NAUDL : National Association for Urban Debate Leagues

Summer 2009

Letter from Executive Director, Scott Deatherage

Dear Friends of Urban Debate,

As the 2008-2009 debate season draws to a close, I am reflecting upon the tremendous year that all of our 100 new school debate programs have just completed. The success of these programs is a testament to the student debaters, coaches, school system administrators, educational leaders, league directors, Advisory Board members, and supporters like you who have made this year a reality. To witness the joys and growing-pains, the new experiences and new challenges that come with a first year of debate, and to support that happening at so many schools at once, is a sure sign that urban debate is going strong.

At the end of April, I was privileged to see your collective support manifest in the Chase Urban Debate National Championship and accompanying Annual Dinner. For those of you who could not join us, 76 debaters and nearly 60 of their coaches and administrators were on hand to compete, share knowledge, and celebrate urban debate with over 300 guests at the Annual Dinner. After six preliminary debate rounds plus four elimination rounds, the NAUDL would like to congratulate Halle Apy and Jeremiah Pickert from Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago for becoming the 2009 Chase Urban Debate National Champions. Additional congratulations go out to Cole Austin of Garfield High School in Seattle, who was the Top Speaker. Finally, congratulations to St. Louis urban debaters Lorrie Leong and Kayla Massey of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School who won the First Year Urban Debate League Breakout Division.

In addition to these amazing debates, participants visited the DuSable Museum of African American History and enjoyed the world-renowned Art Institute of Chicago. Debaters also attended a college and career information session and coaches and administrators attended professional development meetings.

In this issue of the NAUDL NewsBlast you will find updates about the recent successes of urban debate and about what's in store for the future. You'll read excerpts from Keynote David Boies' and Urban Debate Champion Gara LaMarche's Annual Dinner speeches, a profile of the Chase Nationals' Top Speaker from Seattle, and an update on UDL Summer Institutes. Additionally, read up on our budding collaboration with the National Forensic League and an exciting new partnership for an East Coast league. You'll also find that our Urban Debate in the News section is packed with press surrounding the tournament and Annual Dinner.

Finally, please help us bring more debate to more students. A call for applications for the NAUDL's Executives in Residence program outlines ways you and your firm can use your wealth of business and world experiences on a specific project with the NAUDL to benefit the students we serve.

As always, I can't thank you enough for your tremendous support, and I hope you can take a moment to reflect on what a year of growth and opportunity it has been for our urban debaters all across the country.

Scott Deatherage, Ph.D.

Executive Director
National Association for Urban Debate Leagues

David Boies and Gara LaMarche speak to the importance of urban debate

Concurrent with the 2009 Chase Urban Debate National Championship, the NAUDL hosted its second Annual Dinner on April 25. Over 300 supporters and guests joined the NAUDL at the historically reconstructed Stock Exchange Trading Room at the world-famous Art Institute of Chicago.

Guests met with urban debate students, teachers, and administrators at an Art Institute reception, followed by the National Championship Awards Ceremony.

The 2009 Keynote Address was delivered by none other than David Boies, founding partner and Chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP. Mr. Boies is a former high school and college debater and has taken part in many of the United States' most influential and noteworthy cases, including Vice President Al Gore's legal challenges of the 2000 Florida election returns before the United States and Florida Supreme Courts. Mr. Boies spoke about the importance of debate and communication in promoting democracy in a civil society. He reflects, "When you are in a debate, it doesn't make any difference where you come from, what your educational level is, how much money you or your parents have, the color of your skin, your ethnic background- none of that makes any difference. All that makes a difference is the soundness of your arguments and your ability to articulate them in a persuasive, critical, credible way."

He also shared about the value of his debate experience to his professional work. "I was a different student, by and large, dyslexic, and reading was not easy for me-it still isn't easy for me, which is one reason why I speak without notes. I was a mediocre athlete, and what debate gave me was a chance to excel. And that chance to excel, in addition to teaching communication, in addition to teaching critical thinking, in addition to giving confidence, in addition to opening up additional opportunities, gave me the opportunity to understand that I could excel and, on a level playing field, I could compete with anyone."

Without a doubt, it was a message that is echoed in lives of former and current debaters across the country.

Following the Keynote Address, the NAUDL honored as the 2009 Urban Debate Champions Mr. Gara LaMarche and the Open Society Institute, whose original vision for debate in underserved high schools provides the template for the NAUDL's work today. As Vice President and Director of U.S. Programs for the Open Society Institute (OSI) from 1996 to 2007, Mr. LaMarche played a major role in creating the Urban Debate Network. OSI's original Urban Debate Program, launched in 1997 under the direction of Mr. LaMarche, brought policy debate to traditionally underserved high schools.

Mr. LaMarche is currently President and CEO of the Atlantic Philanthropies. In accepting the Urban Debate Champion award, he shared his own experience with debate and his original vision for the creation of the Urban Debate Network. "I thought about fostering debate programs back in 1996 because I connected two things. One was our country's neglect of poor kids in struggling schools. Young people of color were not being given the chances that every one of us deserves, and they were being stereotyped and consigned to high schools that were, for many, a final step on the conveyer belt to the criminal justice system. That had to change. We had to move from a deficit to an asset model, to see the promise and potential, and give it the tools to fly. The other was my own experience. . . . I'd like the young people whose lives are changed so much by urban debate to know that this life-the wonderful life that I have-was not fore-ordained by birth, or wealth, or privilege. It came because of opportunity, because I was able to make most of the opportunities through energy, discipline and hard work." Mr. LaMarche's speech inspired the audience and reminded us all of what brings us to this work.

Top Speaker at Chase Nationals found his voice through debate

Cole Austin, who was recently honored with the Top Speaker Award at the Chase Urban Debate National Championship, always felt as though he was not being heard until he discovered debate. In 7th grade, Mr. Austin took the advice of his academic advisor at Garfield High School in Seattle and enrolled in a debate class, and he has never looked back.

Now, a graduating senior, Mr. Austin can reminisce about his years of debate and reflect on all that the activity has taught him. Mr. Austin remembers reaching a turning point in 9th grade, when a number of debates concerned racial profiling. The topic was intimately related to his life, as it was something he encountered on a daily basis. Through debate, he was given the opportunity to talk about the issue in a deep and meaningful way. Not only was he free to discuss his own personal experience, but he was also able to present solutions and spar with competitors over how the problem could best be addressed. Mr. Austin was hooked.

Thinking back on his years of debate, Mr. Austin credits much to the activity. Specifically, he believes that debate taught him that you must always think critically about the information that's presented and how it will affect you and your community. During the Championship weekend in Chicago, where Mr. Austin represented the Northwest Debate Foundation, he was thrilled to meet and connect with many other urban debaters who shared his goals and values. He did not enter the Championship awards ceremony with high hopes, but, to his surprise, Mr. Austin was honored with the prestigious Top Speaker Award. And for the first time in his life, Mr. Austin received a standing ovation.

Mr. Austin is now gearing up for his first year of college at Howard University in the fall, and he unequivocally believes that his debate experience will help him succeed once he arrives on campus. Not only has debate prepared him to do research on a variety of topics, to be organized and present ideas effectively, and to work hard, but it has also given him the ability to be self-reliant.

NAUDL and NFL forge historic pact

In an exciting turn of events, the NAUDL has recently launched a partnership with the National Forensic League (NFL), the nation's largest and oldest debate and speech honor society. The partnership was officially announced and launched on April 23rd, coinciding with the first day of the 2009 Chase Urban Debate National Championship. Both the NAUDL and NFL are looking forward to a relationship that broadens the scope of each organization and brings more resources to urban debaters across the country.

As part of the new collaboration, all NAUDL affiliated schools and programs will receive free membership in the NFL in the upcoming year. With membership in the NFL comes a number of benefits to the participating school including: 1) honor society status and national merit for forensic achievements, 2) training and resources for debate educators and students, 3) access to Rostrum, the NFL's published monthly magazine, 4) mentoring relationships, 5) a number of debate programs offered throughout the year, and 6) NFL alumni status after graduation.

Additionally, as part of this partnership, the Chase Urban Debate National Championship is now a qualifying tournament for the NFL National Tournament, which hosts roughly 3000 student participants. Typically, qualifying for this prestigious tournament occurs at the district level, but the NAUDL's Chase Nationals has become one of the few national tournaments to become a qualifier in its own right.

Finally, the NAUDL and NFL's joint venture includes an agreement to work together on both general program development, and specifically with the National Debate Project on the 2009-10 launch of Nashville Debates, an Urban Debate League organized as a partnership between the Community Education Initiative and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.

The NAUDL looks forward to this exciting initiative and believes that it can forge exciting new paths for urban debate.

UDL students across the country embark on a summer of debate

While many high schoolers spend their summer days hanging out with friends, a growing number of urban debaters are hard at work in the classroom. UDL Summer Institutes bring together a group of urban debaters and talented and experienced instructors in order to become familiar with the new topic, cover the fundamentals of debate, do drills, and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of various arguments. This preparation gets students excited for the coming year and puts them on the right track for academic success. This year, urban debaters will begin focusing on the 2009/10 national high school debate topic, Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase social services for persons living in poverty in the United States.

Strong summer institutes can be found in Urban Debate Leagues across the country. From Los Angeles to Boston, from Oakland to Houston, students are going to be enjoying new and expanded opportunities for summer learning. Although many local UDLs have created their own debate institutes, some partner with universities such as Augsburg College, Berkeley, Brown, Emory, Towson, the University of Denver, the University of Houston, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University of Southern California, and Wayne State University.

St. Louis is one new UDL looking forward to running an exciting summer debate camp. When former debater and current Chair of the Communications Department of St. Louis University Kathy Farrell reached out to the St. Louis UDL League Director Ravi Rao, a new partnership was born. Ms. Farrell, who hoped to get involved once she heard about the recent launch of the St. Louis Urban Debate League, secured space in St. Louis University buildings, as well as the time and expertise of SLU faculty members. As Mr. Rao says "this will be a great opportunity to bring the whole League together to celebrate our successful launch, and to build momentum heading into next year."

Meanwhile, in Dallas, in addition to focusing on developing their own summer institutes, the UDL has prioritized sending students to national circuit institutes. This year, the members of the Dallas UDL Advisory Board have provided enough scholarship money to send 31 Dallas UDL students to the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton. While this is not the first time Dallas UDL students have joined suburban and private school debaters at a university-sponsored Institute, this is a dramatic expansion. This expansion was made possible in part by generous arrangements made by UNT, which offered UDL students tuition scholarships, allowing the Dallas UDL to send twice as many of their hard-working debaters.

Similarly, in the Bay Area, the Julia Burke Foundation underwrote ten scholarships to university institutes, alongside funding for an Oakland Summer Institute.

Tracy McFarland of the Dallas UDL suggests that urban debaters attending summer debate institutes with more affluent suburban peers will have a leg up when their sights turn to college. This summer, the Dallas UDL debaters will experience life on a college campus, learn college-readiness skills, and have access to national circuit caliber debate training. These Dallas UDL students will interact with college coaches from prestigious universities such as Georgetown and Harvard. And beyond making personal connections, having debate summer institutes on a resume sends a clear signal to college admissions officers that these urban debaters have had exposure to college campus life, and are dedicated enough to give up part of their summer vacations.

But whether urban debaters attend university debate institutes, or attend highly cost-effective and accessible local urban debate summer institutes, the critical thinking, literacy, communications, and research skills they will develop and sharpen this summer will put them far ahead for the future.

Social Venture Partners Boston Embraces the Boston Debate League

Social Venture Partners Boston (SVP Boston), a philanthropic venture fund that provides capacity building assistance to nonprofit organizations in the greater Boston area, has awarded a $30,000 grant to the Boston Debate League. The capacity-building grant is further leveraged by the commitment to provide volunteer expertise, which is essential to SVP Boston's approach and will help the Boston Debate League develop its infrastructure, constituency, marketing, and outcomes measurement processes.

The mission of the Boston Debate League (BDL) is to help the Boston Public Schools (BPS) build a culture of academic and intellectual excellence by extending the social and academic benefits of debate to as many Boston Public Schools students as possible. Since its inception, the BDL has grown from a small, volunteer-driven organization to a successful education initiative embraced by senior BPS leadership, including the Superintendent and the Boston School Committee. Thanks to a significant investment from Boston Public Schools, the BDL has expanded to eight high schools and, in the last year alone, tripled the number of participating students.

"SVP Boston selected Boston Debate League because it offers an innovative and proven approach to addressing some of Boston's most pressing educational concerns. Its focus is strongly aligned with the goals of SVP Boston and its staff and board have demonstrated a strong commitment to ambitious growth and development," says Marjorie Ringrose, Executive Director of SVP Boston. "SVP Partners bring skills that will bolster the organizational strengths of the Boston Debate League."

"We have had such a positive impact on the lives of the BPS students who are competing in the league, and we are starting to see a small change in the overall culture in some of our member schools," says Steve Stein, Executive Director of the Boston Debate League. "Working with SVP Boston Partners is exactly what we need to help us develop into an organization that has the capacity to work with all BPS students in all of our schools. This partnership will be the difference between just a few students in a few schools having access to the debate league and thousands of students from all of our schools benefiting from this life transforming activity."

SVP Boston is an affiliate of SVP International (SVPI), which supports the shared mission of 26 affiliates across North America and Japan.

The NAUDL congratulates Boston on this exciting partnership.

Executives in Residence - call for applications

Inspired by the Serve America Act: A Legislative Initiative to Expand and Improve Domestic and International Service Opportunities for All Americans, the NAUDL is issuing a call for applications for a newly launched Executives in Residence Fellowship. Specifically, the NAUDL seeks candidates (individuals or firms) who are passionate about the urban debate mission and are interested in dedicating their efforts (full-time or part-time) over the coming year to expand and improve the Urban Debate Network. Fellows will work either for the national office or at one of the Urban Debate Leagues across the country. Professionals with experience in marketing, accounting, public relations, sales, finance, business planning and growth strategy, human resources, information technology, philanthropic fundraising, project management, knowledge management, website design, performance measurement and assessment, database management, estate/financial planning and wealth management, and/or debate/argumentation curriculum and instruction are invited to apply. Please contact Eric Tucker at EricTucker@urbandebate.org.

Help spread debate. Send former debaters our way!

This summer, the NAUDL is launching its Refer a Friend campaign. The NAUDL works towards the day that all urban students have access to the life trajectory changing benefits of debate. We pursue this mission by partnering with former debaters who are now business executives, lawyers, philanthropists, and educators. Former debaters know first-hand the difference that competitive debate can make in a student's life. When this group makes a phone call to local school leaders or lends a hand at tournaments, it helps give many urban students access to this activity. As we get set to bring more high schools around the country into the Urban Debate Network, we would love to connect with your former teammates, rivals, college friends, or others in your life for whom participating in debate was a formative experience. Please take a moment to write down a few names and e-mail addresses and send them to Eric Tucker, the Deputy Director of the NAUDL at EricTucker@urbandebate.org or call 312-427-0152.

Urban Debate in the News

Urban Debate is frequently the subject of coverage in media outlets. Examples of some of the most recent coverage celebrating the successes of urban debate include:

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