| The Columbia University Parliamentary Debate Team | ||||
Members & Officers
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What is the Columbia University Parliamentary Debate team? The Columbia University Parliamentary Debate team is one of the most successful in the nation. As a team, we are members of the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA) and compete at tournaments throughout the nation nearly every weekend. Our team meets every week on Tuesday evenings at 8:00 PM in Hamilton 613. We encourage any Columbia student interested to attend! In addition to intercollegiate competition, the team hosts a plethora of events on campus. These events include exhibition debates, student/faculty debates as well as three tournaments a year! The Columbia team hosts the APDA Novice Tournament, Columbia University Parliamentary Debate Tournament and new for 2000, our first annual High School Debate Tournament! What is Parliamentary Debate? Parliamentary debate is an off-topic, extemporaneous form of competitive debate which stresses rigorous argumentation, logical analysis, quick thinking, breadth of knowledge, and rhetorical ability over preparation of evidence. It is patterned after the style of platform debate first made famous at Oxford University. The format pits two two-person teams against each other in a contest of argument, wit and rhetoric which roughly simulates debate in a House of Parliament. The Government (proposing) team prepares and presents a case for debate based on a topic or resolution announced only 15 minutes before the beginning of the round. The Opposition attempts to rebut the Government's proposal through counter-argument and refutation. The use of recorded evidence during the debate round is prohibited. A different resolution is debated in every parliamentary debate round. Resolutions are chosen from a wide variety of political, philosophical, economic, cultural and humorous topics, and debaters often have a broad scope in which to define the specific case for debate which is drawn from the resolution. Hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and over thirty other nations participate in parliamentary debate. It is the fastest-growing form of intercollegiate debate in the world. How do I join the Team? It's easy! Just show up at our weekly meetings on Tuesday at 8 PM in 613 Hamilton. For more information, contact one of our officers! This page is maintained by Matt McMillan, CC '03 |
The 1999-2000 Debate Year has come to a close. Once again, the Columbia team tasted a great deal of success. To recap, Columbia won the UMBC, GW, Princeton and Cornell tournaments. In addition, Columbia placed 3rd and 9th in the Team of the Year standings. Jeff Williams was 6th place winner for Speaker of the Year. Finally, three Columbia freshman finished with Novice of the Year points. The 2000-2001 season looks promising. We have elected our officers and tournament directors and once again won the bid to host the APDA Novice Tournament. The Columbia team does not lose any debaters to graduation, and looks forward to even more success next season!
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