every tournament, 2 of the top 4 teams of each competition hailed from Xavier). During IDeA 3, three of the final four teams in the finals were Xavier teams.

In addition to Peterson and Evan, three members of the Xavier Debate team consistently won awards as top 10 speakers, including Lance Tan (4D), Stanly Sy (4B), Kenneth Reyes (3D), Phillip Poon (3A), and Carlo Borromeo (3B).

Furthermore, juniors Kenneth Reyes and Phillip Poon have qualified and been selected to represent the Philippines in a World Debate tournament, to be held in Washington D.C. this September. Good luck to them as they train this summer.

This year, the Xavier debate team accomplished more than any previous Xavier debate team, and as far as we know, the team accomplished more than any team in Philippine high school debate history. Congratulations to the Xavier Debate Team for a job very well done!

Luceat Lux!

Asian Debate Institute 2008

From Jason Jarvis:

Greetings!

A (very) preliminary version of the website is up and working:

http://asiandebateinstitute.com

Registration will begin on April 14.

The website will updated pretty regularly over the next couple of weeks.
We anticipate announcing additional faculty members, adding a day by day schedule, etc

We hope to see many of you in Seoul this summer!
Jason Jarvis
Assistant Dean and Lecturer
Korea Development Institute Graduate School of Public Policy and Management
http://www.kdischool.ac.kr/
Office: 82-2-3299-1031
Email: debatekorea@kdischool.ac.kr

President, All Asian Debate Championship Executive Council

Speech & Debate Have a Lot in Common with Sports

Students with awards, 2002 at University of Vermont

From http://starkcountyohio.blogspot.com/2008/03/there-are-strong-correlations-between.html

Speech And Debate Is An Academic SPORT

There are several similarities between speech and debate and competitive sports, but the academic competition is seen by few and is widely underappreciated.

Kristie Cramer, Director of Debate at Both Central Catholic and Perry, provided a list of similarities.

Organizations oversee/monitor both sports and speech and debate teams.

Candidates must try out; both cut some, not everyone makes the team. Preseason conditioning is required of speech and debate competitors, as it is of athletes.

There are summer camps staged at major universities across the United States for speech and debate.

Competitions are conducted through a regular season schedule, followed by elimination tournaments to determine championship teams. Like wrestling and track, debater’s individual scores contribute to the overall team scores.

Speech and debate competitors have regularly scheduled practice sessions during the season. The speech and debate teams practice six hours, or more, each week.

Both athletes and speech and debate competitors are recruited by college scouts. There are high school, college and professional leagues.

Before a word is every spoken in a speech or debate competition tryouts are held.

Cramer said, “In the tryout process we can get a feel for where they fit or if they fit at all.”

Leading up to this season Perry’s nationally ranked team policy debate team of Emily Owens and Sara Simonis attended a summer camp at Dartmouth for one month.

“Dartmouth is one of the most intense debate camps in the country,” said Simonis. “I think they put out more evidence (to be used in the debates to support arguments) than any other camp. That’s a very heavy research burden.”

Few people attend speech and debate competitions; even though Perry and Central Catholic have competitors who are among the best in the state.

“People would not consider speech and debate to be spectator activities, but they are,” said Carrie Daily, a teacher and debate coach at Perry.

Competitions being held in classrooms, Daily said, limit attendance.

“In most tournaments you have crowds watching, typically 20-30 people,” she said. “Because it’s happening in a classroom it’s not more than that.”

Family, friends and competitors who were eliminated in earlier rounds make up the crowd, according to Daily.

Competitive juices flow for speech and debate competitors as with athletes.

“There’s an adrenalin rush you get when you’re debating,” Cramer said.

Precise execution of strategy comes into play at speech and debate competitions, as much as it is involved in running plays on the football field or the basketball court.

Cramer said, “A mistake in a single word could make it look as though you don’t know your subject as well as your opponent. It’s a precise art.”

Those who observe the Perry and Central Catholic teams in action do not expect to see the level of intense competition that comes into play.

Cramer said, “That’s why, with the way we approach debate at Perry and Central, people are amazed that we can maintain that level of intensity for so long.”

Physical challenge and endurance is not something people associate with speech and debate, but both come into play.

“You leave a debate tournament physically and mentally tired,” Daily said. “That’s why we consider it a sport.”

Daily said, “You’re thinking on your feet, the mental exertion, coming up with arguments off the top of your head is demanding.”

Perry and Central Catholic each have a two-person policy debate team that is nationally ranked.

The way debaters are ranked nationally appears to be as confusing as the BCS process in college football.

“I cannot give you an exact ranking for each team,” said Cramer, who has been coaching the sport for 11 years. “Nationally we rank only so far and then create categories...it's confusing.”

In addition to Ownes and Simonis, who are seniors, Grace Labriola and Ivan Kyagaba , who are Juniors at Central Catholic, are nationally ranked.

Simonis feels there is value in earning a national ranking.

“I feel it’s more prestigious to do well nationally than it the state,” she said. “Getting awards nationally definitely is an accomplishment, I feel.”

For Labriola, keeping the ranking is more important than getting it in the first place.

“It’s not important; it’s just something that happened,” Labriola said. She added, “I’d lke to maintain it; that would be better.”

Like Labriola, rankings are not something Simonis focuses on.

“I haven’t paid attention to where we’re ranked nationally or in the state at all,” she said. “I just go by the individual tournaments.”

Rankings, Simonis said, come from working hard; you don’t work hard because you have a ranking.

“If you spend too much time considering your rank you’re not spending enough time on your arguments,” she said.

College scouts actively recruit speech and debate competitors at Perry and Central Catholic. Both Owens and Simonis were recruited this year.

Owens will be attending George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

“I got offered more aid (from the Director of Debate) than out of state tuition,” she said.

So far, she hasn’t decided in what course of study she will major.

“I like everything so much, I don’t know what to do,” said Owens. “Something related to increasing human rights, I think.”

Simonis will be attending the University of West Georgia on a debate scholarship. She will be going into “women’s studies”, but has not yet determined what her major will be.

“I definitely want to go into women’s studies,” she said. “I’d like to minor in that and major in something I can use that with like Journalism, English or Political Science.”

While you won’t see the results of speech and debate competitions featured in newspapers or broadcast on television, the coaches and competitors are as serious and the competition as fierce as you’ll find in any athletic venue.

Fijians to Debate Charter

From http://www.fijilive.com/news_new/index.php/news/show_news/3428

Serulagilagi to lead NCBBF debate team
03 APR 2008
Three members of the Peoples Council to Build a Better Fiji have confirmed their participation in a debate on the People’s Charter on April 10.

The team to be led by Tailevu Provincial Council chairman Joseva Serulagilagi, includes Fiji Council of Social Services President Loraini Tevi and Kamlesh Arya, the President of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha.

They will argue for the topic: "The People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress is good for Fiji"..

NCBBF secretariat head John Samy who was earlier confirmed to lead the team has indicated his unavailability due to a “family emergency”.

The team will pit their wits against the team for the negative, which includes Dr Wadan Narsey (Professor of Economics, University of the South Pacific), Tupou Draunidalo (Former Vice-President of the Fiji Law Society) and prominent Suva lawyer Richard Naidu.

The moderator will be skilled national arbitrator and former Supervisor of Elections Jon Apted.

The debate, organized by the Fiji Media Council, will be held at JJ's on the Park, Suva.

Fijilive

Philadelphia Schools Students Debate for $30,000 in Prizes

From http://www.philadebate.org/news/drexel-to-award-30000-in-debate-scholarships-at-2nd-annual-voices-of-philadelphia-debate-tournament/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Lilly Deng
Perspectives Debate Inc.
lilly@philadebate.org
(215) 498-0589

Drexel University to Award $30,000 in Scholarships to High School Debate
Perspectives Debate Inc., a Philadelphia non-profit, will host the 2nd Annual Voices of Philadelphia Debate Tournament.

Philadelphia, PA—March 26, 2008—All eyes will turn to Philadelphia high school students on as students compete for pride, academic improvement, and even scholarship money. Students from 10 Philadelphia public and charter schools will debate at the 2nd Annual Voices of Philadelphia Debate Tournament, held Saturday, April 19, 2008, at Drexel University’s Main Building.

Throughout the academic year, students at 10 Philadelphia high schools have worked with college volunteers from Perspectives Debate Inc., a Philadelphia-based non-profit that promotes debate education. Started by former Pennsylvania high school debaters now at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, Perspectives seeks to reach students who have traditionally been underserved. Nationally, African-American students represent only 2 percent of high school debate students; female students represent only 36 percent of all high school debate students. In Perspectives’ afterschool debate programs, 52 percent of students are African-American, and 59 percent are female students. To date, every single student who has graduated from a Perspectives program has gone on to attend college. In 2007 alone, alumni from Perspectives’ summer debate program earned more than $500,000 in scholarships.

Since January, students in Perspectives’ afterschool debate programs have been researching, writing cases, and debating a topic addressing U.S. foreign policy. Perspectives’ 2nd Annual Voices of Philadelphia Debate Tournament will be the culmination of their efforts. And for many, these efforts will greatly pay off. Drexel University is sponsoring the tournament and awarding $30,000 in scholarships exclusively to the Top 5 students who compete at this tournament. The participating schools are: Bodine High School for International Affairs, Constitution High School, Mathematics, Civics, and Sciences Charter School, Parkway Center City High School, Paul Robeson High School, Science Leadership Academy, Anna H. Shaw Middle School, William Penn High School, Franklin Towne Charter School, and World Communications Charter School.

While these students have been preparing on this topic for months, the competition will not be easy. At the Voices of Philadelphia Debate Tournament, students will compete in 3 preliminary rounds of competition. The top students from preliminary rounds will then compete in single-elimination rounds, until the Top 2 students emerge and compete in a Final Round, judged by a distinguished panel of individuals.

The judges for the Final Round are: Jane Dalton, Esq., Immediate Past Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association and Partner at Duane Morris LLP; Thomas Elzey, Senior Vice President for Finance and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of Drexel University; Dr. Sandra Featherman, President of the Board of the Samuel S. Fels Fund; John Heaton, Esq., Secretary of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons; Jo Ann Bradley Jones, Deputy Director of Housing of the City of Philadelphia; Larry Mendte, Anchor for CBS 3 Eyewitness News; and Elizabeth Vale, Managing Director at Morgan Stanley.

All members of the community are invited to watch the Final Round of debate and attend the awards ceremony and reception. RSVPs are requested to be sent to voices@philadebate.org.

Event Details:
Voices of Philadelphia Debate Tournament
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Drexel University, Main Building
32nd and Chestnut Streets
2:30 Demonstration Debate
3:30 Dessert Reception
4:00 Final Round
5:00 Awards Ceremony

ABOUT PERSPECTIVES DEBATE INC.
Perspectives is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2005 by college students now at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, who are former debaters themselves. Perspectives was founded with an angel grant from H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest and have since been supported by the Samuel S. Fels Fund, Phoebe Haas Charitable Trust “A”, as recommended by Carole Haas Gravagno, and the Philadelphia Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Since its founding, Perspectives has educated students from 40 schools in 8 states, with a focus on the Philadelphia region. Perspectives seeks to provide opportunities for students to participate in debate through its afterschool, tournament, and summer enrichment programs, with an emphasis on underserved students in Philadelphia schools. See www.philadebate.org for more details.

NDT Celebration Story - Wake Forest

Congratulations to the Demon Deacons.
From: http://www.wfu.edu/news/release/2008.04.01.d.php

Wake Forest University wins National Debate Tournament

April 1, 2008

Wake Forest University students Seth Gannon and Alex Lamballe won the National Debate Tournament Monday night at California State University in Fullerton, Calif.

Gannon, a junior from Atlanta, and Lamballe, a junior from Nashville, Tenn., defeated a team from Dartmouth College in the final round of the competition to win the national title.

The National Debate Tournament win is Wake Forest’s second in the history of the 62-year-old tournament. In 1997, the Wake Forest team of Brian Prestes and Daveed Gartenstein-Ross won the championship.

Wake Forest was among 78 teams from nine regions chosen to compete in the tournament March 28 – 31. Gannon and Lamballe qualified for the tournament because they were ranked seventh in the nation based on their 2007-2008 debate season performance. Two other Wake Forest teams also qualified for the tournament.

In addition, Gannon was the 10th place individual speaker and Lamballe was the 19th place individual speaker among 156 debaters. Gannon is majoring in English. Lamballe is majoring in political science.

They were coached by Ross Smith, director of debate at Wake Forest, and J.P. Lacy, head debate coach at Wake Forest. Smith, a debate coach at Wake Forest since 1984, has qualified more teams to the elimination rounds than any other coach in the nation during the past decade.

"These two debaters are just exceptionally talented,” Smith said. “They are particularly gifted at getting to the heart of a question and they are incredibly hard working. …The back-to- back speeches I heard from Seth and Alex in the final round were the best I’ve heard in a very long time.”

The team defeated Michigan State University, the University of West Georgia and Missouri State University to reach the final round.

Wake Forest has advanced to the final debate two out of the past three years. Wake Forest debate has a history that dates back to 1835, the year after the university was founded. The program has produced numerous top debaters and is among a small number of schools that has qualified the most often for the National Debate Tournament’s finals. In addition to more recent wins, Wake Forest has had final four finishes at the tournament in 1955, 1993, 1994 and 1995.

NPDA Celebration Stories - Western Kentucky & Texas Tech

Western Kentucky brags about their performance, winning tournament sweepstakes as well as season long sweepstakes. From http://www.wnky.net/news/local/17193186.html

Story Published: Apr 1, 2008 at 1:58 PM CDT
Story Updated: Apr 1, 2008 at 1:58 PM CDT
Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University forensic team has claimed the championship of the National Parliamentary Debate Association National Tournament.

WKU team members traveled to Colorado College March 27-30 for the NPDA National Tournament, the largest intercollegiate debate tournament in the nation.

WKU was awarded the sweepstakes championship followed by Washburn University, University of Oregon, Western Washington University and University of Wyoming. WKU also was awarded the championship for Season Sweepstakes based on competition throughout the year.

Results from the NPDA in Colorado Springs, Colo., are as follows:

Thomas Schally, a junior from Stillwater, Minn., second debate speaker.

Elizabeth Mullins, a sophomore from Plymouth, Mass., seventh debate speaker.

Chad Meadows, a senior from Owensboro, ninth debate speaker.

Rachel Mosley, a junior from Lake Tahoe, Calif., 10th debate speaker.

Logan Parke, a sophomore from Little Rock, Ark., 12th debate speaker.

Team of Jessica Furgerson, a sophomore from San Antonio, Texas, and Rachel Mosley, a junior from Lake Tahoe, Calif., quarterfinalists in parliamentary debate.

Team of Brian Bloss, a junior from Coppell, Texas, and Kelcy Hathaway, a sophomore from Garden City, Kan., octofinalists in parliamentary debate.

Team of Jason Carey, a sophomore from Hutchinson, Kan., and Josh Ramsey, a sophomore from Fort Scott, Kan., octofinalists in parliamentary debate.

Team of Joshua Harzman, a freshman from Salina, Kan., and Brandon Merrell, a freshman from Snohomish, Wash., double-octofinalists in parliamentary debate.

Team of Adam Heugel, a senior from Rosenburg, Texas, and Lauren Nelson, a junior from Wheaton, Ill., triple-octofinalists in parliamentary debate.

Team of Chad Meadows, a senior from Owensboro, and Thomas Schally, a junior from Stillwater, Minn., triple-octofinalists in parliamentary debate.

Team of Kaleb Jessee, a sophomore from Garden City, Kan., and Todd Rainey, a freshman from Indianapolis, triple-octofinalists in parliamentary debate.

Team of Elizabeth Mullins, a sophomore from Plymouth, Mass., and Logan Parke, a sophomore from Little Rock, Ark., triple-octofinalists in parliamentary debate.

Upcoming national tournaments
The NPDA title is the second major championship for WKU speech and debate team members this year. Earlier this month, WKU won its ninth International Forensic Association championship in 10 years.

WKU will seek its fifth American Forensic Association National Individual Events Tournament in six years this weekend (April 5-7) in Austin, Texas.

The team will wrap up the 2007-08 season April 17-21 at the National Forensic Association National Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. Last year, WKU won its sixth NFA championship in debate and its fourth NFA title in individual events.

Texas Tech won the tournament, and they are crowing about it. From http://media.www.dailytoreador.com/media/storage/paper870/news/2008/04/02/News/Tech-Debate.Team.Wins.National.Championship-3296489.shtml

Tech debate team wins national championship
Matt McGowan

Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: News
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With heavy beads of sweat rolling down his brow, Joe Gantt listened to the muffled voices emanating from the large hall on the other side of the door - too nervous to watch, too excited to leave.

Meanwhile, through the door, Texas Tech students Anthony Putnicki and Kristen Owen dissected the arguments of their opponents, wove an intricate tapestry of their own logic and, ultimately, made university history Sunday.

After four days of competition at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., Tech's debate duo proved to the judges that it knows how to construct an argument better than 234 other teams from colleges across the country.

Through their leapfrogging linguistic teamwork during last week's National Parliamentary Debate Association's national debate tournament, Putnicki and Owen earned Tech its first national debate championship.

After working with Putnicki for three years, said Owen, a senior political science, economics and communication studies major from Houston, the victory resonates on a particularly emotional level because it came at the end of the teams final college debate.

"It's something the two of us have been working (toward) for a long time," she said. "Putting that much heart and that much soul into debate, it's like a dream come true to get the highest honor at the end of it all."

Coming into the tournament, Tech's debate team ranked No. 1, said Gantt, the team's coach and a Tech forensics professor, but expected fierce competition with the team from Southern Illinois University, which was on a 22-debate winning streak.

"They were hot," he said.

After a 4-3 vote by the judges in Tech's favor, Gantt said, Owen and Putnicki defeated Southern Illinois and moved on to face the University of Oregon in the finals.

For their final debate against the Oregon team, Owen said, the judging panel gave them a topic they could sink their teeth into: political unity in the upcoming presidential election.

"Most debaters tend to sort of fetish-ize foreign policy, but my partner and I are more domestically focused," Owen said. "I've been working on the Obama campaign, and I've been a big supporter in following the presidential race really closely. It was like having a conversation that I have with my friends every day about politics, but getting to do it in front of 300 people."

Their solution: a Democratic presidential ticket with Obama for president and Clinton as vice president.

Not all debates come so naturally, however, Gantt said, and it takes a tremendous amount of information to win a debate, which is why debaters so diligently study current events and anything else that might help them support an argument.

Also, he said, the coaches drill the teams with exercises designed to help them think rapidly and to help them speak with as much conviction as possible.

"For this tournament, really," Owen said, "the best preparation was the three years we've been debating together, the four years we've been debating total - every round that we've seen, every round that we've done, learning to be able to do something differently and having the skills necessary to apply them this time."

Because their different debating styles provide just the right blend and balance for competitive chemistry, Owen said, she and Putnicki have an edge over the competition. Also, their coaching staff provides the best imaginable training and support.

Putnicki's strengths, she said, provide their arguments with the technicalities of an argument, while Owen's strengths reside in her persuasive eloquence and ability to explain Putnicki's detailed and complex explanations.

Combined, Owen said, the different dynamics make magic.

"We are kind of unique on the circuit in that we have a much larger range of argumentation," she said. "That comes from having such an amazing coaching staff as we've had through the years. I think we have an ability to do everything, and that really helps in getting to finals and winning in the national tournament."

Returning with the victory, Putnicki said with a blank stare, has not fully sunk in.

"It's hard having to transition," he said. "Like I said, it's a huge rush of emotions because we won, but also because it's such a big part of your life for four years in college and now it's over. It's sort of hard transitioning back from all that back into the real world and school and education and jobs. I've seemed like a zombie the last day-and-a-half."

Hong Kong Open 2008

From timitt@gmail.com:

10 March 2008

Dear debaters and adjudicators,

Invitation to the Hong Kong British Parliamentary Open 2008

The Hong Kong Parliamentary Debating Society (HKPDS) is delighted invite your institution to Hong Kong's first ever international intervasity debate tournament: the Hong Kong British Parliamentary Open (HK BP Open).

Date: 13 – 16 July 2008

Location: University of Hong Kong

Cost: HKD 800 per person (approx. USD 100)

Format: 8 Preliminary Rounds, Break to Quarter Finals

Hong Kong is just a short flight away from Manila, where this year's AustralAsian Championship concludes on the 11^th of July. Offering world-class adjudication, the Hong Kong BP Open is an excellent opportunity for debaters in the Asia-Pacific region to kick off the 2008 BP season in the lead-up to Worlds.

Our focus is on providing debaters with the highest possible adjudication standards. In order to achieve this, we will be brining in top judges at our own expense. While the core adjudication team is subject to final confirmation, we have secured tentative indications from the following: Logandran Balavijandran (Chief Adjudicator, MMU Worlds), Roland Dillon (Australs Champion, Worlds Break Judge), Joanna Nairn (Champion, Dublin Worlds & DCA Assumption Worlds), Loke Wing Fatt (Worlds Break Judge), Fiona Prowse (Grand Finalist, Assumption Worlds), Jacob Cliffton (Australs Champion & Semi-Finalist, MMU Worlds), and others.

The registration fee for the tournament is HK$800 (approx. US$100) for both debaters and adjudicators. The n-1 rule is in place (i.e. each institution is required to send at least as many adjudicators as the number of teams it has registered minus one). Currently the tournament cap is set at 40 teams, subject to a possible increase.

We're hoping to get a preliminary indication of interest for the tournament, so if you think your club may be interested in sending teams, please do email us at hkbpopen@gmail.com. More information on the registration process will be sent upon request.

We greatly look forward to hosting you here in Hong Kong.

Yours sincerely,

Tim Parker

Chairperson

Hong Kong Parliamentary Debating Society

tim@hkpds.org

hkbpopen@gmail.com

Friction TV Promotes Video Debating

From http://www.friction.tv/ftv_home.php

Friction.tv is an online platform for user generated news and opinion. We exist to give you the opportunity to air your views and respond to the opinions of others. You can debate issues of local interest to you or discuss points of global importance. Either way, Friction.tv will provide an interesting and stimulating alternative to the sanitised, agenda driven mediocrity of the conventional mass media.

How does it work?

Friction.tv works by sparking debates. The concept is straightforward. Anyone with an opinion on any issue can post a video recording of 30 seconds or maximum of 3 minutes. This sparks others into action: to shout out support; to put across a different view; or just to debate the point. Like a real debate, there is no absolute right or wrong, only a collection of different views that allows the viewer to make up his own mind.

User generated controversy

Friction.tv believes that disagreement - or friction - is a vital element for a healthy debate, to reach new insights and to find out what's really going on in society. We need disagreement before we can start to find some answers. So we're looking for many different voices and encourage you to upload your video to voice your opinion in ongoing debates or to start new debates.

Say what you want to say

Friction.tv is unbiased, open and uncensored (except for explicit content). Friction.tv empowers you to climb on the soapbox and voice your mind about any topic at any time. You can ignore mass media and bring out the issues that really matter, not just the latest on Britney Spears - although we have a Channel for that topic too!

Who's behind it?

The idea for Friction.tv was developed by a small group of entrepreneurs. These individuals come from media and digital marketing backgrounds and all share one thing in common. They saw the potential for quality user generated content to stimulate debate and to create friction in the world. Friction.tv is backed by private equity provided by a small group of enlightened investors.

Wake Forest WIns USA NDT 2008

From various sources strewn over the internet:

Finals
Wake Forest GL defeats Dartmouth KO, 5-0.

Semifinals
Wake GL d. MoSt OW - 5-0
Darthmouth KO d. Michigan FK - 4-1

Quarterfinals
Wake GL(neg) over West Georgia LS on a 3-2
Mo State OW (neg) over Emory HW on a 3-2
Dart KO over Kansas BJ on a 3-2 (I think Dart was Aff)
Mich over Northwestern on a 3-2 (Pretty sure Mich was Neg)

Octfinals
(1) *Emory HW* v (16) Cal BP - 4-1
(8) *Mo State OW* v (9) Kansas JS
(4) *W. Ga LS* v (13) USC JJ
(5) *Wake Forest GL* v MSU EL
(2) Harvard AM v (15) *Dartmouth KO*
(7) Mo State MM v (10) *Kansas BJ* - 5-0
(3) *Mch FK* (?) v (14) USC LS 5-0
(6) *NW FW *v Gonzaga BS