Dear Readers,
Today I created a blog Chronicling the struggles, the highs, the lows, the valleys, the mountains, the smalll rock face crevaces, the streams, rivers, oceans, puddles, leaps, jumps, skips, steps, and aspiring moments of the Policy Debate Community.
Upcoming Events-
The New Treir Tournament 10/8/10- Be prepared to lose to GBN
It's interesting to see a blog with this topic; debate is one of many things that I feel I might enjoy and benefit from, but do not have time to participate on. Perhaps your blog will help change that second part. What rewards does debate bring, both to the individual and to society at large. What attracted you to it?
ReplyDeleteWell, to begin, I was drawn to Debate because of the effect it had on my brother. Rajeev Khurana graduated GBN in 2001, and won state the same year. I joined because I knew i would get to travel to a lot of places, win, and miss school. Not only, but i also saw the great benifits it had on getting into college. Michael Klinger, a debater from GBN who also won state in 2001, got a full scholarship to Harvard. Surprisingly, Harvard is not the best school for debate. If someone were to count, they would see that Northwestern has the most victories. This is especially evident by the fact that Klinger lost in Octofinals at the NDT (national debate tournament), whereas Northwestern won the same year. My brother is now a lawyer, and owes much of his success to debate, but I will warn you, debate requires a lot of work. The more you put in, the more you get out. Debate requires public speaking skills, research, and dedication. As a debater, I was inducted into the National Forensics League, a kind of honor society for debate that both Oprah and Stephan Colbert are part of. To see the effect debate has had on the world, just look around. I already named two examples above. BY far, the most influential of our time is Hilary Clinton, who did Policy debate. The list also includes Phil Kerpen, Bill Cinton and Lyndon Johnson. For more info on why debate is good and famous debaters go to http://www.britishdebate.com/site/why_debate.asp
ReplyDeleteIn this comment, I also want to include some basic information. There are 3 types of debate done by GBN. There is public forum, the newest form that only became popular a few years ago. It has 2 teams, each with 2 speakers, defend or oppose a monthly resolution about a policy. It is the simplest and easiest form of debate, but requires a lot persuasiveness, speaking skill, and Ethos. The second type is Lincoln Douglas debate which is more philosophical and is one vs. one. The affirmative and Negative debate about a bimonthly resolution and say it is just, or moral. LD is sometimes called values debate.
Policy debate can be talked about for hours. It is by far the most intense and in-depth type of debate ever conceived. It is a grueling hour and a half of fast paced argumentation. It takes an entire year to learn, and even then, most people do not become good until junior or senior year. It's the most intense of the three and requires quick thinking, speaking skills, and plenty of research. The topic is year long, and the debates are in-depth. This year's resolution is "Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially reduce its military and/or police presence in one or more of the following: South Korea, Japan, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq, Turkey." For more info go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy_debate#Style_and_delivery