Debate is an activity in which thousands of high school and college students participate throughout the country.
The academic activity takes many forms and styles though ‘policy debate’ is one of the most common.
Policy debate involves two teams of two competitors who square off in an hour-plus exchange, advocating for our against certain policy actions. This year, high school policy debate students are arguing for or against the federal government increasing its investment in the country’s transportation infrastructure. The topics include high-speed rail, airports and roads.
According to the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues there are more than 500 urban high schools participating in debate.
St. Louis is home to the Saint Louis Urban Debate League, an organization working with approximately 130 students in the St. Louis Public Schools. Their mission is to “provide underserved St. Louis youth with trajectory-changing opportunities through the power of meaningful, competitive policy debate programming and college-readiness activities.”
A SLUDL First
This past weekend, at a regional tournament which qualifies teams to the National Forensics League national tournament, Cameron Smith and Destiny Crockett of Clyde C. Miller Career Academy went undefeated, becoming the first-ever SLUDL team to qualify for the tournament.
Cameron Smith, his coach, Samantha Smith, and SLUDL Executive Director Missy Heinemann joined host Don Marsh to talk about the recent success and role of urban debate in St. Louis
Follow St. Louis on the Air on Twitter - @STLonAir
