Welcome to Policy!
Hi! If you are new to the exciting world of high school policy debate (or if you don’t think it’s exciting and would rather be literally anywhere else) then this post is for you!
If you didn’t know, I’m Nate, a forensics coach. My parents started dragging me to debate meetings when I was 14 years old. Although initially I wanted nothing to do with speech or debate, I quickly became intrigued, and soon after, deeply engaged. Today, I love sharing how impactful debate can be in shaping lives and forging character. Trust me, this sport is very addictive and highly rewarding if you commit to it. If there’s one thing that league alumni will say in common, its that competitive forensics training(a fancy name for speech and debate) was the single most helpful thing in preparing them for higher education, job interviews, relationships, and life! (Also, to the parents reading this, debate will make your kids arguing geniuses, sooo I’m sorry in advance.)
Here’s how it works: Policy Debate is role play; a game of sorts. In a Policy Debate Round, two teams of two people face off over a pre-determined issue, called a ‘resolution.’ This year’s Stoa policy resolution is that ‘The United States Federal Government Should Substantially Reform it’s Monetary, Banking, and/or Finance Policy.’
The two teams are pretending to be opposing sides in congress, deciding whether or not an action is taken (yes, I know congress never takes actions; work with me here). One team is called ‘the affirmative.’ This team ‘affirms’ the resolution and suggests an action to be taken (ban lollipops, for instance (hey, I didn’t come up with the examples! (oh wait I did))). The other team is called ‘the negative.’ This team ‘negates’ the resolution. Got it?
In normal words, the ‘Aff Team’ says, “hey let’s ban lollipops, here are some reasons…” and the ‘Neg Team’ says, “um, how about we NOT do that, here are some reasons…”
See? Easy. In fact, I promise you that you already know how to debate. Every day you wake up, and start making decisions. What should I wear? What do I eat? What should I do next? Every time you are faced with a potential action, you decide for or against it based on reasoning, even if you don’t know it. That’s debating! You compare the information, then emerge with a decision.
We practice formal debating in rounds and at tournaments only to sharpen your ability to reason, and beyond that, to equip you to influence the reasoning of other people.
Let’s talk competition for minute. At a tournament, you will debate six times. Three times you will be affirmative (‘Aff’) and three times you will be negative (‘Neg’). This means you’re going to need three things:
Thing 1: an affirmative case. You will choose this with your partner, and you will usually use the same case for the entire season. Remember, this ‘case’ is just the ‘case’ you are making for change (ban lollipops(I’m so sorry)). Three rounds, at a tournament, you will stand up and give reasons to a judge why your change (reform/case/plan) should happen.
Thing 2: negative briefs. These you will work on with your partner and club, and you’ll learn how to make them. They are just collections of arguments that you prepare against the cases you know are out there. Don’t stress, these are actually really easy to do. Three rounds, at a tournament, you will stand up and give reasons to a judge why the change(reform/case/plan) the aff team wants SHOULDN’T happen.
Thing 3: a sense of humor because you will mess up a lot and say a lot of silly things, and you need to be able to laugh at yourself.
Almost done! The last thing you need to know about Policy Debate specifically is that it’s all about EVIDENCE. Remember, DECISIONS are made based on REASONING (I’m going to wear a sweater today because it’s cold) but REASONING is based on EVIDENCE (the weather app says it’s 32 degrees outside, and my sweater has proven to increase my body temperature in the past). Conclusion: put on the sweater.
Neg evidence might influence the decision this way: Remember, DECISIONS are made based on REASONING (I’m not going to wear a sweater today because it won’t be cold later) but REASONING is based on EVIDENCE (the weather app says it will warm to 100 degrees very soon, and past experience tells me that in 100 degree temperature the sweater will only increase my discomfort). Conclusion: leave off the sweater.
You see?! That’s policy debate; just usually it’s about things like abolishing the Federal Reserve, or changing the minimum amount of reserve cash that banks have to have on hand. The principles of logic and decision-making that we apply however, do not change.
One of my mentors likes to say, “if you can swim in shallow water, you can swim in deep water.” In other words, debate is about learning to apply very simple truths to more complex situations. It can be overwhelming at times, but if you keep your head up, stay humble, and refuse to give up, you will excel.
Welcome aboard!
P.S. Go ahead and peruse the official debate documents, linked below from the Stoa website. You’re looking for “Stoa Team Policy Rules 2018-19.”