WUDC 2008-2009 Break

My apologies for my handwriting in the dark at the break party. Some are hard to read. No promises on accuracy. It was a hell of a party. Thanks to those who helped me with corrections.

As I said, a hell of a party.

EFL

1. Vilnius A
2. Zagreb A
3. Bucharest A
4. Zagreb B

ESL

1. Leiden A
2. Tel Aviv A
3. Babes Boyai A
4. Bonaparte B
5. Talinn A
6. HSD A
7. Liara A
8. GAIA A

Main Break
1 Sydney B
2 Sydney A
3 Cambridge C
4 Monash A
5 Oxford A
6 Oxford C
7 Seattle A
8 Princeton A
9 TCD Phil B
10 Helsinki A
11 Canterbury A
12 Oxford B
13 UCD L&H A
14 Hart House B
15 Harvard A
16 Monash B
17 Manchester A
18 Hart House A
19 MIT A
20 Brandeis A
21 Swarthmore A
22 Uni Queensland A
23 Vic Wellington A
24 Queens A
25 Yale A
26 Auckland A
27 Sydney C
28 Yale B
29 Nottingham A
30 McGill A
31 Loyola A
32 Stanford A

WUDC Rumblings from Wednesday 31 January

The views reflected here are the ones I am hearing. Certainly it is influenced by the people who talk to me. Most of them are controversial issues. Many of them represent complaints. I believe that debate is an exercise in creative disagreement. Please allow me to share these ideas. I am here at WUDC because I like this tournament and I like this format. But, I believe that all things deserve discussion.

Punish me, hate me, whatever, but this is what people are saying. If you do not want to know then stop reading now. Are they facts? No, of course not. This is what people are saying and what I have found out in relation to what people are saying.

Wednesday dawned the same as the other says – a bit gray and cloudy, but not quite enough to give us any rain before lunch. The breakfast lines moved smoothly and the buses were efficient. There were some late arriving judges and so the round did not start at 9 AM, but things happened with moderate punctuality.

Wednesday rounds are closed. Ivan Ah Sam talked about punishments for leaking and what defines leaking. He also made a joke that closed adjudication also relieves one of accountability.

Judges were reminded that even if their room may not be relevant to the main break that it could very well be relevant for the ESL and EFL break. It was also announced that at 77 teams the ESL could not break to quarterfinals because of the rules requiring 80. One non-native speaker called out “bullshit.” As the day goes on there is more and more bitterness about this, and I expect it to go to the council as an issue. Some claim that if the organizers wanted to they could offer a quarterfinal but have decided to follow the rules.

Panels seemed more and more stacked, as some chairs were transformed into panelists to judge some of the better debates. Some debates had three judges and others five, which I approve of because the four person panels can lead to a 2-2 dispute broken by the side of the chair. Better to just have numbers.

My search for chairs that will budge from their decision about who got the first didn’t take long. Sam Nelson of Cornell indicated that he had changed his first decision based on input from his panelists. So, we reissued the challenge to look for an IONA judge who would budge from their first. Colm Flynn then stepped forward and announced that in the second round he had moved his first to third based on good reasons given by his panelists. So, now we are looking for a UK and/or Australian judge who will budge. I believe we will find one.

There is now a discussion about changing the way judges are assigned. The idea is that people are persuaded most by people who speak like they do. The studies are pretty clear about this. Judges are supposed to be making decisions on who “persuades” them the most. Thus, it is not surprising that judges tend to be persuaded by those who speak like they do. Since the overwhelming numbers of chairs are from IONA and Australia, this might explain some of the discrimination that non-native speakers feel. One other idea expressed was that since this activity is supposed to train students to communicate with a public audience, it is failing because it is training students from around the world tom persuade an IONA audience. On suggestion is that the representation at the tournament should be taken into account and a quota established for chairs, panelists and breaking judges. Thus, you would have a certain number of each region based on their representation at the tournament. This would allow students to learn to communicate with a truly global audience as well as equalize some of the discrimination that is felt by non-native speakers, whether real or not.

Two people have come to me with concerns about the leaking of feedback data. One indicated specific feedback data about how one team has been trashing judges. He wants to know why some people know feedback data and he does not. Specifically he wants to know why people can read feedback data about him but he cannot. This is a valid concern. I encouraged him to talk to Derek Lande, chief adjudicator. Derek mentioned that feedback data would be kept confidential, so I think he would be concerned to know that people have leaked the information.

I want to finish by saying that while I have been sharing a lot of what people are saying, that I think the tournament has been run very well. Art and Derek should be very proud of themselves. The way the volunteers were honored by the judges just before round 9 was impressive. They deserved it. I will try and download those photos from my camera and share them later.

I must say the tournament took place with remarkably punctuality. This is a standard other worlds will strive to emulate.

WUDC - Motions for Round 7-8-9

Round 7
This House believes that western states should recognize the independence of Abkhazia.

Round 8
This House would apply a lower rate of income tax to women.

Round 9
This House would ban the publication of political opinion polls.

Debate - WUDC Round 6 - Desegregate Northern Ireland Schools

Debate - WUDC Round 6 - Desegregate Northern Ireland Schools - 1:03:03 - Dec 30, 2008
Lawrence Debate Union, University of Vermont - debate.uvm.edu

THW FORCE THE RELIGIOUS DESEGREGATION OF NORTHERN IRELAND SCHOOLS
1ST GOVT SYDNEY C
2ND GOVT BOSTON UNIV A
1ST OPP INTL ISLAMIC UNIVERS...all » THW FORCE THE RELIGIOUS DESEGREGATION OF NORTHERN 2ND OPP STANFORD A

DANIEL WARRENTS, CHAIR, EXPLAINS THE DECISION BELOW

WUDC - 30 December 2008 Rumblings

Bojana Skrt from Slovenia, Alfred Snider & Ken Johnson from the USA

The competition was hot in a number of ways. The energy level was high, people seemed totally invested in what was happening and seen some tempers started to show, but not too much.

Updating Rumblings from Monday

Judge issues seemed to heighten as will be reported later.

Roll call issues seem to be resolved, but that doesn't mean that judges still remember to check in before each round. It seems like an easy thing but then there are a lot of judges so some people forget every round.

Volunteers continue to be awesome. Today there was some talk about debate people being rude and abusive to hotel personnel, which is obviously in appropriate. Once again, when you have a group this big there are always a few bad apples in the barrel.

RUMBLINGS FROM TUESDAY

Wheelchair access

Outstanding debater Ben Fultz from the University of Rochester is here in a wheelchair. So far he has been accommodated quite well. An issue did come up with the venue for women's night not being accessible to him, which was a problem. A group of his friends planned a men's night out to go with him to an accessible location and celebrate. The OrgComm dealt with it right away and made some changes so that women's night became accessible to Ben. Glad to see men's night could be cancelled so the men could join women's night. Bravo OrgComm.

CA provided coaching

Derek Lande began to explain to the judges in the judge chamber about the morning motion on desegregating Northern Ireland schools when all of a sudden an OrgComm member came fling across the stage (literally) to wrap a hand around the microphone that was live a bit too near to Derek that was inadvertently broadcasting his words to rooms where many debaters were preparing. It was a very funny moment, but hardly consequential. If the debaters did not know or could not infer that schools in Northern Ireland are mostly segregated based on religion they probably would not do to well on that motion anyway.

Judging continues to be an issue.

A number of wing judges have been sharing their stories and thoughts in an interesting way. The search is on for a chair who will budge. Jackie Massey from Oklahoma noted that in judging 15 debates at WUDC he has yet to see a chair change a first place ranking based on feedback from the panelists. In his opinion, until we can find an example of this the panelist system is a sham and merely serves to reinforce the dominance of the chairs, the vast majority of which are IONA individuals. The search is now on for a chair who will budge on a first. I cannot name one, but then I have not strongly disagreed about a first here yet. Lots of changes or 2-3-4. When judges on my panel have had different teams as first they have been persuaded to change without too much fuss. The situation may heighten today as we see some very high quality rooms with some very close debates. It does seem, though, that panelists are becoming more bold in challenging chairs and when they are not heeded the feedback information on the forms has become fairly heated. There was one fairly loud incident of a panelist berating a chair for being unresponsive to several panelists. This may also be because many panels have four judges and some have five.

Video now available

I have posted the first video from Cork. I saw a very go round four on the Northern Ireland motion. I also filmed the oral adjudication by Daniel Warrents, which makes it valuable as a teaching tool. Look for it over at the Debate Video Blog http://debatevideoblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/debate-wudc-round-6-desegregate.html . More videos will be coming, depending on the kids of debates i see. I will try to provide a full range of videos from the elimination rounds.

Euros videos

Euros bids from Turkey and the Netherlands showed their video presentations and they were quite flashy. Turkey seems to be promising quite a lot and must have gotten some quite substantial sponsorship.

Koc DCAs

Were announced by Can Okar:
Will Jones from Oxford
Julia Bowes from Sydney
Sutern Tate Thomas from MMU
Josh Bone from Yale

Television coverage

See the story at the bottom of this page
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1230/6news.html

Food

This may be one thing the OrgComm cannot fix. I heard a number of upset stomach complaints from those who ate the "chicken stuffing sandwich" for lunch and many people have started deserting the dinner after the last round. The breakfasts, however, remain spectacular.

The OrgComm continues to do a great job on just about everything.

More to come.

Motions from WUDC 30 January

Round 4
This House would force the religious desegregation of Northern Ireland schools.

Round 5
This House believes that China and India should bear the same obligations as the west in fighting climate change.

Round 6
This House would criminalize adultery.

Rumblings at WUDC from 29 December

The green grass in the quadrangle. legend has it that students who walk on the grass will not finish their degree

First, let's give an update on rumblings from yesterday.

Hotel Placement

Further research indicates that there is a fairly even spread to hotel locations. For example, Oxford and Cambridge seem to be at the Clarion (hotel 2). Some EFL teams are at Jurys Hotel (hotel 1). So, the suggested pattern is broken. There does not appear to be a discriminatory pattern to hotel placement. God to know.

Chair Shortage

There seems to be a lot of use of judge feedback data and things are already being adjusted, or so it would seem. Word has it that the vast majority of judge feedback is positive. However, I did overhear a number of comments about judges. See those in lower rumblings from today. I saw that some chairs got demoted already and that some panelists were promoted, especially in round 3.

Beer mutterings

Never ending, of course. People did find liquor stores and there seem to be some nice parties going on in the two hotels I am in or near.

RUMBLINGS FROM MONDAY

Once again, these are not definitive issues, but things I am hearing. Take them with a grain of salt.

Judge Problems

None of these are from debaters. Debaters, of course, always think that the judges who vote them down are bad, so I ignore all of that. However, these are comments heard from judges I have been speaking to.

First, there is an issue of discrimination against people who have accents. Not surprising or unknown, but still an issue. Several judges mentioned that their chairs (who all seemed to be Irish judges) were very critical of debaters from EFL categories who knew a lot, made good arguments, etc. but spoke with accents, and campaigned to have them ranked low on the basis of style. Two judges were very adamant that they thought these teams had been severely slighted and that their content was better than that of native speaking teams but they were rated lower. One judge talked to me about an incident involving a team from Jamaica, who are native speakers but speak with a bit of an accent and a different cadence than IONA (Islands of the North Atlantic) debaters, and who in the debate had a far superior gasp of economics but were marked down for talking funny. One judge commented that they were easier to understand than the IONA debaters, but the "unfamiliarity" of their accent seemed to hurt them. I urged all of these judges to make sure to note this in their feedback forms.

Second, there were several examples of the "I like that argument" syndrome where one argument made all of the difference in the debate, but not necessarily in a justified manner. On a panel of four judges, two agreed on a ranking that gave a government sweep, but two other judges thought that one argument made by the first opposition was so good that they needed to be ranked as first. Then one of the judges noted that the second speaker for first government had four responses to this "great" argument, and that none of those answers was ever dealt with. The chair suggested a vote, and 2-2 the chair wins. So, a team loses to an argument they have four good answers to. There were several instances of this 2-2 split with the chair winning out. I believe that at least one of these chairs did not take the judge test or score the sample debate, but was just made a chair based on reputation. If we all have to take the test I think we should all take the test. I will investigate some of these stories further.

Volunteers

The volunteers have been super and very friendly. They have been wonderful and anxious to strike up a conversation. Even the bus divers have been great, and one tonight actually went out of his way to drop a group of us off for dinner. However, there have been some instances of where these volunteers have been treated rudely by tournament attendees. No excuse for that. They are giving up their holiday time to help us.

Roll Call Issues

At a tournament this big there can be long roll calls to make sure people are all here. Now they have a system that lists everyone on the big screen in front of the judge room and as people check in their names vanish. It is really nice not to have aggravated organizers reading off long lists of names. Good system. It was not fully functional before the first round but seems to be operating well now.

Taking Responsibility

Last year I was openly upset at the DCAs who ran a delayed tournament (mostly through faults of their own, though not always) but seemed to blame the judge pool for the delays instead o themselves. A number of people I had persuaded to come to Thailand were very turned off by being yelled at for things they did not do and wee not responsible for. This year, the OrgComm has been great about recognizing when they have delayed things, taking responsibility and apologizing to the assembled folks. Very adult and very appreciated. I think that we understand this is a difficult event to run, so there will be issues, but honestly and openly is the right way to handle it. They received applause today when they did so.

Lunch in Ireland (and Coffee)

UK tournaments in general are not known for their excellent food. The crowd at lunch today was not as bad as yesterday, but that was mostly because people did not all arrive at the same time and also because they handed out a sandwich to eat, so no lines to plates where some dinner lady scooped you out some stuff. I must say, however, that the "chicken and stuffing" sandwich I had was pretty much all stuffing, but it was easy to get, at least. Coffee and tea seems to be readily available all the time and that is much appreciated. Breakfast went much better today as it opened earlier and avoided so many long lines. A number of people came down to breakfast early and then went back up for shower and dressing, making things a lot easier.

So far, so good. I congratulate the OrgComm for finding problems and then adjusting thins to solve them. I like that approach. And all of them are friendly ... so far.

RESULTS

I am not collecting lists of who has how many points. I do not have the connections for that. If I do gain information I will be sure to share it with you.

WUDC Motions Rounds 1-3

Round 1
THW ban all forms of gambling

Round 2
THW fire the senior management of all corporations which receive government bailouts.

Round 3
THW allow soldiers to sue their government for negligence.

WUDC Day 1 - Briefing, Test & Rumblings

We have all come together in this beautiful town of Cork, Ireland. It is beautiful. It is a lovely and quaint town full of little and big Irish elements but also with a good slice of modernity wherever you turn. It seems clean and friendly.

The OrgComm seems well organized. There was a check-in desk at the airport and they immediately told you about your status and put you on a new white bus that took you to the hotels. Hotel #1 seems by far the fanciest (Jurys Hotel) and is located with parts of the river flowing around it. There it was a quick registration process, we got our credentials and then it was back on the bus to go to our hotel, Jurys Inn (hotel #3, I am calling it) to check in after a drop off at he Clarion (hotel #2). A party was in full swing and we were greeted by many friends. The room we got seemed find and straightforward. More on hotels later.

Breakfast at Jurys Inn was difficult as everyone came late and it was obviously overwhelmed. The food was good but the line was very long and people could not get to the buses on time. The OrgComm handled this well (constant radio and phone contact) and adjusted. Breakfast will not start a little earlier to deal with the crush and end at 8:15 AM.

It was on to the buses and off to University College Cork for the day's events. The briefing for debaters and judges was straightforward and answered some interesting cross-format questions (points of clarification, like any other point) and some entertaining slides. Photos os the DCAs taken from Facebook were entertaining. The briefing was done in an economical fashion and a lot of attention was paid to questions people had and they were answered well.

Lunch was in the "Restaurant" and had some organizational challenges. Everyone arrived at once and the line was huge. It looked worse than nit was, and even though I got into the line at the end I had enough time to eat and there was a lot of chatting among friends old and new. The food was good and basic, although you had to pay extra for drinks.

Next was the adjudication test and orientation. Everyone got a number on the way in and went to that seat to take the test. There was a simple written test (nothing too difficult, most of them answered in the briefing), a chance to fill in your debate CV, and then slots to explain the demonstration debate.

The demonstration debate was about insurance companies being able to use genetic data to establish coverage. My general indictment of these debates is that they tell some people to mess up (usually while telling jokes) to separate the good critics from the novice critics. I think it would be much better to have us judge a good debate rather than a fairly mediocre debate. I would be unhappy with my students if they staged a debate like this. Some speeches were fine and others were pathetic. I almost thought to write in my comments that we needed to call the minority officer on some of the arguments (second government).

I scored it: 1. 2nd opposition, 2. 1st government, 3. 1st opposition, 4. 2nd government. There was a tight decision between 2 and 3, but the failure of the 1st opposition to take more than one point during each speech sort of broke that tie for me. High points were 81, low points were 70. After the debate there seemed to be a lot of agreement about those placings, but then I only spoke to a few people. I will publish the results later. I know a number of people around me, I later spoke to them, had different markings but seemed to be a little confused in general.

It was back to the hotel (bus services are being run very well) to meet up with people for dinner. I did not go to Game Night but i sounded like fun. I ended up with a bunch of American coaches talking about the redevelopment of our domestic debate community. It was early to bed for me.

RUMBLINGS

This will be a regular feature. I will publish what "people are saying" each day to try and give you the flavor of the event as well as to pose some issues. I do not either affirm or deny any of thse statements, I am just reporting what people are saying. Often it may be poppycock, but if it isn't out into the open how shall we be able to tell? I will publish follow up on these.

Hotel placement

Many people are saying that the best hotel is where all of the "chosen" people are staying. Almost all Americans are at hotels 2 & 3, not at Jurys Hotel which is clearly the nicest. Our hotel (Jurys Inn, number 3 to me) has a lot o EFL teams, Asians, Balkans, etc. Monash is here as well, certainly one of the elite teams. One coach said that the "chosen" teams were over at hotel 1 drinking with the "chosen" judges to prepare for a continuation of the dominance of traditional star teams. I will ask organizers about this when I have a chance. Many people said if there is such a quality difference some should pay less at inferior hotels. I could not identify any British or Irish at hotels 2 and 3, but I do not have a comprehensive list. Once again, this is a rumbling, not a fact.

Chair shortage

It was announced that since the judge pool is so good that all the chairs are already taken and that people should not be disappointed if they do not get to chair. This created some concern on the part of people who wondered why we had a judge test and evaluation if the decisions had already been made. I asked CA Derek Lande about this, and he said that many elite Irish judges were only going to be there for prelims, and that while it would be difficult to break as a judge they still wanted to use feedback and the test to give people a chance and that they fully intended to break a number of new judges into the elims. That seems fair enough for me.

Beer mutterings

Ireland is famous for their jolly social events and good libations and brew. Some people were muttering that hey expected more than the "one free drink" that most social events were offering. This seems to be a generic WUDC rumbling. I am not really concerned, since if I want a ink I will buy one, but others seemed a bit perplexed. We shall see.

Now we are on the brink of rounds 1-3 today. I will try to report motions and news from the site, but Internet access is limited. Stay tuned.

Elementary School Studehts - Not too Early for Public Speaking

From http://www.brentwoodpress.com/article.cfm?articleID=20974

Contest to be talk of the town in ‘09
Ruth Roberts
Published 12/04/2008 - 1:31 p.m. PDT

Allan Petersdorf figures if he builds it, they will come. Or at the very least, they’ll talk about it.

“Public speaking is an important skill for our kids – well, for all of us really – and I feel very strongly that we need to help our students master those skills,” said Petersdorf, principal of Discovery Bay Elementary School.

And so, in the spirit of elocutional excellence, he has created the Far East Contra Costa County Speech Contest, a round-robin speech competition open to elementary students.

The event, scheduled for this spring, will be hosted at the Discovery Bay Elementary School and sponsored in part by the Discovery Bay Lions Club. The contest, which Petersdorf hopes will become an annual event, is designed to help students in grades three through five hone their oratorical skills.

Modeling the competition on the success of the San Ramon Valley School District, which has conducted academic speech contests for years, Petersdorf figured it was time to take the competition a little farther east. “My kids grew up in the San Ramon Valley School District and they really benefited from the district’s speech contests,” said Petersdorf. “So I’ve modeled my contest on the success of theirs.”

Although he’s still working out the details, Petersdorf said the speeches will be 2½ to 3 minutes long, and students can read or memorize their speeches. Kids who deliver their speeches from memory will have the opportunity to earn more points.

Petersdorf figures that if each eligible school sends six students to the event – two from each grade level – the competition could comprise around 108 students. Factor in the need for approximately 60 to 70 volunteers, not including parents, and he could be looking at close to 300 people involved in the event.

“That’s why I’m getting the word out early, because we have a lot of people to organize and a lot of work to do,” said Petersdorf, who has already sent out competition packages to the local schools. “I already have some sponsors and companies willing to help out, so we’re getting organized.”

Winners will receive medals and trophies, and a perpetual trophy will circulate among the schools with the highest-scoring students.
“Of course, I plan to win that (perpetual) trophy the first year,” laughed Petersdorf. “But really, I just want this to be a fun event. I want the kids to be able to win a medal and hold it up and say, ‘Wow, look at what I did.’ This is all about self-esteem, self-confidence and fun.”

There are practical aspects to the competition as well. “The kids will be in better shape by the time they get to high school as a result of this type of program,” Petersdorf said. “Especially if we get all the schools in Oakley, Knightsen and Brentwood to participate. Private schools are welcome, too.”

Stand by for Live Reports from Cork

I try to read the future in my own special crystal ball

On my way there this morning, arrive there this evening. I going to have a big photo album and reports of all rounds and events. Lots of videos, lots of debate and lots of fun.

Stay tuned for a true debate extravaganza!

Gotta go now and make sure my bag doesn't weigh too much for Ryanair.

Deliberation: The Journal of Adjudication

From http://workserver.idebate.org/deliberation/

Editor’s Note
December 12, 2008
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Deliberation: The Journal of Adjudication. As with many such projects, the idea for a journal about adjudicating competitive academic debates began as a discussion between friends. While working together at a summer debating workshop, Logan Balavijendran and I were talking how frustrating it is that so little remains after a round from which we can learn: the deliberations of the adjudicators are private, no written record of the reasons for a decision emerges from their discussions and video recordings of rounds seldom include the oral adjudication and never include the deliberation itself. We quickly agreed on two things: most of what we knew about debating was learned from adjudicating debates and there exists a need for some forum through which to disseminate the collective knowledge of debating produced weekend after weekend throughout the year.
From that discussion was born this journal. Our intent is to publish critical case studies of debates that present interesting, unusual or compelling circumstances and from which may be drawn useful generalizations about the best practices of debating and adjudication. Like medical journals that publish case studies of challenging illnesses and their treatments, we hope the shared perspectives of adjudicators making decisions in actual rounds, at actual tournaments will provide useful insight into the art and practice of debating and adjudication.
I’m particularly pleased at the quality of the Editorial Board that has agreed to work on this project. Among our editors are the current and immediate past Chairs of Worlds Council, the author of the rules for the World Universities Debating Championships, Chief and Deputy Chief Adjudicators of current and past Championships and, in all, some of the most influential people involved in academic debating today. Their insights into the practice of debating and adjudication are evident in the case studies they’ve written for the inaugural issue and will, no doubt, continue to influence not only this journal’s offerings but the activity of debating well into the future. No doubt, when you review their biographies, you’ll be as impressed as I am.
This inaugural issue, like the notes of an outstanding speech, is but an outline of what we intend the journal to become. In the short run, we’re looking forward to our next issue: the first special edition of Deliberation. In that issue, we’ll invite the adjudication panel of the 2009 World Championship Grand Final to offer their reflections on the round. When combined with a video of the round to be published on our site, we think the adjudicator’s comments about the round will be a valuable contribution to the material available for understanding the complex process of adjudication (in addition to providing a answer to the question that often follows final rounds: “what were they thinking?”).
In the long term, we imagine featuring more video of compelling rounds and adjudications, training material for adjudicators, resources for those interested in emerging questions about adjudication (such as “how do we effectively review an adjudicator’s performance?”) and the like.
Please feel free to make the journal a conversation by adding your comments about the articles you read. If you have suggestions for how we may improve the site, please offer them. But most importantly, consider submitting your own case study for publication in the journal. Not only will you receive a small honorarium for your efforts, you’ll contribute to the advancement of our activity.
Steven Johnson, Editor-in-Chief
Deliberation: The Journal of Adjudication

Urban Debate League Open House Acompanies Inauguration

President-elect Barack Obama meeting urban debaters in his Senate office in Washington, DC

Contact scott@urbandebate.org to see if you can get an invitation. This is not open to everyone (obviously, it is at a private home) but looks like a great event for UDL supporters. The NAUDL is doing a great job getting the Urban Debate League movement revved up and going places! You hav to love these photos of the new administration standing with urban debaters.

From Scott Deatherage:

You are cordially invited to an open house for friends and supporters of urban debate and
the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues

on

Saturday, January 17, 2009
3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

at

The home of Greg and Marti Rosenbaum

Dear friends,

Please join the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues (NAUDL) for an open house at the home of Greg and Marti Rosenbaum on Saturday, January 17. Drop by to reunite with former debaters and connect with other supporters of urban debate. The NAUDL is working to bring urban debate to disadvantaged urban students nationwide, training a diverse generation of tomorrow's leaders. Help us celebrate the bright future of the NAUDL and urban debate nationwide!

Many of us will be in Washington, DC that weekend for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th President of the United States. President-elect Obama has met with student debaters, voiced support for urban debate, and recently advocated doubling federal funding for afterschool programming. The President-elect's designee to be Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has a deep understanding of the benefits of urban debate and has consistently demonstrated his commitment to expanding the Chicago Debate League.

Secretary of Education-designee Arne Duncan (right) with Phoenix Military Academy debate coach Robert Edwards and debater Samary Vasquez

Snacks and refreshments will be provided. This is an informal event open to all supporters of urban debate. Come enjoy a heated pool, full-court basketball, outdoor hot tub, and indoor sauna! Please be aware that the Rosenbaum home is a non-smoking residence. Your cooperation is appreciated.

Plans Move Ahead for US Universities Championship

From Alfred Snider:

At the World Universities Peace Invitational Debates in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where both were serving as DCAs, United States Universities Debating Championship chief adjudicator Neill Harvey Smith and convener Alfred Snider held a planning meeting on USU 2009 to be held at the University of Vermont on April 3-5 2009. The tournament will utilize the WUDC debate format and will determine a national champion. Whenever possible procedures at major international tournaments will be followed. International teams are invited and can win the tournament, but the top rated United States team will be named national champion. Overseas teams may request fee waiver and crash housing.

The tournament is hosted by the Lawrence Debate Union at the University of Vermont and sponsored by the International Debate Education Association.

The topics of conversation in Thailand included:
Selection of DCAs, one or more from abroad and one or more from the USA. Their roles will be to judge as well as evaluate feedback forms from debaters and other judges about the tournament judging and advise tabulation on how to assign judges based on perceived excellence. The goal is to have as high quality judging pool as possible, so constant evaluation during the tournament will be combined with evaluation before the tournament. The best judges will “break” and judge the elimination rounds.
Discussion of tabulation protocols and software. The determination currently is to use the Tournaman software from the Berlin Debating Union. A tab director is being sought. EZ-Tournament software will serve as back-up.
Discussion about judge training session to be held on Friday afternoon. The session will involve basic discussion of the format, a question and answer period, followed by a sample debate that all judges will score. The ballots and experience forms turned in by the judges will determine their initial evaluation until the feedback begins after round one.
A FAQ website will be developed to help teams new to the format prepare themselves for the tournament.
An instructional manual in pdf format will be available to all teams attending.
Regular news bulletins will be released.

“I consider this an opportunity to assist in the many efforts I see in the USA to bring the WUDC debating format to more and more American schools. I believe it is a good format for finding common ground for expanded international debate, as well as domestic competition in the USA,” said Neill Harvey-Smith.

Alfred Snider said, “Neill is a great resource, since he is literally at the heart of the world universities debating movement today. His expertise should help make our tournament a wonderful experience for all. Americans always have their own ways, but we are anxious to merge our ways with international debate traditions. We think both have a lot to offer.”

Information for potential attendees:

Registration opens and fees announced 13 January 2009 at http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/usu/Welcome.html You will need one judge for every two teams unless granted an exemption.

Two person teams, four team format, seven minute speeches, topic before each debate, closed motions in WUDC style, fifteen minutes preparation, round one random all others power-paired. Six preliminary debates, number of elimination rounds based on number of teams attending.

See the schedule at http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/usu/Schedule.html

Shuttles available from tournament hotel to campus for rounds and also to social events. Make sure to use the tournament hotel and register for local shuttle service.

Tournament hotel information packet at http://debate.uvm.edu/dcpdf/windjammer0409.pdf Ask for the special rate for “UVM Debate.” 50 rooms at $79.95 per night. GET ROOMS SOON. ROOM BLOCK EXPIRES ONE MONTH IN ADVANCE. Other hotels, Google “burlington vermont hotels”.

Burlington International Airport (BTV) is served by most airlines, including low cost Airtran and Jetblue. Buy early and save. We cannot provide shuttles from the airport but it is a very short taxi ride. Taxis are available as you exit baggage claim in Burlington or call 802-862-1010.

For more information email alfred.snider@uvm.edu or go to http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/usu/Welcome.html for more information.

Thailand-USA Friendship Debates in late January 2009

From Alfred C. Snider:

The Thai government and the US Embassy in Thailand have announced a series of events commemorating the 175th anniversary of Thai-USA relations. The events will take place 27 January-1 February 2009.

There will be events at the US Embassy as well as a debate tournament at Mahidol University, held in the All Asians format (3 on 3) with three preliminary debates, semifinals and finals. An open debate workshop for students will be held during the stay. There will also be a USA-Thai friendship debate between Thais and Americans that will be a publicized open event. Other events will be scheduled by the Commissioner of Higher Education of Thailand and the US Embassy.

The University of Vermont's Lawrence Debate Union has been selected to represent the USA. All expenses for the USA group will be shared by the US Embassy and the Thai Chancellor of Higher Education. Major Thai universities (Chulalongkorn, Mahidol, Assumption and others) will represent Thailand.

The Vermont contingent will consist of Alfred Snider, Edwin Lawrence Professor of Forensics and director of the Lawrence Debate Union, along with three students, Lucas Caress (senior from New York City), Sam Natale (sophomore from West Palm Beach, Florida) and Allison Hamlin (sophomore, Essex Junction, Vermont). Sam and Lucas recently finished third at the elite and extremely difficult World Universities Peace Invitational Debates in Malaysia and seem to have charmed all of Asia with their fresh approach to debating and argumentation. The invitation to the tournament specifically asked for their attendance with Dr. Snider, along with another student who will represent Vermont at the upcoming World Universities Debating Championship in Cork, Ireland which begins on December 27 2008. After an open call Allison Hamlin was selected.

"It is highly gratifying," said Dr. Snider, "to receive this invitation. We debated in Thailand last year and found it to be a fabulous experience. I look forward to celebrating 175 years of USA-Thai friendship. I admire Thailand for its rich culture, intellectual tradition and the fact that it was never a colony. I want to thank Professor Piyanart Faktorngpan of Chulalongkorn University for working so hard on this project, along with the US Embassy and the Thai Commissioner of Higher Education. It is clearly a sign that the University of Vermont's debate program, the Lawrence Debate Union, continues to rise in its global reputation."

"We hope to set a standard for the 21st Century," Snider added, "that disagreements need to be solved by logical and reasoned discourse, not by violence. We must learn to trust the force of ideas, not the ideas of force."

Debate Process at Heart of Solving Social Problems

From http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Intellectual+combat:+my+journey+in+competitive+forensics.-a0190430735

Author: Briscoe, Shawn
Publication: Education Next
Article Type: Essay
Date: Jan 1, 2009

Intellectual combat: my journey in competitive forensics.

In the fall of 1990, I somewhat reluctantly joined my high school debate team. My first debate focused on whether the United States should increase manned space exploration. I was completely lost; it seemed 1 had forgotten how to speak. Thankfully, I had a supportive community in my hometown of Nevada, Missouri, and a talented coach by the name of Tim Gore. I quickly found there is nothing quite like watching the faces in the audience as people realize you have taken control of the debate. I admit I became intrigued by the idea of intellectual combat.

As an educator today, I draw on the writings of University of Washington political science and education professor Walter Parker, who has noted that "engaged citizens do not materialize out of thin air. They do not naturally grasp such knotty principles as tolerance, impartial justice, the separation of church and state, the needs for limits on majority power, or the difference between liberty and license." If our students are to understand the pressing issues of the day, they must be exposed to myriad viewpoints and able to synthesize information from multiple sources.

Forensics challenges students through events in both speech and debate. In the discipline of platform speaking, students select a controversial subject and conduct extensive research before trying to persuade the audience. Competitors in extemporaneous speaking have 30 minutes to prepare a seven-minute response to a question, complete with source citations. Topics the National Federation of State High School Associations developed for extemporaneous speaking contests in 2008 included, Should public schools be allowed to segregate along gender lines? Should phone companies that aided in illegal wiretaps by the government be immune from prosecution? Should China relax its one-child policy?

In competitive debates, students do not choose which side they will defend. Most tournaments involve switch-sides competition, in which debaters defend the proposition (affirmative) and opposition (negative) sides an equal number of times. To prepare, student competitors must look at the issue through a nonpartisan lens or from multiple perspectives, thereby gaining a deep understanding of issues that confront our national (and world) leaders. Over several years of teaching and coaching debate, I have witnessed students shift their views on a host of topics as a result of their debate experience. Most often, they grow to acknowledge, accept, and empathize with those who hold opinions contrary to their own.

Students who hope to succeed in forensics must possess wide-ranging knowledge of current issues. It is not uncommon to catch my students reading from the New York Times, the

Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and Political Science Quarterly, not to mention pocket copies of the Constitution, Common Sense, and inspirational books of quotations.

A few years ago, while driving home from work in Alaska, I received a call from a former student who was at a tournament in Florida. At the time, students commonly used Foucault's writings to argue against federal action to alleviate the harms of the status quo. As the student launched into a description of how an opposing team had presented a unique twist on Foucault, I thought, "Man, I don't know how I would answer that." Before I had a chance to respond, he blurted out, "It was sweet. Do you know what we did?" He then explained how he drew on his understanding of readings from social ecologists, professors of intercultural communication, and John Stuart Mill to develop his own criticism of Foucault's thoughts on power, knowledge, and discourse. The tournament judge commended both teams for developing new takes on a common argument.

Whether forensics is a mainstay in the curriculum, an extracurricular club, or used occasionally by teachers in the classroom, it has the power to inspire students to learn and to help them grasp the concepts we aim to instill.

Shawn Briscoe is debate coach and adjunct professor in the Department of Communication and Discourse Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage and coaches speech and debate at South Anchorage High School.

Debate Poem for Year End

Cute.

From http://www.gotoofareast.com/toblog/?p=633

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
Deep thoughts about debate

I recently touched base with my high school debate coach. In case you haven’t figured out by now, debate was one of the more influential subjects in my education.

During my days as a high school debater, I wrote a poem about debate. “Roses are red…” it isn’t. But this really reminded me about what discourse–whether in a debate, a blog or in our daily lives–is all about.

Debate isn’t about arguing,

but thinking, listening, learning

and speaking,

appreciating when it’s done well.

It’s about words,

how to say them and what

they mean,

knowing how to understand

as well as teach others.

Debate is about respect,

not malice but understanding,

knowledge and confidence

with character.

Not bad if I do say so myself. My debate coach hung on to this, and I’m sure glad he did. Reading our own words is haunting. When the things we’ve broadcasted out of our brains confront us years later, it’s like talking to yourself in the mirror. Better yet, it’s like the twist at the end of a Terminator movie where you are John Conner’s father! You’ve traveled to the present from another time to deliver an important message.

Here’s a word that you birthed, and it’s grown up, walking around on its own and comes knocking on your door one day asking, “are you my daddy?”

Debate is about respect,

not malice but understanding,

This means that debating is really a learning activity. It’s paying homage to ideas with weight. So let’s debate! (…which I think rhymes).

Botswana WUDC Bid Ramps Up with Talking Points

From Justice Motlhabani:

Dear Worlds Community,

There are many reasons why the University of Botswana should host the World Universities Debating Championships in 2011, but here are the 3 most important - Organization, Development & Excitement

Organization

This is our 3rd concurrent bid for worlds. We've been preparing for worlds since May 2006 and we believe this clearly exhibits our desire to host the tournament, our long term vision and our ability to sustain an organization. We have an experienced organizing team, with anywhere from 7-15 years debate and hosting experience.

We recently hosted the biggest tournament in Africa, the first Pan-African Universities Debating Championships involving 10 African countries, more than 30 Universities from across the African continent and many debate trainers.

We have actively participated in the South African Debating Championships for the past 9 years and are regular breakers in the tournament. Since 1997 we have competed in the World Universities Debating Championship twice in Stellenbosch (1997, 2003), NTU Singapore (2004), MMU Malaysia (2005), UBC Vancouver (2007) and in Bangkok Thailand last year.

We have organized the Botswana schools debating tournament for the past four years and the Botswana inter-college championships. We know that organizing tournaments can be logistically exhaustive, random and difficult to manage. We know because we've been part of, planned and executed similar tournaments and events before and are thus ready for the challenge.

The University of Botswana has a long and impressive track record of hosting large regional events. The entire tournament will take place on the University of Botswana campus, which is in the city centre of Gaborone.

We have more than 50 smart classrooms, which will make excellent debate venues, lectures halls with more than 500 persons seating capacity and comfortable dining halls. The infrastructure to host large international conferences is available.

In the last two years alone, UB hosted the BOLESWA games between Botswana Lesotho Swaziland (which includes debating), a pre CHOGM Symposium for all Commonwealth Universities, the NOMA awards for the best writer, author and publisher n Africa, the first IASTED conference in Africa (International Association for Science and technology Development) and many more events that depended upon huge conference facilities, IT support, first world class accommodation, safe environments and easy international access.

We have incredible amount of support from the government, private sector, and NGOs. With our improved organizational team and with Logandran Balavijendran and James Dray heading the Adjudication team, we honestly believe we can host not just the best Worlds in Africa, but the best Worlds ever.

Development

From 1997 to 2009 only 1 Worlds has been hosted in Africa (4 in AustralAsia, 5 in Europe, 2 in North America). Yet teams from the African Continent have participated in every one of them. Occasionally some institutions will make their first appearance, but seldom come back, it is now time that Africa is given a chance

In the 30 years of WUDC history, it has visited the African continent twice (Stellenbosch, South Africa, 1997 and 2003). For 2 debate generations, debaters in Africa have not had Worlds on their continent. Representation of African teams at Worlds has withered. While debate continues to flourish in pockets, it does so alone and segregated from the Worlds community. It is time we changed this.

Hosting the World Universities Debating Championships in Botswana will allow debate to grow in Africa, because it will give us a platform to promote debate. Members of the organizing committee of Botswana Worlds 2011 have been promoting debate actively in Southern Africa, mainly by running workshops and debate tournaments in Swaziland and Lesotho. The response, to learn and spread debate, has been amazing. With the support of other debating nations in Southern Africa, we will use WUDC 2011 to plant debating into as many of the 52 countries in Africa as possible.

By 2011 we pledge to bring 20 African countries to Worlds for the first time ever. In the first continental tournament we organized we were able to bring 10 African countries together just in a space of under four months, next year we plan to double the size of the tournament and even have 150 teams. There are many many countries that have shown interest to participate and could not come this year and we are working with IDEA/OSI on assisting them to be able to attend next year.

We are currently in the process of setting up an English Speaking Union in Botswana, because of the attention and awareness we generated through our bid for Botswana Worlds 2010. When other corporations, universities and governments see how huge, important and colorful the WUDC and debate is, they will be more pliable to pleas of support from hundreds of debaters in their countries. This helps build larger debate organizations, secure support for regional debate events and obtain funding to attend future Worlds.

Excitement

At the risk of sounding fantastic, the truth is Botswana has everything. The most stable democratic country in Africa, with a solid economy and great infrastructure - boasts all the comforts and excitement of any developed city. Great shopping, clubs, bars, food, casinos, backpacking adventure, resorts and food from around the world.

Integrated into Worlds will be visits to the Mokolodi Nature Reserve, (Game viewing, leopard petting, elephant riding and general lounging in the sun), beers at St.Claire Lion's Park, opportunities to visit the Central Kalahari Nature Reserve.

Botswana worlds will also be less than 6 months after the FIFA World Cup ends just across the border in South Africa. This means more travel promotions, which means more options at less cost for you!

If the WUDC is to take you somewhere you would never go or could never go on your own, let it take you to Botswana, Africa. Let it take you to the Safari, the Okavango, the Kalahari; to the transparent, safe, democratic, pluralistic nation that is Africa's best kept secret. Let it take you to Botswana.

Please visit our website, www.botswanaworlds.com, for more updated information (organization team, logistics, schedules), videos and pictures.

I will see you at Cork, and hopefully, at Botswana Worlds 2011!

Cheers

Justice Motlhabani
Convenor
Botswana Worlds 2011

--
Botswana Worlds 2011 : Visit http://www.botswanaworlds.com

Singapore Open Results

The Singapore Debate Open 2008 was held over the past weekend. 44
teams, from four countries competed in four preliminary rounds,
quarters, semis and finals.

The results are:

Winners: Yes We Can (Joey Pang and Shrawan Saraogi)

Finalists: NTU 1 (Madhav Janakiraman and Anindya Dutta), SMU 1 (Carlo
Cabrera and Anirban Gupta), NTU 2 (Lakshmi Balachandran and Parvathy Prem)

Semi-finalists: NUS LA (Alexander Yeo and Tan Li Feng), NUS The A-team
(Ashok Rai and Amanda Lim), NYP 2 (Pirakash and Saqib), RGWG (Weige Wu
and Renuka)

Top 10 Speakers:
1. Alexander Yeo (NUS LA)
2. Tan Li Feng (NUS LA)
3. Vikram Balasubramanian (Pinky and the Cripple)
3. Joey Pang (Yes We Can)
5. Madhav Janakiraman (NTU 1)
5. Lakshmi Balachandran (NTU 2)
5. Aditya Vijaya Kumar (Pinky and the Cripple)
5. Robin (Gongjiao)
5. Mark Lim (Gongjiao)
10. Anirban Gupta (SMU 1)

Motions:
Round 1: THW throw the book at Dubiya
Round 2: THW ban all anti-government protests
Round 3: THBT Iran should be engaged without preconditions
Round 4: THBT criminals should not be given the right to vote
Quarters: THBT Western economies should become more socialist
Semis: THW give its best for Gaza
Finals: THBT there are no universal human rights

Coming Soon - Debates in Second Life - Sponsors Sought

Main debating chamber at St. John's University in Second Life

What is Second Life?

From http://secondlife.com/whatis/

Second Life® is a 3-D virtual world created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe.

From the moment you enter the World you'll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you've explored a bit, perhaps you'll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.

You'll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow Residents. Because Residents retain intellectual property rights in their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other Residents.

The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the inworld unit of trade, the Linden™ dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden dollar exchanges.

St. John's University and the University of Vermont announce plans to hold debates in Second Life. This will be done using the beautiful facilities of St. John's University within Second Life and with the technical assistance of the University of Vermont.

Lobby at St. John's Second Life complex

Teams from around the world will be able to debate against each other as long as they have an online computer, a microphone and a speaker. Distance will be irrelevant.

Sponsors for a series of real time global debates are now being sought. Those interested in participating can contact Alfred Snider at alfred.snider@uvm.edu .

A demonstration debate will be held in January 2009. Look for it. To inspect the space, go to Second Life and search for "St. John's University" and then teleport to the location. Wander around and check it out. There are two spaces in which we plan to hold debates, one a smaller classroom and the other a large auditorium, although oddly enough with very comfortrable chairs.

In such a debate, the self-designed avatar of each individual debater will speak in real time using their own voice. Judges seated in the audience will listen to the debaters, but also be responsible for calling the house to order, announcing the speakers, and everything else one would expect of a formal debate. Points of information will be enabled. At the end of the debate judges will adjourn for a decision and then return, announcing the decision and explaining it. Audience members will be seated and watching the event from their own individual perspective.

Second Life offers free membership at http://secondlife.com/

Here is an example of what is being done educationally with Second Life.

From http://www.kstatecollegian.com/professor_tests_digital_classroom_in_event_management_course

Professor tests digital classroom in event management course
Jason Miller

Updated: Thursday, December 11, 2008
Imagine waking up to see snow falling outside while still being able to attend class in the comfort of your pajamas.
At this point it sounds too good to be true, but this reality might be closer than many people think.
This week, Betsy Barrett, associate professor of hospitality management and dietetics, with the help of her teaching assistant Nellie Feehan, junior in hotel and restaurant management, organized the first K-State class period in the virtual world, “Second Life.”
About 30 students were enrolled in her course, Convention and Event Management, which students attended on K-State’s campus all semester.
As a special project, Barrett had her students attend one class session via Second Life and assigned the students projects to be presented in the digital classroom.
According to Second Life’s Web site, secondlife.com, Second Life is a 3-D virtual world created by its residents.
Since opening in 2003, it has expanded and is inhabited by millions of residents from around the globe.
The students spent weeks creating avatars, which are computer versions of themselves, and working on their projects. The projects included presentations for the entire class and a party in Second Life. The computerized class session was Dec. 4. The students will organize two other events in Second Life to complete this special project.
Barrett said the students’ party, which was planned for Thursday afternoon, is to launch the department’s new name, Hospitality Management and Dietetics, formerly known as Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management and Dietetics.
The students planned the event using real-world application measures of event planning, though they did not need to physically coordinate the event, Barrett said.
Larry Jackson, director of information and educational technology, first approached Barrett at a technology meeting about the opportunity to teach in Second Life.
“Educational organizations are becoming a force in Second Life, where it’s not so much anymore about watching some second persona I have, it’s becoming more a tool for educational purposes,” Jackson said.
“That’s what our interest at K-State is. It’s about how to use this environment for an educational purpose that makes students and others go away smarter than when they arrived, and it’s a really great tool for that.”
Jackson helped instruct Barrett and Feehan on the use of Second Life and helped them find a location, called an “island” in Second Life, which Barrett leased for one month for this special project.
The pair was then ready to introduce the students to a new platform of learning.
Barrett was quick to point out that the help of her TA was instrumental in reaching the goal.
“Nellie has done a lot to help me,” she said. “She really knows the ins and outs of the technology of Second Life. She has helped the students out a lot throughout the project.”
Aside from just being able to avoid inclement weather to attend class, Second Life opens the doors to a borderless world.
“These students could have been in the Port of Maine if they wanted to and still attended class,” Barrett said. “They could have been in their offices at home or wherever and still got the information.”
Online classes and events also provide the opportunity to cut costs.
“I would like to be able to be in my house and still go to class,” said Jessica Smith, sophomore in food science and industry. “If we had the opportunity, I think most students would want to do that. Also, it might lower costs since all we would need to do is pay the speaker.”

Huge Malaysian Royal Tournament Shows Growth of Multi-Language Debating

From http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=376130

Increase In Inter-varsity Debating Championship Participants

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 (Bernama)-- The Royal Malaysian Inter-Varsity Debating Championship, held since 1995, has shown increased participation from local universities, said International Islamic Universiti of Malaysian (IIUM) president Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.

Mohd Sidek, who is also Chief Secretary to the Government, said the standards of debating among public institutions this year had also improved.

He was speaking to reporters after presenting awards to winners of the championship held at IIUM near here Wednesday.

The debate, which was mooted by IIUM, attracted 128 teams from 20 public universities, with 64 teams participating in the Malay category, 48 (English category) and 16 (Arabic category).

The Arabic category was introduced two years ago.

This year, IIUM won the Arabic category for the second year running, University Malaya (UM) won the English category for the first time while University Putra Malaysia (UPM) won the Malay category for the second time.

The winners of each category took home RM 5,000, individual trophies and a group trophy.

UM's Catherine Kho Tjing Ying, 21, who was judged Best Speaker for the English language category, said the biggest challenge for her and her team was overcoming the challenges in every round of the championship.

The third-year student majoring in Statistics attributed strong team work as the key to overcoming the challenges.

UPM's Mohd Syamsul, 22, whose was part of the winning team for the Malay language category, said he found the championship to be highly competitive.

His team had prepared well for the championship, which included practising debates from 8am to noon, and sourcing information on current issues from newspapers and magazines daily.

Slovenia & University of Vermont Hold Joint WUDC-WSDC Prep Sessions

Sam Natale, Maja Cimerman and Lucas Caress in Slovenia

During the period between WUPID and WUDC Cork the University of Vermont is being hosted by ZIP and the Slovenian debate community. Besides fellowship and fun there is a lot of debate preparation going on.

Here are some of the highlights:

Sunday:
Alfred Snider had two debates against Slovenia world schools team on nuclear electricity.

Monday:
Monday afternoon - Sam Natale & Lucas Caress do PoI workshop at Gymnazija Ledina
5:30 PM at Faculty of Social Sciences, debate
THW replace Robert Mugabe.
Sam-Lucas, Maja Cimerman-Filip Dobranic, Anna Kerr-Simon Belak, Sergei Sustar-Crt Podlogar

Tuesday 7 PM:
Faculty of Social Sciences
THBT Ireland should approve the new EU constitution/Lisbon Treaty next year.
Sam-Lucas, Maja-Filip, Anna Kerr-Simon Belak, Sergei Sustar-Crt Podlogar

Wednesday nothing planned

Thursday Christmas Day
Sam-Lucas-Maja debate against Slovenia world schools team
Bojana Skrt cooks big meal

Friday
Sam-Lucas-Maja debate twice against Slovenia world schools team
More big meal

Saturday
Sam-Lucas-Tuna-Bojana fly from Treviso, Italy to Cork, arrive at 9 PM

Gay Rights Speech Wows Them in Malaysia

Those at this event have talked about the way in which this speech deeply moved the audience at the debate tournament. I found a copy and wanted to share it.

Debating creates awareness and changes people.

From http://thewhisperer-lonewolf.blogspot.com/2008/12/gay-rights-speech-by-gabrielle-chong.html

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2008
Gay Rights Speech By A 19 Year Old Gabrielle Chong Yong Wei... Excellent Speech!!
Speech delivered at the Malaysian Bar Council, Bar Council Human Rights Public Speaking Competition 2008 finals (1st prize), 12 Dec 2008:

Good evening everyone.
In this country, I’m the minority of minorities.
Firstly, I’m a female. Secondly, I’m a Chinese and thirdly, I’m an agnostic.
I’m glad to let you know that, throughout the 19 years of my life thus far that I have spent in Malaysia, I’ve never encountered serious oppression because of my sex, race of religious belief, because thank God, in Malaysia, we acknowledge and have satisfactory protection of women’s rights, as well as the rights of racial and religious minorities.But I also belong to another minority that has been discriminated and persecuted until this very day.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I stand before you today as a gay Malaysian to appeal for the protection of gay rights in Malaysia.
What does it mean to be gay person?
A gay person is someone who is attracted to persons of the same sex.
But that’s it. The definition ends there.
Far beyond our differences, I share many similarities with all of you in this hall.
For example, I’m here today because like you, I’m concerned about human rights and I enjoy debates.
Like you, I’ve a family that I love and cherish.
Like you, I too, long for the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
And most of all, like you, I am capable of love.
What does it mean to be a gay person in Malaysia?
For one, I know that I probably will never be able to marry the person that I love in this lifetime. Until today, there’s no formal organization that I can rely on to speak up and stand up for my rights. Sometimes, I’m even subjected to state-sanctioned homophobia such as that propagated by the National Fatwa Council’s recent decision to outlaw tomboys and lesbianism.
In the last three days of this tournament, I’ve made quite a number of friends, who are in this hall right now. And I’m thankful for your priceless friendship. But there’re many occasions in life when, in the course of making friends, I wonder…I wonder if their friendship is subjected to the assumption that I’m a heterosexual.
I hate to doubt anybody’s sincerity and capacity for acceptance and friendship, but as a homosexual Malaysian living in a homophobic Malaysian society, I’ve no choice but to grapple with such fears and suspicions on a daily basis.
And what about gay rights? What are gay rights?
Gay rights are simply the rights of gay persons to live in peace and dignity, and to be accorded the same recognition and opportunities as other human beings.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have gathered here today at this human rights debate tournament because we share a common ideal: that all men and women are created free and equal, but I would also like to introduce another concept to you today: that not only do we deserve equal human rights, but that all human rights are equal.
That means, gay rights are no less important and impacting to the preservation of human dignity than women’s rights, the rights of racial and religious rights as well as other rights. For far too long in Malaysia, the issue of gay rights has been at best occasionally brought up by human rights organizations and at worst, totally swept under the carpet. And this has to stop, because discrimination towards gays is no less demeaning and dehumanizing as discrimination towards women, blacks, Jews, Tutsis and other minorities.
At the same time, I realize that some of you here will hold views contrary to mine, and I realize that I probably won’t be able to change those views with a single speech, but I would still like to encourage you to reconsider some of the common arguments against gay rights.
If you fear that the granting of gay rights will bring about the end of procreation and the human race, let me assure you that the granting of gay rights will eliminate heterosexuals no more than the granting of heterosexuals rights will eliminate gays.
If you believe that homosexuals are perverted and abnormal, then remember that there’re many things which we approve of today, such as hand phones and cars, and the concepts of democracy and gender equality, which are unnatural outside the realm of civilization, but are still worthy of preservation anyway.
At the same time, there’re many things which come naturally to us, such as hatred, fear and bigotry, which I believe aren’t worthy of preservation. If you’re one of those who object to gay rights on religious grounds, and believe that we’re the untouchables, then remember that the untouchables too, are the children of God.
I stand before you today as a gay Malaysian to appeal for the protection of gay rights in Malaysia, but I do not speak for myself.
I do not speak for the person I love.
Neither do I speak on behalf of the estimated 350,000 gays and lesbians in Malaysia.
Rather, I speak on behalf of humanity as a whole, because our fate is intertwined.
When one man is not free, all are bound.
And when the gay community triumphs, our triumph too, shall be your triumph.
Martin Luther King had his dreams, on which my fellow speaker Marcus Wee will elaborate after me. I too, have my own dreams.
I hope to pursue a life of happiness and companionship with the person I love, freely and without fear or fervor.

I hope that someday, if I ever win a public competition with a speech on gay rights, I can go home and proudly tell my parents of my achievement without fear of repercussions.

I also hope that you will join me in the cause to uphold gay rights. But if that is too much to ask of you, then I appeal for tolerance.

But most of all, I dream that someday, speeches like this one will no longer be necessary.
Lastly, I end my speech with a quote by Boethius: “Who can put a law unto love? Love is unto itself the highest law.”
Thank you.

IDEA-BFSU Tournament in China

From http://idebate.blogspot.com/2008/12/third-annual-idea-bfsu-tournament.html

thursday, december 18, 2008

Third IDEA-BFSU Tournament a Success!

In cooperation with the School of English at Beijing Foreign Studies University, IDEA held the third annual IDEA-BFSU four-team parliamentary debate tournament from December 5th to the 7th. 250 students from provinces across China joined together to debate topics ranging from curbing Somali piracy to policies in student dormitories.

Unlike previous tournaments that IDEA has sponsored in the PRC, this tournament included a Chinese-language division as well as the English-language division. Many participants had been at BFSU just a month earlier for the IDEA Mandarin and English debate workshop. 84 teams participated in the English division and 40 teams participated in the Mandarin division. The English division broke to octafinals, with students weighing the pros and cons of abolishing veto power in the United Nations’ Security Council. The Mandarin division broke to quarterfinals, where both divisions debated the motion “This house would not allow foreigners to own a controlling interest in Chinese companies.” Semifinals saw rousing debates on if and how China should support for “DINK” (Dual-Income, No Kids) families. For the final round, both divisions debated different motions on environment policy.

First place in the Mandarin division went to Xi’an International Studies University and second place was won by Peking University. First place in the English division was captured by a team combined of one student from Beijing Foreign Studies University and another from Willamette University. Capitol Normal University won second place in the Mandarin division.

Many thanks to Jason Jarvis for donating his time to run tab, and to Karen, Effie, Yang Ge, Cecily, Jingkai and others at BFSU for their help.

University of Free State Wins Pan-African Universities

From Justice Motlhbani:

The University of the Free State is African Champions

The University of the Free State from South Africa has emerged as the winners of the Inaugural Pan-African Universities Debating Championship which was held in Gaborone Botswana. The finals comprised:

The University of the Free State--B -Opening Government

National University of Lesotho--A –Closing Government

University of Namibia-C—Opening Opposition

University of Namibia-A- Opening Opposition

The Best Adjudicator Trophy was awarded to Carl Persat of Namibia

The Best Speaker for the tournament was –Ruth Mulenga of Botswana

The lists of participating countries were:

Nigeria

Ghana

Uganda

Kenya

Botswana

Lesotho

Namibia

Zimbabwe

South Africa

Zambia

The tournament also comprised debate trainers from the US, Botswana, South Korea and South Africa who trained the many virgin debaters from across the African continent.

This week long tournament was hosted at the University of Botswana main campus with the award ceremony at Phakalane Golf Estates.

The African Universities Debating Board which will facilitate the dissemination of training materials, coordinate Pan-African debating events and organize training sessions and help spread debate across the African continent was established at this ground breaking event.

The Chief Adjudicator for the tournament was Logan of Malaysia and the tournament was convened by Justice Motlhabani of Botswana.

For more information visit www.botsdebating.com

World Schools in Athens - Sponsors Say No Problems

From Effie Giannakouri:

Dear All,

I want to take this opportunity to reassure everyone that we have absolutely no concerns whatsoever about the safety and security of participants at the WSDC in February in the light of last week's unrest. Firstly, there is no reason to believe that there will be any problems in February. Also, even if we had been holding the championships last week, we would not have been in any danger. We would have had to make some logistical rearrangements due to transport disruptions etc, but the Stanley Hotel is not in an area that suffered.

I have received a number of concerned emails in the last week or so and without underestimating the seriousness of the demonstrations in any way or demeaning the significance of the tragic death of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, I just want to reassure everyone who is coming to Athens that we are still excited about you all coming and that we are looking forward to a fun and safe tournament.

See you in February

On behalf of the Organizing Committee

Effie Giannakouri
Convener

***********************************************
The World Schools Debating Championships is the premier annual international competition for high school debaters. It is open to any country subject to their commitment to its Charter. For the Charter, Rules, and other information please see www.SchoolsDebate.com.

Blog: www.SchoolsDebate.com/blog Unsubscribe: www.SchoolsDebate.com/mailing.asp.

HWS-IDEA Round Robin

From Eric Barnes:

HWS / IDEA Round Robin website launched

HWS and IDEA aim to bring together an elite and internationally diverse group of debaters and adjudicators each year for a weekend of debate at the highest level. The tournament will be held in the WUDC debate format, set up in a unique pre-paired round robin, ensuring that every team debates against every other team exactly once in the preliminary rounds. Our goal is to facilitate great debating and to recognize the skills and accomplishments of great debaters and adjudicators by treating them to a weekend of satisfying debate and superb hospitality.

You can now see many more details about our tournament and the surrounding events, including: * Organizing committee * Events and hospitality * Provisional schedule * Qualification criteria * Registration information * Tournament policies * Prizes and awards * Historical winners * Links to previous final rounds (streaming video)

http://www.idebate.org/hwsroundrobin/

This year HWS & IDEA are working together to draw great teams and judges from around the globe. Applications for at-large invitations are due at the end of January. Contact Eric Barnes (Tournament Convenor) for more information.

All the Best, Eric
----------------------------------------
Prof. Eric Barnes barnes (at) hws (dot) edu Debate Coach Public Policy Program Philosophy Department Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, New York

USA 09-10 Schools Policy Debate Topic Choice

From the National Debate Coaches Association:

Proposed Topic Areas and Resolutions for 2009-10

Mark only the topic and resolution you prefer. The area that receives the most votes will be the 2009-10 debate topic and resolution.

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

_____ POVERTY

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase social services for persons living in poverty in the United States.

Video of WUPID Final 2008 - Military vs. Pirates

Final Round, World Universities Peace Invitational Debates 2008, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sponsored by CIMB Group.

THW use the military against Somali pirates.

1st Govt University of Vermont, Lucas Caress & Sam Natale
1st Opp Ateneo de Manila, Eleano Zosa & Michael Biscocho
2nd Govt Monash, Victor Finkel & Amit Goldin
2nd Opp Sydney, Julia Fetherston & Tim Mooney

Decision: 1 Monash, 2 Sydney, 3 Vermont, 4 Ateneo de Manila

WUPID Semifinal Debate

Semifinal debate at World Universities Peace Invitational Debates 2008. THBT South American countries should nationalize their natural resources.

1st Govt Queensland A
2nd Govt Monash C advances
1st Opp Harvard A
2nd Opp Vermont A advances

Harvey-Smith, Ivan Ah Sam, Berna, Chandran, Lillin

Monash Wins WUPID

Finalists pose before the release of the motion

The Monash team of Amit Golder and Victor Finkel won the WUPID tournament and a 15,000 MR ($4200 US) prize, defeating second place Sydney (Tim Mooney & Julia Fetherston), third place the University of Vermont (Lucas Caress & Sam Natale), and fourth place Ateneo de Manila (Eleanor Zosa & Michael Biscocho) in a gala final round presided over by Malaysian royalty. Other final round teams also won substantial cash prizes.

The motion was, This House would use military force against Somali pirates.

The top ten speakers were:
1 Tim Mooney Sydney A 410 82.00 84 80 85 78 83
2 Julia Fetherston Sydney A 404 80.79 84 78 84 77 81
2 Leloy Claudio Geopower-Ateneo de Manila A 404 80.79 77 78 85 82 82
4 Lewis Bollard Harvard A 401 80.20 81 84 80 77 79
4 Sharmila Parmanand Geopower-Ateneo de Manila A 401 80.20 78 78 82 82 81
6 Tan Li Feng NUS A 400 80.00 79 75 86 76 84
7 Amit Golder Monash C 399 79.79 78 79 82 74 86
8 Victor Finkel Monash C 397 79.40 76 78 83 75 85
9 Cormac Early Harvard A 393 78.59 77 80 81 77 78
10 Alexander Lawrence Yeo Han Tiong NUS A 391 78.20 78 74 83 77 79
10 Kiran Iyer Monash B 391 78.20 80 78 82 71 80

WUPID Grand Final

GRAND FINALS

Kuala Lumpur Convention Center

Sydney A
Ateneo de Manila A
Monash C
Vermont A

WUPID Semifinal Results

SEMIFINALS

THBT South American countries should nationalize their natural resources.

Room 1805/1806

1st Govt Sydney A advances
2nd Govt Ateneo de Manila A advances
1st Opp Monash D
2nd Opp UT Mara B
O’Brien, Connor, Piyanart, Haft, Samnamngern

Briefing Room

1st Govt Queensland A
2nd Govt Monash C advances
1st Opp Harvard A
2nd Opp Vermont A advances

Harvey-Smith, Ivan Ah Sam, Berna, Chandran, Lillin

WUPID Semis draw

SEMIFINALS

THBT South American countries should nationalize their natural resources.

Room 1805/1806

1st Govt Sydney A
2nd Govt Ateneo de Manila A
1st Opp Monash D
2nd Opp UT Mara B

O’Brien, Connor, Piyanart, Haft, Samnamngern

Briefing Room

1st Govt Queensland A
2nd Govt Monash C
1st Opp Harvard A
2nd Opp Vermont A

Harvey-Smith, Ivan Ah Sam, Berna, Chandran, Lillin

WUPID Quarterfinals Results

QUARTERFINALS

THW bomb terrorist bases in Pakistan.

Tie for 15th 16th seed broken by coin flip.

Room 1
1st Govt UT Mara B advances
1st Opp NUS A
2nd Govt Monash B
2nd Opp Sydney A advances
Connor, Haft, Piyanart, O'Brien

Room 2
1st Govt Geopower-Ateneo de Manila A
1st Opp Ateneo de Manila A
2nd Govt Nanyang B
2nd Opp Monash D
Ivan Ah Sam, Hewson, Nelson, Lillin

Room 3
1st Govt Queensland A advances
1st Opp Nanyang C
2nd Govt NUS B
2nd Opp Monash C advances
Berna, Chandran, Campbell, Harvey-Smith

Room 4
1st Govt Ateneo de Manila B
1st Opp Vermont A advances
2nd Govt Monash A
2nd Opp Harvard A advances
Samnamngern, Salahuddin, Williams, Chong

WUPID Breaking Judges

CA Omar with fans

In no particular order:

Ivan Ah Sam
Erin O'Brien
Beth Connor
Neill Harvey-Smith
Chandran Somasundram
Sam Nelson
Byron Hewson
Berna Agnacio
Fiona Prowse
Omar Salahuddin
Piyanart Faktornpan
James Haft
Lillin
Chris Williams
TJ Samnamngern
Alfred Snider
Steve Worcester
Scott Dawson
Ian Howell
Mac
Duncan Campbell
Kevin Chong

WUPID Quarterfinal Draw

THW bomb terrorist bases in Pakistan.

Room 1
1st Govt UT Mara B
1st Opp NUS A
2nd Govt Monash B
2nd Opp Sydney A
Connor, Haft, Piyanart, O'Brien

Room 2
1st Govt Geopower-Ateneo de Manila A
1st Opp Ateneo de Manila A
2nd Govt Nanyang B
2nd Opp Monash D
Ivan Ah Sam, Hewson, Nelson, Lillin

Room 3
1st Govt Queensland A
1st Opp Nanyang C
2nd Govt NUS B
2nd Opp Monash C
Berna, Chandran, Campbell, Harvey-Smith

Room 4
1st Govt Ateneo de Manila B
1st Opp Vermont A
2nd Govt Monash A
2nd Opp Harvard A
Samnamngern, Salahuddin, Williams, Chong

Inauguration Debate Series Will Feature Historically Black Colleges

From http://www.wjbf.com/jbf/news/state_regional/south_carolina/article/not_up_for_debate_these_students_will_see_history/9525/

By JOY HOWE
WJBF News Channel 6 Aiken County Reporter
Published: December 16, 2008

Denmark, SC—They watched the debates….

And now these students at Voorhees College will get the chance to have a debate of their own, in front of the man they watched debate…and win.

Cameron Townes, Debate Team Member: “Everyone wants to be a part of history.”

These students are getting that chance…

Voorhees College’s debate team entered, and was selected to compete at the Inauguration Debate Series next month in Washington D.C.

They’re one of just two Historically Black Colleges in the nation that were chosen…and they’ll share the stage with big schools, including Wake Forest and University of Southern California.

Dr. Cleveland Sellars, President Voorhees College: “Our students have worked very hard, done a lot of things and sometimes they are not noticed about their academic accruements, and I think this is an opportunity for them to say ‘we can compete.“

Victorita Paun, Debate Team Member: “I just want to prove that even the small town, Voorhees College can be to a level of the Ivy League schools.“

Coach Gordon English hand-selected each student on the team…

Townes: “He’s challenged me to better myself, in all aspects of life, he’s challenged me to be a better Cameron.“

He takes unconventional teaching to turn even shy, reserved students into big-time debaters.

“You spread it on your bread and you enjoy your meal with a nice glass of milk of the side”… “That’s what we need! That same passion that just told you how to make a peanut butter and jelly sand which, that’s what we need to deliver your message in DC.“

And what about that very special audience member watching the whole thing?

Townes: “A lot of people say, ‘you’re going to see Barack Obama’ but I say ‘yeah, but I gotta win this debate first.‘ That’s the only thing that’s on my mind right now.“ (so Barack second?) yeah, cause Barack don’t have to face them teammates, I do!“

History will be made and seen first-hand by these students…no debate about that.

The Inaugural Debate Series takes place January 19th at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

WUPID Debate - BP Prosecute Mugabe

This was the top room at World Universities Peace Invitational Debates 2008 in Malaysia in round five. Motion is - THW try Robert Mugabe for crimes against humanity. Teams are Sydney, Monash, Ateneo de Manila, National University of Singapore.

Breaking Teams at WUPID 2008

Here are the breaking teams as announced at the break party by Chief Adjudicator Omar Salahuddin bin Abdullah.

Many teams with 9 points did not break, indicating a balanced tournament.

1. Sydney A 14
2. Monash C 13
3. Harvard A 12
4. Geopower-Ateneo de Manila A 11
5. Ateneo de Manila A 11
6. Ateneo de Manila B 11
7. Queensland A 11
8. NUS A 10
9. Monash B 10
10. NUS B 10
11. Monash A 10
12. Monash D 9
13. Nanyang B 9
14. Vermont A 9
15. UT Mara B 9
16. Nanyang C 9

9 team points but insufficient speaker points
SMU B
SMU C
Multimedia Malacca A
Western Washington A
UT Mara C

WUPID Round 5 and Standngs

THW prosecute Robert Mugabe for crimes against humanity.

The computer says 9 points and speaker points will clear.

Here are the point standings for the top teams with at least 7 points after four rounds.

1. Sydney A 12
2. Geopower-Ateneo de Manila A 10
3. Monash C 10
4. NUS B 10
5. Harvard A 9
6. Vermont A 9
7. Queensland A 9
8. Monash A 9
9. Monash B 8
10. UT Mara B 8
11. Ateneo de Manila B 8
12. Ateneo de Manila A 8
13. Multimedia Malacca A 8
14. Cornell B 8
15. Intl Islamic A 8
16. NUS A 7
17. Nanyang B 7
18. Monash D 7
19. Malaya A 7
20. SMU A 7
21. SMU C 7
22. Hong Kong A 7
23. Ateneo de Manila C 7

Candidates for CEDA President to Stage Debate

People running for Cross Examination Debate Association 2nd Vice President (then they become 1st Vice President, then President) are ready to debate it out.

From Darren Elliott:

Friends,

It is with great excitement I announce that for the first time in the collective memory of CEDA, that the candidates vying for the 2nd VP spot have agreed to "debate". Currently 4 of the 5 campaigns have agreed and while still waiting to hear from the 5th candidate, plans are underway for this new CEDA endeavor.

I have offered to and am coordinating the effort with the candidates while also agreeing to moderate the debate(s). I am consulting with the candidates and we are working on format(s) and possibilities. As more details become available, I will make them known. In the meantime, you may want to wait to vote until after the candidates have had their say. While all have posted statements, the debates hope to focus on specific content, timelines, initiatives, etc. The ballot will be made available shortly, but over the course of the next month, while the ballot is available, these debates will take place.

At one time or another I have had the opportunity to work with all of the candidates. I consider them all colleagues and friends. While they may not agree with each other on certain issues or approaches, and while the individual candidates and I may have disagreed from time to time, I can assure you that all of them have a commitment to debate, to CEDA, and moving us forward. I look forward to this opportunity for all of us!

Look for more updates soon!
chief

Darren Elliott
Director of Debate and Forensics--KCKCC
CEDA President

High School Debate Coaching in Chile

Debate team at the restaurant: Daniela, Camila, Nyie, Jenny, Javi.

I found this report and account of Chilean high school debating to be very entertaining and informative.

From http://longlookinside.blogspot.com/2008/12/just-call-me-coach.html

Sunday, December 14, 2008
Just Call Me Coach
One of my responsibilities at Liceo de Niñas was to prepare our school's team for the English debate tournament, the first round of which was the last Friday of September, I believe. There were only three other teams competing against us; even so, my team did not do well. We ended the day in third place after an uninspired performance defending television's influence on children. My students were nervous, and admittedly I hadn't done the best job preparing them because I was struggling with the expectations and also having some trouble communicating with my coteacher. I had repeatedly asked her to help me, and she kept promising help and then abandoning me, only to show up at our last meeting and prettymuch rile everyone up, abruptly leaving me with a huge mess. We got into several arguments, and I was dreading the debate, an attitude that my students picked up on. What frustrated me the most is that my students did not want to participate, and when I decided to pull them out of the tournament, my coteacher told me that if we pulled out, the school could not participate in the English Opens Doors program. I told her that didn't sound right, but she insisted, so we struggled on. I later found out she lied to me in order to manipulate me into preparing the kids because she wanted to glory of participating in the tournament because it made her look good, but she did not want any part of actually helping me prepare. Luckily, a few weeks after we had a huge blowout about the problems we had been having, she got into some trouble and ended up taking the last two months of my volunteer experience off, which was a huge blessing.

However, after the first round of debates, I knew what to expect, and I actually had a lot of fun preparing for the second round with my students. We had a great topic; we were arguing that Chile spends too much money on the military. I thoroughly enjoyed researching this topic and writing the speeches for my kids, an experience that reinforced my desires to go back to school and study policy. My kids did an amazing job, and we ended up getting second place for the day. Also, my "closer," Jenny, ended up being awarded the Best Female Debater prize! She is a cute, funny student who is kind of a mess, in the most darling way. I enjoyed coaching her!

After we performed so well at the second round and I realized I was really proud of my students, I took them out to a restaurant to celebrate. You could tell it was a really special experience for them. I let them order whatever they wanted, knowing that they didn't get a lot of opportunities to go out to eat. We had a lot of fun giggling at the restaurant. Somewhere around this time, I realized I really liked working at an all-girls school. The dynamic between me and my students, without the distraction of boys, was really positive and productive.

I am going to post the text of our speech on the Chilean military, because it was really interesting to me. The history of the military in Chile is fascinating because of the role it played in the Pinochet dictatorship and the initial coup against Salvador Allende. At first, I was worried about how I was going to get teenage girls to care about the topic, but they ended up being really excited about participating in the debate. I also gave them a speech about how proud I was of them that would have brought tears to your eyes. Debates ended up being one of the highlights of my volunteer experience!

Debate 1: This House believes that Chile spends too much money on the military.

First position:

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your attention today. My name is _____________________ and I am a student at Liceo de Ninas Marta Brunet. Today, my teammates and I will show that Chile spends too much money on the military. We believe that there is no need for Chile’s extravagant defense spending. In actuality, Chile’s defense spending is a threat to regional stability. We also believe that Chile’s military spending exposes the weakness of the civilian government to control the armed forces. Finally, we believe that the money currently allocated to defense spending would be better spent on social programs that address the extreme disparity between the poor and the wealthy in our country.

Chile’s defense budget is secured by a law that allocates ten percent of the copper revenue of Coldelco, the state owned copper corporation, to the military. Due to the skyrocketing price of copper over the last five years, Chile has an excess of funds and has spent about two point eight billion dollars on weapons since two thousand. Recent purchases include ten F sixteen fighter planes, two submaries, eight frigates, one hundred eighteen tanks, one hundred humvee jeeps, and eighteen other warplanes. After the new tanks arrive, Chile will have an estimated 300 tanks, according to the Santiago newspaper El Mercurio.

In the past, Chile required a strong and capable military because of tense border relations. However, the resolution of border conflicts and Chile’s superior economic performance have stabilized its relationship with neighboring countries, and the mission of Chile’s military is now focused on peacekeeping. Chile’s last armed conflict, the War of the Pacific, was more than one hundred twenty years ago. Therefore, there is no need for Chile to spend a higher percentage of GDP on defense, at three point six percent, than any other Latin American state. It is already the strongest and most well-armed country in South America, and therefore, it is wasteful to continue making expensive purchases to bolster an already supreme force. Thank you.

Second position:

Hello, my name is _____________________.

The government has defended its wild purchases by suggesting that it is merely replacing out of date equipment, and proponents of military spending have suggested that a strong and well-supplied military is central in maintaining regional stability and protecting Chile from the threats of its neighbors. However, Chile’s purchases are doing more harm than good to regional stability. Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, already distrustful of Chile’s actions due to past skirmishes, are justifiably alarmed by Chile’s defense spending. Peru’s Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde has acknowledged that Peru is concerned about Chile buying sophisticated U.S. F-16 warplanes, stating “the purchase of this fleet affects the region’s strategic and military balance.” Chile has provoked a reional arms race. Neighbors are devoting the bulk of their resources to militarization, when a far more productive action would be to invest in internal development.

The unnecessary purchases also expose the impotence of the government to control the armed services, a fact that has dangerous implications for a democratic country. The Bachelet administration is clearly unable to hold the military accountable, and past efforts to decrease the ten percent copper allocation to five percent were met with heavy opposition from the military. Therefore, unable and unwilling to confront the military over its spending, the administration would rather appease its appetite for armament. As a result, the military is becoming more aggressive and demanding, according to a 2007 report by Council On Hemispheric Affairs Research Fellow Alex Sanchez. How safe and protected can we really feel with an armed services acting as a separate entity outside of government control? Thank you.

Third position:

Hello, my name is ________________________.

We have shown that Chile’s military spending is extravagant and unnecessary. Now, I would like to make suggestions for how the funds created by the copper boom can be put to better, more productive use. There are other options for allocation of the copper wealth. With ten percent of its revenue funding the military, Codelco is deprived of funds that could fully expand its production and efficiency. Why doesn't Chile slash pointless military spending and instead train Chileans to process & implement copper before shipping it overseas, and thus add value to the local economy? Another often overlooked group is Chilean troops themselves. The armed forces seem to have wealth to waste on tanks and planes, but they should be investing their surplus in better nutrition and equipement for rank-and-file troops, if the country is so devoted to military spending.

Ultimately, the goal of government spending should be to improve the lives of its citizens. It is difficult to see how an overstocked arsenal of planes, tanks, ships, and other weaponry helps the everyday Chilean. According to UN Development Program and World Bank figures, Chile continues to rank among the world’s worst economically unequal countries. The disparity in wealth between our country’s rich and poor ranks Chile among the bottom 12 countries that data is available for, in the company of far less developed or stable countries in Sub Saharan Africa and South America. And, as the recent protests over educational funding have revealed, the state of the educational system in Chile is in dire need of attention and funding. In the widespread protests of 2006, one protest sign read, “prices for copper go through the roof, education falls through the floor.” The budget surplus is wasted on unnecessary armament and could be better spent funding schools and increasing educational opportunities for developing human capital. This would do much more to stabilize and protect Chile from threats than a giant fleet of technology facing down imaginary threats. With Bachelet’s proposed social reforms in danger of being underfunded, we can think of no better resolution than reallocating the defense budget to social programs. While security is important, we must have virtuous institutions like education and social services that are worthy of protection, and these institutions are in dire need of reform and funds.

Good morning, my name is _________________________.

As we have shown you here today, Chile spends far too much on its military, and allocates a disproportionate amount of its budget to armament. Although some perceive regional threats, there is in actuality no need for the military buildup Chile has engaged in. An absence of war and increased regional and economic prosperity have eliminted the need for dramatic armament. Chile runs the risk of destabilizing the region if it does not reign in its extravagant and needless spending. At the same time, there are much more worthy and needy programs that could put the wealth created by the copper industry to better use. If Chile is serious about improving the lives of its citizens, as suggested by the Bachelet Adminstration’s ambitious social programs, it should be equally ambitious in reallocating funds to promote peace and prosperity, not armament and intimidation.

Despite what military commanders may believe and state publicly, Chile faces no external military threat. It is true that its neighbors are less than friendly, but this fact is mostly due to the unjustified arms buildup. Chile’s military purchases in fact have little to do with replacing out-of-date equipment, and have more to do with bolstering the egos of the military high command and intimidating neighbors and possibly the Chilean government itself. And while it is true that the military service provides important opportunities to Chile’s citizens, including educational advancement and the possibility to create new economic opportunities for families, the money allocated to actual soldiers compared to the money allocated to armament is pathetically unjust. If the military is truly devoted to “peacekeeping missions,” perhaps it should look internally and regionally and allocate its resources to keeping peace. This would mean releasing its excessive funds for important social programs and turning its back on the arms race it generated. While it may seem inconceivable for Chile’s military to release its funding, it is a noble and necessary action that will strengthen our democracy. Thank you.

WUPID Round Four

THW legislate against the embedding of journalists.

Placing after three rounds (projected 9 points needed to clear)

1. Sydney A 9
2. Monash C 8
3. NUS B 8
4. Geopower-Ateneo de Manila 7
5. Monash B 7
6. NUS A 7
7. UT Mara B 7
8. SMU A 7
9. Harvard A 6
10. Ateneo de Manila B 6
11. Vermont A 6
12. Monash A 6
13. Queensland A 6
14. Hong Kong A 6
15. Multimedia Malacca A 6
16. Cornell B 6
17. Multimedia Malacca B 6
18. Temesek Polytechnic B 6

Motions from WUPID Rounds 1-3

Vermont debater Sam Natale in KL

The tournament is in full swing on day 1.

Round 1:
THBT Obama should close the Guantanamo Camp immediately.

Round 2:
THBT it is time to close the borders to ecnomic migrants.

Round 3:
THW eliminate compulsory service in Malaysia.

More to come very soon.

Next Stop - WUPID

I am on the plane today going to Malaysia for WUPID. My team is excited and so am I. I will post as often as I can from there. Then, it is off to Cork for WUDC, and again I will attempt to post as often as for each round.

Tight connections and the risks of air travel in a weather and mechanical environment that can be somewhat unstable are before us.

I hope we all make it on time for me to pair round one.

USA Policy Debate Summit in June 2009

From Allan Louden:

A Debate Summit and Development Conference

Sponsored by

American Forensics Association (AFA)

National Debate Tournament (NDT)

Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA)

American Debate Association (ADA)

at

Wake Forest University • Winston-Salem, NC

June 5-7, 2009, following the CEDA Summer Meetings (June 2-5) at WFU

The initiative for a national development conference for policy debate emerged from the National Debate Tournament (NDT) Board of Trustees through conversations with the NDT Committee and the leadership of the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA). This conference will mark the third national development conference for intercollegiate debate in the last half century. Previously, college debate educators have convened in Sedalia, CO at the Sedalia Retreat House in 1974 and in Evanston, IL at Northwestern University in 1984.

The conference is a forum for active coaches and directors to examine commonality on a host of issues related to intercollegiate policy debate and the coaching profession. One of the primary goals of the conference is to draft and publish a “State of the Debate Vocation” which addresses the following themes:

· Professional Development, Research, and Advancement

· Innovation, Practice, and the State of the Art

· Community and Organization Building

· The Rationale and Agenda for Policy Debate in the 21st Century



A productive conference will require the energetic participation of all members of the debate community—present and past—who find virtue in the power of a debate education. If you are interested in chairing or serving as a member of the working groups which emerge from these themes send an email of self nomination to debatesummit@gmail.com by January 15th, 2008.

Conference Director

Allan D. Louden, Wake Forest University

Steering Committee

Timothy O’Donnell, University of Mary Washington (co-chair)

Gordon Stables, University of Southern California (co-chair)

Gordon Mitchell, University of Pittsburgh

Sue Peterson, California State University, Chico

Jeffrey Jarman, Wichita State University



Distinguished Advisory Committee

Robin Rowland, University of Kansas

Thomas Hollihan, University of Southern California

David Zarefsky, Northwestern University


--
Allan Louden, Dir. of Graduate Studies, Communication
Wake Forest University
Box 7347, Reynolda Station
Winston-Salem, NC 27109
(336) 758-5408 (Office)
(336) 406-8451 (Cell)
http://www.wfu.edu/communication/
www.wfu.edu/~louden
www.debatescoop.org

North South University Debate Festival in Bangladesh

Debate organizers at North South University - Sinha lower right

From Sinha Ibna Humayun:

Invitation for NSU Debate Festival 2008

From allasiansdebate list

Dear All,
North South University Debate Club (NSUDC) is going to organize its first ever "NSU Debate Festival" from 12th -21st of February 2009. NSU Debate Club being the leading debating institution of Bangladesh is planning to provide a fantastic debating platform for all the Schools and University students of Bangladesh. This tournament will focus on the development and enrichment of debate as a form of communication and intellectual argumentation.
For the first time since its establishment, in addition to the University tournament, NSUDC is going to host a School level Championship as well. We would like to provide the best of debating experience to the most talented young minds of Bangladesh.

Format
3 on 3 Asians Format

Venue
NSU Campus, Banani

Training and Workshops
North South University Debate Club will organize a series of debate training and workshops to enhance the debating standards of all the participants. Just to show how serious NSU Debate Club is about debate training and education, we have invited the world renowned debate coach and trainer Mr. Loke Wing Fatt from Singapore to be the official trainer for "NSU Debate Festival". Mr. Loke Wing Fatt is one of the most accomplished and experienced debate coach who has single handedly revolutionized the debate community of China. With more than two decades of experience in running debate workshops, Loke is certainly one of the best. NSU Debate Club believes in nothing less than the best quality training that we can provide and with Loke as the official trainer of the tournament, we will certainly be able to give the best that one can get. NSU Debate Club is proud to be affiliated with Mr. Loke Wing Fatt.

Adjudication Core
When it comes to maintaining the quality of debate tournament, NSUDC has always followed a ZERO tolerance policy. So, trust us, NSUDC will give you the best adjudication core possible. We will announce our Core VERY soon!!!

The website, facebook group and details of the tournament will be posted soon!

North South University Debate Club is one of the most successful debating institutions of Bangladesh since its establishment in 1993. NSU Debate Club has the history of providing the best of debate tournaments in Dhaka. "Inter University Debate Competition (IUDC)", NSU Dialogue, NSU Novice and other annual debate tournaments speaks of the dedication and perfection of NSUDC in organizing mindblowing debating events. NSU Debate Club has also hosted "15th All Asian Inter-Varsity Debating Championship" which consisted around 500 of the most talented debaters from entire Asia. These events clearly portray NSUDC's capability in pulling massive scale debate tournament.

Debaters of Bangladesh, you are all welcome to participate in this magnificent event. We promise you to provide nothing less than the BEST!!!

Thank you.
Cheers
Sinha Ibna Humayun Member,
NSU Debate Club
sinhahumayun@yahoo.com

Mumbai Students Win SAARC Debate

From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/City_students_shine_at_SAARC_debate/articleshow/3757232.cms

City students shine at SAARC debate
26 Nov 2008, 0107 hrs IST, TNN


MUMBAI: Two city students aced an international debate competition organised by the United Nations Development Programme and the Rajeev Gandhi Foundation. The debate was organised for students from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries and was held in Delhi in October. While India won the trophy this year, Pakistan students emerged numero uno last year.

Two teenage students from Bandra's Bai Avabai Framji Petit Girls' High School—Devika Luniya and Ayesha Forbes—won the regional as well as the national rounds of the Mahbub-Ul-Haq Memorial Debate competition and were selected to represent India at the SAARC round. Their arguments on the impact of corruption on the developing world won them the contest.

While 700 schools from 13 cities across the country participated in the national round of the debate, the SAARC round comprised six teams from various countries. Each team consisted of two students, one supporting the topic of debate and the other opposing it.

The duo from India, who are thrilled at winning the first prize, say they were especially excited when Congress President Sonia Gandhi told them they had made India proud. The gold trophy was handed to them by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The topic for the debate was, "All countries rich and poor are susceptible to corruption. It is a developmental issue.'' The teams from each country consisted of two students, one supported the issue and the other opposed it. The teams were given a week to prepare their arguments.

"I opposed the motion and spoke of how poor countries are more vulnerable to corruption than rich countries as it hampers development in the developing world,'' says Devika. Her teammate, Ayesha, took the reverse stance. "I spoke of how all countries were vulnerable to corruption, which stems from human greed, a characteristic found in all nations,'' she says.

The regional as well as the national round included topics of corruption and its impact on the developing world. For instance, the topic of the national round was, `corruption greases the wheel of development,' it benefits the rich and the poor alike.

School principal Sandhya Balakrishnan says such competitions instil confidence in youngsters and develop their oratory skills as well as their ability to argue an issue in a healthy manner, unlike the debates that take place in parliament, with politicians often coming to blows.

Minaz Bhabha, the school's debate teacher who accompanied the students to Delhi, says the entire exercise involved a huge amount of research. The students had to scour both the school library as well as other resource centres for information on the topic they were debating. Bhabha's tip to her students—research both sides of the argument, not just the side you are going to represent.

"Cheeky Girls" Win at Oxford

From http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1090315/What-Cheeky-Girls-doing-debating-chamber-Oxford-University.html

What are the Cheeky Girls doing in the debating chamber of Oxford University?

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 7:49 PM on 28th November 2008

It is hard to fathom how the likes of The Cheeky Girls could cope with the cut and thrust of an Oxford University debate.

They might not appear to have the brains, but the Transylvanian twins were able to win over their audience with a familiar and well-worn trick - a cheeky bit of skirt lifting.

Monica and Gabriela Irimia were invited to speak at the Oxford Union debate this week in proposition on the topic, 'This house believes that with great celebrity comes great responsibility'.


No brains about it: Monica and Gabriela Irimia were a hit at the Oxford Union debate. Was it what they were wearing?

You couldn't call them 'great celebrities' either, but the sisters put across a good argument, and were given a standing ovation after winning the debate.

It certainly helped that Monica and Gabriela were wearing low-cut strapless black dresses, which exposed their white frilly petticoats underneath.

However growing up the girls were given an educated upbringing, under the guidance of their father Doru Irimia, a medical doctor in Romania, and their mother who worked as a nurse.

Also joining the celebrity debating line-up in opposition was Rebecca Loos, famous for sensational revelations about her affair with David Beckham.


Convincing: Monica and Gabriela show some passion as they debate 'This House Believes That With Great Celebrity Comes Great Responsibility'

Captivating: Oxford students listen 'intently' to Monica and Gabriela

Loos dressed more conservatively for the prestigious setting, in a black shift dress - but she couldn't resist showing a lot of leg.

The former assistant to Beckham, Loos was not too out of place at Oxford, having grown up privately educated.

Her father was a Jewish Dutch diplomat and her mother a Spanish Briton from the wealthy county of Surrey.

Now who's cheeky? Rebecca Loos seductively plays up to the cameras in an Oxford library

The Cheeky Girls and Loos have now joined the ranks of world statesmen, and leading religious and literary figures who have been invited into the university debating chamber.

Past speakers include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, and former chat-show host Sir Michael Parkinson.

IDEA Youth Forum News

From Veronika Vlckova:

Youth Forum Newsletter
December 9, 2008

Dear Newsletter readers,
you haven't heard from me the past few weeks mainly because we have been intensively evaluating the past YF and then drafting and discussing the changes for the upcoming YF to propose to the Board and General Assembly.

This Newsletter introduces the Curriculum Director for 2009 and announces the call for International Trainers and the call for Chief Adjudicator. Additionally we introduce the topics for the Karl Popper Debate Championship.
Read on carefully!

~Veronika


IDEA Introduces the Curriculum Director
The Curriculum Director prepares the curriculum of the Forum (esp. the Mixed Team Track) and prepares the trainers for teaching at the Youth Forum. S/he supervises the work of trainers and makes sure the curriculum is implemented as planned.


We are pleased to announce that the YF 2009 Curriculum Director is Bill Sheffield. Bill has been involved in competitive forensics for over 27 years as both a competitor and coach. He holds a Masters Degree in Communication Studies from Eastern New Mexico University. His areas of academic interest include Argumentation, Small Group Communication, and Public Speaking. As a coach, Bill has directed programs at a variety of colleges and has qualified numerous competitors for national competition. He is also a certified international debate trainer for the International Debate Education Association, and has trained students at international youth debate forums in Estonia, Macedonia, Romania, Czech Republic and Bulgaria. He has served as a trainer and adjudicator at the 2007 FLTRP Cup Championships in Beijing, China.

IDEA is proud to publicize the Karl Popper Debate Championship topics:
Motion 1:
This house believes that, when in conflict, global change concerns should take precedence over economic development, in rapidly changing countries such as China, India, Brazil and South Africa.


Motion 2:
To combat climate change, nations should cap and trade rather than impose taxes on carbon emissions.


IDEA is pleased to announce the global call for Trainers and Chief Adjudicator
The 15th IDEA Youth Forum will take place in Bosnia and Herzegovina from July 23rd to August 5th, 2009. We expect to host up to 200 high-school students and coaches from a wide variety of countries in Europe, Asia, Americas and Africa.


The Curriculum Committee (http://www.idebate.org/ideaforum/node/7) will be selecting 22 trainers that will be given the opportunity to become IDEA YF 2008 trainer (Junior and Senior Trainers). The Committee will employ multiple criteria for selecting the pool of trainers for the YF including debate and teaching excellence, concern for geographic and programmatic diversity, desire to develop the capacity of young trainers and motivation for participating as trainer.

The Forum Coordinator will select the Chief Adjudicator based on the experience in managing debate events, knowledge of tournament tabulation principles and software and judging major international events. Individuals known and respected in the KP debate circuit will have an advantage.



IDEA will cover the trainers’ and chief adjudicators' costs associated with their stay at the Forum: accommodation, food, insurance and cultural events. IDEA will cover reasonable travel and visa costs directly connected to the Forum. IDEA will compensate for the staffs' time with $10 per diem during the Forum ($200 in total).



Selection Procedure

All prospective trainers are requested to submit their application form via IDEA’s Online Application System (http://oas.idebate.org/idea/). Please follow this link to get step-by-step instructions http://www.idebate.org/ideaforum/trainer_instructions/. The deadline for applications is January 5th 2008. All candidates will be notified of their status no later than February 15, 2009. To make sure you receive all the relevant information and also if you have additional questions, please contact the Forum Coordinator (vvlckova@idebate.org).
All applicants for Chief adjudicators position are kindly asked to submit their application directly to the Forum Coordinator.
For more information please go the YF website: www.idebate.org/ideaforum

Next issue will feature
Youth Forum Topics for Mixed Team Tournament
Procedure for Selection of participants for the YF 2009

IDEA is still looking for a host of the YF 2010 and 2011.
If you are interested in hosting this event, please read the information below and contact the Youth Forum Coordinator.

Bidding for the Youth Forum

I. what are the hosts responsibilities

II. why would you like to host

III. when should you make the bid

IV. what do you need to do for your bid to be considered

V. what are the relevant sections of Standards

I. Host Responsibilities

The Forum host is responsible for smooth running of the Youth Forum in terms of Logistics. The org.com teams’ responsibilities are to select the appropriate venues for the Youth Forum (see below for an excerpt out of Standards document defining suitability of venues and list of supplies host needs to provide) and prepare the Forum site by arranging properly equipped rooms for classes and debates. The host is also responsible for providing meals for all its participants for everyday of the YF, adequately addressing the cultural and dietary requirements. The host is also responsible for supervising the work of volunteers, who help out with technology, transportation, registration on spot, copying, entertainment and free-time activities etc. Although OSI and IDEA subsidize the Youth Forum it is crucial that also the host raises funds. In order to do that the org. team needs to come up with an effective PR strategy and implement it within its own country.

II. motivation to organize the Youth Forum

The Youth Forum is the largest and most important event IDEA NL organizes annually since 1995. The Youth Forum develops critical thinking, communication, team work and public speaking skills of the individual, which are essential for success today. Many of the past YF participants now play important roles in youth organizations, public offices as well as private companies. Additionally the Youth Forum provides great opportunity for formal but also informal communication and thus enables to form international networks, which are reinforced by use of blogs and forums provided on our websites. These often result not only in lifelong friendships but also in developing partnership on the organizational level.

Hosting the IDEA Youth Forum means increased international recognition for the national debate association, for the region and country that hosts the Forum. Most of the participants of the Youth Forum tend to remember the hosting country and the winner of the competition. And winning the event has impact mostly on the individuals that won. Additionally as one needs to knock-out about 15 times more teams, it is more difficult to win the KPDC than the competition to host the event. On top of that, hosting the event provides a unique opportunity to promote communication, debate and youth engagement among greater number of people in your organization, (debate) network, community and the host country.

The debate programs tend to grow in size after hosting the Youth Forum, since more debaters, volunteers, and public are directly exposed to benefits of this activity. Moreover in the past the Youth Forums have been endorsed by such prominent figures as former Czech President Vaclav Havel, the leading figure of change of regime in former Czechoslovakia or Nobel prize Laureate Lech Walesa, which increased the visibility of the event, the organization and its members at home as well as abroad.

Based on my own experience, of once being run-around volunteer (when Slovakia hosted it) and once being in the position of the Forum Coordinator (Bulgaria 2008), organizing the Youth Forum equals to a lot of sleepless nights, make-up tubes because of the bags under one’s eyes and also it is lot of responsibility. On the other hand it is also great experience in developing skills of your team, increasing visibility of your organization in debate world and also at home and the feeling that you can pull off such event successfully! All in all it’s definitely worth it!

III. 3 important milestones for your bid

1st step: the Forum Coordinator solicits bids 1,5-2 years prior to hosting of the event.

The deadline for submitting your bid for the YF in 2010 is: November 30, 2008

2nd step: the Board of Directors decides about the next host on their meeting prior to the GA; this year it is on December 4th, 2008 in Amsterdam

3rd step: the next years’ YF host country is officially announced at the GA and they are expected to make a short presentation regarding the organization and the venues; this year it is on December 5th and 6th, 2008 in Amsterdam

IV. what do you need to do for your bid to be considered

Each bid should have the following (needs to be submitted to the Youth Forum Coordinator by November 30)

- name of the organization and a brief background about the organization

- name and CVs of the main organizers (specify the main contact person)

- outline of the event – including 3 options of venues (accommodation and debating rooms/classes), their distance from the capital, airport and train/bus station, food options, theme of the event

- motivation why would you like to host the event (you may want to include what is the catch of your bid, why should you be chosen)

- supporters – list of supporters that would be willing to endorse your event (important figures in your country, potential sponsors, important figures in the world of debating)

- transportation costs from major cities of the world to

- budget – outline of the expected budget – following lines should be included:

a) accommodation and venue rental

b) food and refreshment (coffee breaks)

c) transportation

d) equipment rental

e) personnel costs

f) activity and entertainment

g) PR costs

Submit this document in electronic form to Veronika Vlckova, the Forum Coordinator no later than November 30, 2008! Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to call or email me :

IDEA NL

Prinsengracht 397 sous

1016 HL Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Tel/Fax: +31 (0) 20 692 72 99



vvlckova@idebate.org

cell: +31(0)619074358



Standards for the IDEA Youth Forum (p. 14-15)

Forum Site Requirements

Hosts should use the following guidelines when looking for a Forum Site: The site must accommodate all Forum participants. Apart from bedrooms, the site must have at least 10 rooms available for use as “lab rooms,” each of which should accommodate 20 people.

The site must have an available staff meeting room (if necessary, a bedroom of sufficient size could be used for this purpose).

The site must have a room available for the Tournament Director and his/her staff (a large bedroom can be used for this purpose).

The site must provide camp participant access to at least ten computers equipped with high-speed Internet connections.

The site must have at least one fast computer for the Tournament Director and two computers with Internet access for the trainers.

The site must provide two high-capacity copy machines for the needs of the tournament.

Host Supply List

Hosts should provide the following supplies:

Magic-markers in all colors, with the majority being red/blue/black and green. Each Trainer should receive three markers in their supply bag and fifteen markers should be retained for office use. A number of wide highlighters and Sharpies are also helpful.

One black and one blue pen for each participant (including all volunteers and staff), to be provided in the welcome folder. Approximately twenty more should be retained for office use.

A notebook or paper pad (for note-taking) for each participant (including all volunteers and staff) and an additional fifteen or more for office use.

One folder for each participant (including all volunteers and staff). The folders should be large enough to hold the notebook, pen, schedule, and information distributed on the first day. Because a great deal of information is accumulated during the camp, a folder design that features pockets and a rubber-band binding or strap (to keep the folder closed) is advisable.

A single roll of scotch tape for inclusion in each trainer’s supply bag. Additionally, at least six rolls of scotch tape and two rolls of masking tape should be retained for office use (alternatively, glue tack can be procured and distributed instead of tape).

Four staplers and several boxes of staples for office use. Additionally, trainers often request packets of material copied and stapled for distribution. If the copy machine is equipped with a staple option, two staplers will suffice. Staple removers should also be available.

Six boxes of white paper and a variety of colored paper (pastels and neons). (The colored paper is useful for sign-up sheets, reminders, various items of importance in the welcome folder, etc.).

Large manila or plastic-covered envelopes (used for camp completion certificates), to be distributed by NGO group or by team. A sufficient number should be supplied for students, coaches, trainers, volunteers/interns, as well as for a variety of other purposes.

At least ten pads of large “flip-chart” paper or newsprint sheets, and an equal number of stands. At the beginning of the Forum, Trainers should receive ten to fifteen sheets for use in their preparations. Trainers should have access to the paper storage area, which should be restocked as needed.

Three or four pairs of scissors

One large box (or several smaller boxes) of crayons, for use throughout the camp

AUDC 2009 Website is Live

From Rashedul Hasan Stalin:

Dear Asian Debating Community,

East West University, Bangladesh would like to announce the launch of the official website for EWU 5th Asian Universities Debating Championship-AUDC 2009 with all its existing news and plans for Asia’s largest and most prestigious debating tournament. Please visit this website at http://www.ewuaudc2009.com in word www [dot] ewuaudc2009 [dot] com. The website is best viewed from Opera or from Mozilla browser.

The website team for AUDC 2009 is now working with the final closure of the website. Please visit the website along with the official facebook group for AUDC 2009 which has already 1331 members. All updates will be put in these two places along with the regional debating groups.

The Value:

Asian Universities Debating Championship – AUDC proposes the most talented adjudication, tab system and top Asian Debating Teams from Asia, its not just a tournament rather an exclusive debating championship for the best Adjudicators and Debaters from Asian Countries. Through the last four years, this tournament now has become the united colors of the Asian Debating Community.

The Plan:

The EWU AUDC 2009 orgcom has plans to give you the best AUDC experiences, with top quality Adjudication Core, Rocking Socials, and a Taste of South Asian Debating. Teams from Middle East and South Asia will add the extra flavors to AUDC for the first time.

The Top Asian Debating Teams:

WUDC and Australs top ranked teams from Asia participated at AUDC from 2005 when it was hosted by NTU for the first time. AUDC then went to AdMU in 2006, ITB Indonesia in 2007, and IIUM in 2008. 2/3 of All Top ranked WUDC Asian Teams participated in AUDC and they have considered this as the Prime Asian Debating Championship. AdMU, DSLU, UP Manila, NTU, IIUM, Assumption, SMU, NUS, Mahidol, ITB, EWU, IUB, IMU, and ICU Japan with the rest, are among the participating institutions who have participated regularly for the fair adjudication and tab policies of AUDC.
The Registration:

We have developed an automated information generated register system for AUDC 2009 registration. Debaters, Adjudicators and Observers can easily register, add and edit their individual account detail. The immigration and invitation latter will be generated individually from our sate of the art online database system.

Please register your team and adjudicator from December 15, 2008

More on Registration Policy: http://www.ewuaudc2009.com/registration_policy.php

The Adjudication Core:

CA- Rashedul Hasan Stalin (Bangladesh)
Institution: East West University- EWU
DCA and Grand Final Adjudicator at AUDC 2008
CA South East Asians 2007
CA Bangladesh Open 2007
Chair 8 Rounds at WUDC 2007-2008
CA IUT Bangladesh Nationals 2005
Champion at Bangladesh Nationals 03 and 04

DCA- Sharmila A. Parmanand (Philippine)
Institution: Ateneo de Manila University- AdMU
Consecutive Three Times Champion of AUDC 05 to 07
Chief Adjudicator 9th Philippine National Debate 2007
Semi-Finalist Debater of WUPID 2007
Octo-finalist (18th breaking team), WUDC 2006
Semi-finalist of Austral-Asian 2006
Finalist of Austral-Asians 2005

DCA- Vikram Balasubramanian (Singapore)
Institution: Nanyang Technological University-NTU
Semifinal Adjudicator at AUDC 2008
Top Ten Debaters at AUDC 2007
Quarterfinalist Debater at AUDC 2006 and 2007
Quarterfinal Adjudicator at AUDC 2005
EFL Grand Final Adjudicator at AUDC 2005
Semi Final Adjudicator of All Asian 2004

DCA- Fareez Bin Zahir (Malaysia)
Institution: International Islamic University-IIUM
Semifinalist Debater at AUDC 2007
Semifinalist Adjudicator Australs 2007
Champion Environmental Debating Championship 05
Octo-Finalist Debater at Austral-Asian 2004
Octo-Finalist Debater at All-Asians 2004
Champion Royal Malaysian Debating Championship 2004

DCA- Luang P (Thailand)
Institution: Mahidol University of Thailand
Octo-Finalist Debater at AUDC 2008
DCA Thailand Environment Nationals 2008
DCA Chula US Nationals 2007
Champion & Best Speaker 2008 Thailand E.U. Nationals
Champion & Best Speaker 2007 Thailand Environment Nationals
Champion Thailand B.P. Nationals 2006

Tab Director: Muhammad Abdul Latif (Malaysia)
Institution: International Islamic University Malaysia -IIUM
CA AUDC 2008
DCA of Australs 2005
DCA of All-Asians 2003
Breaking Adjudicator at Worlds 07, 05, 02, and in 00
Adjudicated at Semi Finals of Glasgow Worlds
Champion at All Asians 1997

More on Adjudication Policy: http://www.ewuaudc2009.com/adjudication_policy.php

Great Socials:

AUDC 2009 will offer you the best socials ever in Dhaka and Worlds Longest Beach in Cox’s Bazer. See detail: http://www.ewuaudc2009.com/ . all the participating teams and adjudicators will be staying in international five stat hotel though the tournament.

We like to give you the experience of your life time, so what are you waiting for…..come on… and smash your critical desire at EWU AUDC 2009 and have the experience for your lifetime.

Please wait for the next announcement. Visit our official website at www.ewuaudc2009.com


With Regards,

Rashedul Hasan Stalin
CA and Convener, EWU 5th Asian Universities Debating Championship 2009
Phone: (+88) 04476890001
stalinhasan@gmail.com
stalinhasan[at]gmail[dot]com
East West University, Bangladesh

Israel Debating Society Seeks Guest Instructors

Israeli World Schools Team photo

From Hayah Eichler:

Sia’h vaSig - The Israel Debating Society - regularly hosts week long Summer Debate Workshops in English in four different locations in Israel over a period of twelve days. These workshops serve to introduce high school students to the world of debating and are the catalyst for our weekly club meetings throughout the year. The workshops are run by the best Israeli debaters, usually former World Schools debaters and current World University debaters. We have found, however, that the addition of coaches from abroad helps to attract students to the workshops and offers the opportunity of studying with coaches of the highest standard from different traditions and with varying accents. Since the workshops tend to fall during the university exam period in Israel, we do not always have the assistance of our local university debaters and enjoy the outside help.

The duties of the coaches include:

1. To be in email contact with the workshop organizers to help devise a schedule.
2. To coach debate sessions throughout the two weeks of the workshop.
3. To give specific - knowledge sessions based on your educational background.
4. To judge debates and give age and level appropriate feedback to the participants.

In return, the coaches will receive:

1. 2200 shekels towards airfare and night-life transportation costs.
2. Host families for the duration of the workshops.
3. Breakfast and Lunch for the duration of the workshops.
4. Transportation to and from the airport.
5. Inter-city transportation from workshop to workshop.

In 2009 the workshops will take place from Sunday July 5th at 9 a.m. to Friday July 19th at 1 p.m. Candidates must be willing to arrive in Israel by July 4th and can depart from the late afternoon on July 19th.

To apply, please send your debating CV to Hayah Eichler at hayah.goldlist@mail.huji.ac.il by the 24th of December.

Final List of Candidates for Koc Worlds DCAs

From Can Okar:

Dear debaters,

After opening the DCA applications phase for a further two days, we
now have a far longer list of potential candidates. I realize that
some people have already sent feedback about the earlier list of
candidates and want to assure them that they can send another mail
if they so wish! Again, thank you to everyone who has already
written to me – I am learning a lot and want to make sure that we
have the best possible team (on a number of different metrics) for
Worlds in 2010.

Asia

Muhammad Abdul Latif (Malaysia/Bangladesh)
Sharmilla Parmanand (Philippines)
Mizanur Rahman (Bangladesh)
Suthen "Tate" Thomas (Malaysia)

Europe, Middle East and Africa

Adriaan Adringa (Netherlands)
Susan Connolly (Ireland)
Samir Deger-Sen (England)
Tiernan Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Will Jones (England)
Eoin Kilkenny (Ireland)
Ýsabelle Loewe (Germany)
Daniel Schut (Netherlands)

North America

Josh Bone (US)
Ian Freeman (Canada)
Alfred "Tuna" Snider (US)

Oceania

Christopher Bishop (New Zealand)
Julia Bowes (Australia)
Fiona Prowse (Australia)

You can contact me at can_okar@hotmail.com with any feedback. I will
only accept comments until 12th December 2008 and will announce
before Council on 1st January 2008.

For those of you that have Bayram next week, I hope it is enjoyable.
For everyone else, be well.

Can Okar
Chief Adjudicator (to be ratified), Vehbi Koc Worlds 2010

New Debate Team - A Repeating Story

As debating is growing around the world in an explosive pattern, stories like this and experiences like this are being repeated over and over. I salute these dedicated individuals who make it happen for the first time.

From http://www.rgj.com/article/20081206/NEIGHBORHOODS08/812060315/1247/NEIGHBORHOODS

New Sage Ridge School debate team excels
BY CARLA ROCCAPRIORE • CROCCAPRIORE@RGJ.COM • DECEMBER 6, 2008
Read Comments(1) RecommendPrint this pageE-mail this articleShare

Already known for its academics, Sage Ridge School recently began offering its students another avenue in that arena.


A debate team started at the school in September with about a dozen members. Team members Mike Jackson and Andrew Welcome, both 15, won the school's first debate trophies during their first competition three weeks ago.

"I expected we'd do well, but I didn't think we'd do this well," Welcome said.

The duo took second place in the novice category at a Northern Nevada Forensics League debate at Galena High School. New participants and those who haven't advanced to a semifinal at least twice are classified as novice.

Debate coach Ben Larson, who also owns area Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops, said the idea to start a team came from a Sage Ridge parent who attended Douglas High School and was on the debate team there with him.

Larson said his Douglas coach was the late Marty Cronin, who died in 2005 of complications from brain cancer.

"For me, this activity and the participation and the camaraderie and competition was one of the most defining characteristics of character in my life," Larson said.

So, there was no question when he was asked to coach debate because Larson would have the opportunity to pass on to children what Cronin instilled in him.

Several students had debate in their bloodline and jumped at the chance to join the team.

"There's something biological. My mom and dad were debaters," said Brandon Arner, 16. "My mom likes talking and I like talking. There's something about arguing a point that seems interesting."

Ryan Dhindsa said debate also runs in his family.

"My dad was a debater," said Dhindsa, 15. "I've always found it fun to express opinions, and I'm an opinionated person and I enjoy being able to argue over a policy intellectually."

Davina Farahi, 16, described herself as "enthusiastically opinionated."

"I like how you get to voice your opinion to those who are experienced and have them evaluate the way you speak," Farahi said. "Also, you get to meet people who have the same interests you do, who are educated."

Not all categories of high school debate involve arguing.

Ember Montana, 16, said she's taking part in individual speeches that consist of humorous and dramatic interpretation.

"I like slipping into a character who isn't myself," Montana said. "It's intriguing to get into someone's mind. Learning to be someone else is really interesting and a distraction."

Northeast Universities Debate Sweepstakes 3 December 2008

The following tournaments have been included:
Rochester, Claremont, Yale, Oxford, West Conn, Queens (CA), Hart House, IDAS, Binghamton, UBC.

If there are others you have been to please let me know. alfred.snider@uvm.edu

1. Cornell 268
2. Vermont 252
3. Colgate 232
4. St Johns 197
5. HWSmith 98
6. RIT 91
7. Rochester 82
8. Bard 73
9. King's 41
10. Marist 11

The rules indicate that you must ask to be included in the rankings. Those who have not asked for this year will be excluded starting in January.

People have not been reporting results to me for your teams. I am using a results page I have constructed at http://debate.uvm.edu/usudc/usudctab0809.html

Here are the rules:

SWEEPSTAKES FOR NORTHEAST UNIVERSITIES RANKINGS

BECOMING A PART OF THE SWEEPSTAKES:

• SCHOOLS ASK TO BE LISTED.
• YOU SELF-IDENTIFY TO BE PART OF THE SWEEPSTAKES.
• EACH SCHOOL SUPPLIES THEIR RESULTS TO THE TABULATOR (ME)

TOURNAMENTS AND POINTS:
MUST BE A WORLDS FORMAT TOURNAMENT. ONLY THOSE COUNT. ALL TOURNAMENTS WHERE A LISTED SCHOOL ATTENDS COUNT IF THEY ARE BP, SO WUDC,WUPID, EUDC, HART HOUSE, ETC. ARE ACCEPTABLE.

TOP FOUR TEAMS COUNT FOR SWEEPSTAKES.

• 1ST=3 POINTS, 2ND=2 POINTS, 3RD=1 POINT, 4TH=0 POINTS.
• COUNT THE LAST SIX ROUNDS.
• 6 FOR ADVANCING IN ELIMS.
• 10 FIRST PLACE, 7 SECOND PLACE.
• HOSTING TEAMS CAN DEBATE BUT NOT GET POINTS, UNLESS HOSTING USU NATIONALS.
• COUNT ALL TOURNAMENTS DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR SEPT 1 UNTIL APRIL USU.
• HYBRIDS CAN DEBATE BUT NOT GET POINTS.

AWARDS

• AWARDS GO TO THE TOP FIVE SCHOOLS
• THE NUMBER ONE SCHOOL HAS TO BUY THE AWARDS.
• AWARDS MUST BE ENGRAVED WITH SCHOOL NAMES.
• THE AWARDS FOR 1-5 MUST BE THE SAME SIZE.
• MUST BE DELIVERED BY SEPTEMBER 15 OF FOLLOWING YEAR.

IDEA/UN Foundation The People Speak Fall Global Debates Results

See many of the videos at http://www.youtube.com/group/globaldebates

From ecarson@idebate.org

NUAMES High School:
“For the cost of two new school buses, we could power nearly half of our school with wind power.”

Brother Rice High School:
“If everyone in the U.S. used energy-efficient lighting, we could retire 90 average size power plants.”

Compete in the Spring Global Debates! FAQs:

What is "TPS"?
The People Speak (TPS) is the United Nations Foundation's educational campaign to inspire the next generation of global leaders. Through TPS, young people organize informed discussions, debates, and grassroots campaigns that find global solutions to global problems.

Who can participate in the Global Debates?
High School students, ages 14-19, attending any U.S. or international school
(grades 9-12)

When is the competition?
The Spring Global Debates are March 1st - 31st, 2009

When is the deadline to submit activities online?
March 31st, 2009

What is the debate topic?
"Developing Nations Have a Higher Obligation to Combat Climate Change"

The results are in for the 2009
The People Speak Fall Global Debates!

After weeks of reading through the amazing array of ideas, research, and inspiration that went into your Climate Change Action Plans, IDEA found it very difficult to choose just four plans for prizes. Before we announce the results, here are some highlights from among the many things your plans taught us:

You’ve got great ideas

* FLS Bulgaria wants to install a household-level energy tracker in every home.
* Mircea Eliade Lyceum in Moldova proposed transforming transportation in their city from cars to bikes.
* Riverstone International described plans for a virtual student climate conference.

You’re debating the issues

Hobby High School in Mongolia researched both sides of the nuclear power issue: they met with scientists in the nuclear power industry as well as environmental NGOs.

You’re inspiring us…

Villa Maria Academy created a school curriculum to be taught by 11th and 12th grade students to younger children. Why did they start with their own school? “Someone has to start this. We can’t keep waiting for others to do it for us.”

…and you’re inspiring each other!

Students from Colegio Los Alamos in Peru worked with a local NGO to plant 350 trees on a rural mountainside. They wrote: “The ones from Peru who were in the summit last July were surprised by what the students from Los Angeles and South Africa had done, and it kind of inspired us into doing a big project.”

Out of all of the great plans the UN Foundation received, IDEA chose these four schools to receive prizes:

GRAND PRIZE WINNERS
Solvista Secondary School, South Africa
Alief Kerr High School, Texas, U.S.

RUNNER-UP
Orh Avner, Ukraine

ORIGINALITY PRIZE
Villa Maria Academy, Chile

Congratulations!

You’ve submitted great plans…now take the next step! You can earn points for all sorts of activities aimed to put your plan in action:
• Letters to the editor
• Letters to politicians
• Video public service announcements
• Environmental service projects

But hurry! December 31st is the deadline for Fall Global Debates activities.

This message was sent from ecarson@idebate.org to asnider@zoo.uvm.edu. It was sent from: IDEA, International Debate Education Association, 900 State St. , Salem, OR 97301.

Urban Debate League News for December

Website at http://www.urbandebate.org/index.htm

From Scott Deatherage:

Urban Debate NewsBlast
Fall 2008 Volume: III, Number: 3

Letter from Executive Director, Scott Deatherage

Dear Friends of Urban Debate,

While Wall Street may bring us darker reports with each passing day, I would like to begin by giving you some truly heartening news. This year, nearly 1500 new students at 100 new schools in 10 cities will have the opportunity to participate in Urban Debate Leagues because of your support. We are well into the tournament season, so thousands of dedicated urban debaters are spending afternoons honing their arguments with teammates and coaches and weekends locked in tough competition with other debaters. As a former debater and debate coach myself, it is hard not to imagine the impact debate can have on this generation of young people, and the impact this generation can have on the world.

As the champions for our cause, I hope you can appreciate how much your support has accomplished for urban students nationwide. Thanks to you, there are eight new Urban Debate Leagues off the ground and running, and they are grabbing the attention of their communities. Just this month, urban debaters in Memphis were featured on Fox News after they qualified for an international tournament. Denver debaters caught the attention of Alan Gottlieb, an influential education expert, who wrote an article on the positive influence of urban debate programs on Denver students. These are only two examples of the impression this work makes on even the casual observer, and I hope you will scan some of the articles included towards the end of our NewsBlast.

Even though it's a treacherous time for the economy, it's an exhilarating time for the progress of urban debate. That is why we at the NAUDL are working harder than ever to ensure that the economic downturn does not halt the difference we make in the lives of young students. With your help, we will work toward the day that every urban student in the country has access to the life-changing benefits of competitive policy debate.

Warmest wishes from the Windy City,

Scott Deatherage

Executive Director
National Association for Urban Debate Leagues


Students prepare for their next round at an urban debate tournament in Memphis, TN


Our Supporters Reach More Students than Ever Before

Supporters like you have helped the NAUDL to bring urban debate to many more cities and young people through its three-year Expansion Plan. Here’s a snapshot of what the Expansion Plan has accomplished so far.

* Cities with new Urban Debate Leagues: 8
* New school-based urban debate programs started this fall: 100
* New students who will participate in these schools this year: 1,500-2,000
* Teachers who will begin coaching debate this year: 200
* Total new spending school systems have committed to debate this year: Over $1 million


[Click to map to see the growth for yourself]


Announcement: Annual Dinner Venue and Keynote Speaker!

We are thrilled to announce two exciting developments for the second NAUDL Annual Dinner, to be held on the evening of Saturday, April 25, 2009.

It has just been confirmed that this year’s Keynote Address will be delivered by none other than David Boies, founding partner and Chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP. A former high school and college debater, Mr. Boies has taken part in many of the United States’ most influential and noteworthy cases during his brilliant career, including high profile cases involving Vice President Al Gore’s challenge of the 2000 Florida election result and the Department of Justice's antitrust case against Microsoft. The National Law Journal called him “the Michael Jordan of the courtroom.”

In addition, this year's Dinner will be held at the world-renowned Art Institute of Chicago. Guests will have the opportunity to dine in the Stock Exchange Trading Room (a Historical Landmark that is a reconstruction salvaged from the original Chicago Stock Exchange), participate in the Championship Awards Ceremony, and reconnect with old friends. We hope you will save the date. The NAUDL’s strongest supporters will also be invited to a VIP reception that evening at the beautiful Chicago Symphony Orchestra Center. This exciting night will honor supporters like you who have helped give thousands of urban youth new opportunities to succeed through competitive debate.

Read more >>

Urban School Districts Rally Support for Launching UDLs

School system investment and ownership is critical to both the sustainability and the programmatic quality of Urban Debate Leagues. Investment by school system leaders provides the institutional stability needed for private sector stakeholders to come on board. Fortunately, each of the UDLs in the NAUDL’s Expansion Plan enjoys strong support from local school systems, even in a tough budget year, and are well on their way to becoming powerful debate programs.

School district leaders have embraced debate. For example, Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash has been present at Memphis UDL tournaments and, in a recent interview with Fox News Memphis, gave a strong endorsement and continuing funding commitment to his district’s UDL. In Houston, Board of Education President Harvin C. Moore III, a former debater, has been a champion of debate.

District leaders are also getting involved with debate hands on. In Denver, Happy Haynes, Assistant to the Superintendent, personally recruited six high schools and handed out the awards at the first tournament. Ms. Haynes has worked closely with the Denver Advisory Board to help increase participation in and improve the effectiveness of debate.


Andrew Kearl and Charlie Smith, Debate Coaches at Manual High School in Denver, receive the 1st Place Sweepstakes trophy from Happy Haynes at the first Denver UDL Tournament



Memphis Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash (middle), League Supervisor Michael Smith (right), and Trezevant HS Head Coach Angela Beauvais (left) mingle with debaters during a recent Memphis UDL tournament

Read more >>


James R. Roland Joins the NAUDL Board of Directors

We are excited to announce that James R. Roland has joined the Board of Directors of the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues. Mr. Roland is the Director of Community Partnerships and Assistant Director of Debate at Emory University and the Director of Curriculum and Programs for the National Debate Project. In these roles, he supports the Atlanta, Miami-Dade, and Milwaukee Urban Debate Leagues. Mr. Roland directs and is the principal architect of the Computer Assisted Debate Program, which has been recognized as a Signature Program of the White House's Saving America's Youth Initiative and the Jimmy Carter Service Award. He has also served as Director of the Debate Center at Georgia State University. Please join us! in welcoming Mr. Roland to our Board.


In the Spotlight: Urban Debate Alumnus, Marcus Leach


You may have heard of Marcus Leach from Joe Miller’s book Cross-X, which follows the personal struggles and victories of Marcus and other urban debaters in Kansas City, Missouri. The NAUDL’s Holly Reiss tried to track down Marcus for an interview and found him in Shanghai, China—taking a year off from Howard Law School to teach English and learn about international trade. Marcus credits debate for his success, saying, “You and I both know where I’d be without debate, and it wouldn’t be here.”

During his high school debate career, Marcus and his teammates beat the odds. Even though his high school was in one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Kansas City, his team became highly competitive on the national debate circuit. Marcus’ debate experience and achievements won him multiple college scholarships, so much so that he even had $10,000 left over to pay for living expenses during college.

Read more >>


Former Debaters Galvanize Support for Urban Debate

Tough economic times call for extraordinary measures. Urban Debate Leagues around the country are already accustomed to producing breakthrough results on a shoe-string. With the full repercussions of the unfolding economic downturn unclear, however, many former debaters are stepping up to broaden the base of support and secure the investment of area supporters and stakeholders.

Chances are, one of them is hosting an urban debate event in your area. Click here to find out more.


Get Involved: Four Ways to Champion Urban Debate

Volunteer your time
Local leagues are looking for volunteer coaches, tournament judges, and mentors. Whether you have a couple of hours to spare, or want to take on a substantial role, we encourage you to share your skills and talents with urban debaters in your area.

Join a local Advisory Board
Local NAUDL Urban Debate Leagues have a private non-profit partner to the school system, a UDL Advisory Board. These local Boards partner with the school system to oversee League expansion and success, while simultaneously spearheading the private fundraising efforts. For a more in depth description, please visit our website.

Host a reception in your city
We’re always trying to get the word out about urban debate to new potential supporters. In this vein, many of our supporters hosted receptions on behalf of the NAUDL this past year so that their friends and colleagues might learn more about the important work that we do and how they too can get involved.

If you are interested in volunteering your time, joining a local Advisory Board, or hosting a reception in your city, please contact Eric Tucker at the NAUDL at 312-427-0152 or EricTucker@UrbanDebate.org.

Give financial support
Your generous donations allowed for the launching of seven new UDLs this year alone. Please keep the NAUDL in mind as the calendar year draws to a close and you make plans for your end-of-the-year giving. To donate, simply visit us online at urbandebate.org/support or contact Adriana Willsie at the NAUDL at 312-427-0389 or AdrianaWillsie@UrbanDebate.org.


The Academy of Public Service (Boston) debate team celebrates a sweepstakes victory at Tournament Two in October


Urban Debate in the News

* “Debate Team Gets Chance at International Competition” – Memphis Fox News
* “Urban Debate Fires up in Denver High Schools” – Education News Colorado
* “Debaters argue for $--- and win” – The Boston Herald
* “High school debaters in training for verbal fisticuffs” – Rocky Mountain News
* “Robert Treat students prove to be great debaters” – Newark Live with the Star Ledger

Youth Parliament & Debate Tournament in Tajikistan

From http://en.ca-news.org/news/16132?from=rss

"Youth Parliament" project launched in northern Tajikistan
4 December 2008, 18:38
CA-NEWS (TJ) - "Youth Parliament" project started in Sughd region of Tajikistan. The project is implemented in cooperation with "Youth and civilization" organization and support MOM Tajikistan though network of "Valley of Peace" NGO.

"Human rights and Democracy" center in the framework of the project established a Youth parliament, totaling to 21 student from Osh (Kyrgyzstan). In addition to weekly meetings and discussions of various issues, members of the Youth Parliament will participate in trainings on strategic planning, aspects of migration, technology of debates and others.

Debate tournament for Youth Parliament members will be one of the project activities, main topic for which will be labor migration.

The same Youth Parliament and similar activities will be implemented in Khujand by "Youth and Civilization" Organization.

Unification and creation of Parliament Fergana Valley Union will be a final part of the conference. The project will be implemented to facilitate involvement of Tajik and Kyrgyz youth in solving problems of labor migration and unification of their efforts and capabilities to promote intercultural dialogue and mutual cooperation.

Videos from International Debate Academy Now Available

Faculty from 2008 pose at celebration dinner

Many videos are now available from the International Debate Academy 2008 recently concluded in Slovenia (IDAS). The videos feature a wide variety of subjects in training for the WUDC format from a wide variety of instructors from all over the world.

A complete archive can be found at http://www.uvm.edu/~debate/watch/?M=D where the videos listed as "idas08" are the ones you are interested in. This is a huge archive and may contain many other videos of interest to you.

The videos will be individually released with annotations on the Debate Video website at http://debatevideoblog.blogspot.com/ .

The videos are all in the .M4V or Podcast format. They can be watched from within your iTunes player or by opening them from within the Quicktime application. Because they are high quality and relatively large, you might want to download them.

For latest IDAS news go to
http://internationaldebateacademy.blogspot.com/

For Information about IDAS go to
http://debate.uvm.edu/idas.html

Asian Unity Tournament

From Andrew "Ips" Gnananantham:

Hello Asia,

The Voices MMU debate society is proud to invite the Asian debate community to the inaugural Asian Unity Tournament hosted in Multimedia University (MMU), Cyberjaya, from the 29th of April 2009 until the 7th of May 2009.

Multimedia University has successfully hosted multiple international debate events, including the All-Asians in 2000, Australs in 2003 and Worlds in 2005. We are looking forward to continuing this tradition with the Asian Unity Tournament. The tournament will be convened by myself, Andrew "Ips" Gnananantham. The chief adjudicator for the tournament is Suthen "Tate" Thomas, Grand Finals adjudicator at the Worlds 2008, AUDC 2008 and Australs 2008 as well as Deputy Chief Adjudicator for the Australs 2008. Tabulation will handled by Edwin "Clansman" Law, Tabulation Director (and tab software author) for the Manila Australs 2008, MMU Worlds 2005 and MMU Australs 2003.

We believe a tournament in Malaysia presents a unique opportunity in terms of accessibility and also as a stopover to other destinations; the following prices are for a return ticket to Kuala Lumpur from various locations in Asia:

Singapore-77.

00 SGD (AirAsia)

Manila (Clark)-5,385.00 PHP (AirAsia)

Bangkok-5,465.00 THB (AirAsia)

Dhaka-663.76 USD (Singapore Airlines)

Shanghai-1,066.00 CNY (AirAsia)

Do continue to watch this space, as we will be announcing the adjudication policy and DCA application process for the Asian Unity Tournament as well as the registration timetable and fees very soon. The tournament web site will also be up by the end of this week.

We look forward to seeing all of you here in Malaysia.

Regards,

Andrew "Ips" Gnananantham

------------------------------------------

Convener, Asian Unity Tournament 2009

President, Voices MMU Debate Society

email : anthrex_13@hotmail.com

mobile : +6 012 400 5260

------------------------------------------

Still Time To Apply to be DCA at WUDC Turkey

From Can Okar:

Dear debaters,

After some discussion with various members of the debating community,
we have decided to re-open the DCA applications phase for 2 days to
last until 5th December 2008. We want to make clear that this does not
mean that we believe that this is necessary because the current
applicants are in any way inadequate. I understand that some people
missed the applications first time round for legitimate reasons and
want them to be included in the discussion about who is best for the
role. Having come to this conclusion, it is only fair that everyone
has the same right to be considered.

I hope that this move is not misunderstood. Whilst we will be flexible
where we can, this does not mean that we will be rollovers on other
issues like registration!

So, if you would like to apply to be a DCA for Wolds in 2010, apply
and do it before the end of 5th December 2008. I will then publish an
updated list of candidates with the final day for feedback on 12th
December 2008.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has written
to me about the candidates. Every mail will be read and considered.

I hope you are all well and can't wait to see you in Cork,

Can

Koc Worlds 2010

WSDC 2008 Washington Scrapbook Now Available

The 164 pages of the color scrapbook is now available online for downloading as a pdf. It documents the events in September 2008 as 39 nations at the World Schools Debating Championships gathered, competed, discussed important world issues, made friendships and established networks for the 21st Century.

Right click to download from http://debate.uvm.edu/dcpdf/wsdc08book.pdf

It was my honor to be able to put together the booklet in my role as director of tournament operations. My thanks go to our Convener Phyllis Hirth, Chief Adjudicator Aaron Maniam, Claire Ryan (for photos) and many, many more. Especially the awesome volunteers.

The booklet contains:

• An introduction and welcome
• An extensive page of photos. My apologies that some were cut between pages, but originals in an uncut form can be found at http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wsdc/Photos.html . The slide show function works very well there.
• A page with photos and notes for each team.
• Reagan Building thanks (final round venue).
• Thanks to sponsors page.
• All blog entries from the tournament before and after.
  

The original website will remain at http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wsdc/Welcome.html but cannot be altered in any way as the root file has been deleted.

The blog that carried the news of WSDC 2008 will remain at http://wsdc2008.blogspot.com/ for the immediate future, but it will be deleted sometime after the February 2009 WSDC in Athens.

Huge Binghamton Debate Tournament Shows Growth in New England Circuit

It was the third biggest debate tournament so far this year in the USA's policy debate circuit, but also had 36 teams in the WUDC division. Obviously, the two formats can get along.

See the video of the news story at
http://www.uvm.edu/~debate/watch/binghamtonews1108.m4v

From http://news10now.com/content/all_news/128675/arguments-abound-at-bu-debate-tournament/Default.aspx

Arguments abound at BU Debate Tournament
11/23/2008 06:32 PM
By: Neil St. Clair

VESTAL, N.Y. -- Welcome to the fast-talking world of varsity policy debate. No letterman jackets, but there definitely is an element of the athletic.

"It takes a driven person, someone with an absolutely huge ego, because you have to have a huge ego to want to participate in something like this," said Alan Ostrovsky, a Binghamton University senior debater.

This year's Binghamton University tournament drew more than 300 participants over the weekend from 28 different universities.

But for people outside the debating world, this may seem like an odd way to spend your day off.

"I think the perception is it's a lot of crazy people, speaking really fast on a weekend," said Shane Agici, the University of Vermont debate coach.

But you might be surprised at who's willing to wake up at 7 a.m. for the honor of arguing the merits of ontology, fascism or the Bush Doctrine.

"We get a lot of people who are former sports stars who are injured and looking for something to challenge their mind," said Joe Leeson-Schatz, the Binghamton University debate director.

It takes a pretty special kind of person to give up their weekend just to argue. So the question is: Why do it?

"The intensity of the activity allows students to to be able to figure out how to engage with others in an academic format at a high speed. That allows them to function better in the normal world, because they're used to engaging people in arguments," said Leeson-Schatz.

Most debaters end up going into politics, law or academics, but for those on a different track, it can help broaden the way you see the world.

"Maybe there's an order from higher up that you agree with or don't agree with, debate allows you to analyze: Maybe there's a valid reason as to why that order's coming down whether or not you agree with it," said Derrick Jerke, a junior at the U.S. Military.

Debaters can speak 400-500 words per minute, so in case you missed it, the topic for this tournament was U.S. federal policy towards agricultural subsidies.


Binghamton University is currently ranked second in the nation on the cross-examination debate circuit and was the top finisher last year.

MIT Proud of Cambridge Debate Champs

From http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/debate-1124.html

Arguing their point
MIT debate team wins prestigious UK tournament
Patrick Gillooly, News Office
November 24, 2008

Don't call it beginners' luck: In its first time competing in one of the world's most prestigious debate tournaments, MIT's debate team captured first place.

Junior Adam Goldstein and teammate Bill Magnuson, the president of the debate team, won the Cambridge Intervarsity Championship on Nov. 15, beating teams from several top international universities, including the University of Oxford and Trinity College Dublin, along the way.

The competition, sponsored this year by international law firm Cleary Gottlieb, takes place annually in Cambridge, England. This year's tournament drew students from more than 10 countries.

Goldstein noted that MIT's team does surprisingly well at debate competitions -- surprising mostly to their competitors.

"Most people who are on the debate circuit are studying philosophy or political science or something like that … but by far the majority of our team is engineers and scientists. And so when we beat teams from other schools … they're often embarrassed or surprised that people from MIT can speak," he joked.

To earn their win, Goldstein and Magnuson, a senior, first had to get through five preliminary rounds of British-style debate, which includes four teams arguing one topic, with judges ranking the teams first through fourth based on their performance. In U.S debates, there are only two teams and the judge-determined winner advances.

At the start of the elimination rounds, MIT and Bates College were the only U.S. teams remaining, with MIT ranked 11th overall. The first two elimination rounds had the team facing queries on topics related to organ selling and immigration for the wealthy.

For the final round, it was MIT that got to choose the topic for debate: Would the U.N. be better off selling Security Council seats to the highest bidder? Their argument solidified the first-place win, with Goldstein also taking seventh individually and Magnuson taking 10th.

The debate team holds no tryouts, and is made up of a mix of students, Goldstein said. They host a web site at web.mit.edu/debate/www for students interested in signing up, and currently have about 20 members.

Goldstein said the team's success in this tournament and others is a reflection of how MIT students learn, study and achieve.

"We think that it casts a nice light on MIT that we can have both rigorous scientific types and also debaters," he said.