Joining the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Debate Team is easy. The team is open to all students who are willing to be a part of the team and who are interested in debate. If you have previous experience competitive debate (any format), you should fill out and submit the . Dr. Craig Hennigan, our Debate Coach will be in touch with you shortly.
If you do not have prior experience in competitive debate, we suggest, but do not require, that you take COM 217 (Argumentation and Debate) before you decide to commit to joining the team. We do encourage "walk-ons" or "novices" to join the team, and this class is designed to give those students a primer on all of the basic rules, procedures, and strategies in policy debate.
Commitments Required to Join *
- Attend weekly team meetings
- Competitive travel occurs primarily on weekends
- Minimum commitment required: 1 full semester
Benefits
- Improve your public speaking, research, critical thinking, and advocacy skills!
- Travel around the country to compete for 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ!
- Participating in debate can improve your academic performance and test scores!
- Meet interesting new people and network with smart students from around the country!
- Learn about public policies that affect our community, our nation, and our world!
- Gain valuable skills to help you prepare for Graduate School or Law School!
*students must also meet other criteria in order to be eligible to participate on the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Debate Team, including but not limited to being enrolled at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ at least half-time, consistently demonstrating that they are making satisfactory progress toward the completion of a degree, and maintaining a minimum 2.5 grade point average.