Judging college debate at the Naval Academy

This weekend I was judging college debate at the U.S. Naval Academy.  It was absolutely great except for the long hours and uncomfortable holiday inn beds. 

Debate tournaments are always exciting places to see students and coaches grapple with complex ideas.  It’s not every day that most of contemplate nuclear war rhetoric, Baudrillard, of that famous Khalilizad in ‘95 evidence.  Perhaps we should.  There’s probably a lot most folks could learn from debate. 

Here’s a list of some of them…

1) Know the qualifications of your authors.  How often do you hear people saying they heard something from TMZ or read it in US Weekly and thought it had to be absolutely true.  Debate teaches that you must understand the strengths and weaknesses of the people you cite. 

2) Take risks.  The Great Debaters was a really neat movie, but Rocket Science is a much more accurate depiction of policy debate today.  Sometimes its necessary to go out on a limb to make a point.  Debate teaches the power of personal politics, something that’s lacking in even the most evolved democracies. 

3) It’s okay to dress how you want.  Maybe I’m wiser than my years, but I don’t associate custom-tailored suits with intelligence.  There’s more to the Gobstopper than the outer candy shell.  College debate is an interesting place where people of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and persuasions discuss important political and philosophical ideas.  It’s just as fun in pajamas as it is in slacks. 

Thank you to the debaters who read Baudrillard, Capitalism K’s, eco-fem, and other arguments that make me think and make me even more sure that debate is providing an important co-curricular experience to college students.