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Debate Debate is an
activity where you are paired with a partner and compete against another team
each arguing one side of a particular issue.
There are two forms of competitive team debate:
In this form of
debate you are given a topic and assigned to be either the government (the side
that supports the proposition) or the opposition (the side that opposes it).
You are given 15 minutes to prepare arguments for your side of the
debate. Parliamentary debaters need
to be exceptionally well read as topics range from Metaphors to policy
resolutions that either implicitly or explicitly require you to know about
foreign relations, politics, economic, philosophy, and sociology.
At many tournaments, no outside sources may be consulted during prep
time, so the debaters must have all the knowledge in their head.
Because no evidence is allowed, reasoning is by example and analogy.
This form of
debate, known also as CEDA/NDT, publishes one policy topic for the entire year
that every college team in the nation debates.
The topic, however, is so broad that it allows for a wide variety of
specific cases to be debated. Policy
debaters use evidence to construct and support their arguments. This evidence is gathered, filed, and brought to tournaments
to be read during the debate round. This
is an immensely rewarding, but research-intensive activity.
It is also extremely theoretical and takes a great amount of coaching.
This event will only be taught to second year students who demonstrate
the commitment, capacity, and desire to excel at it. Reader's
Theatre In Reader�s
Theatre, three or more interpers present a program not more than 25 minutes
long, which uses a variety of material. Poetry,
prose, drama, newspaper clippings, and song lyrics develop a complex
theme/argument; unlimited movement is allowed.
You are supposed to hold onto the binder, but even that is regularly
ignored these days. Players wear
ensemble dress (similar costumes), often sing, and are involved in complicated
blocking moves. This is an event
that requires a great deal of rehearsal time and commitment on the part of the
students, and a substantial time investment from their coach.
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