HS Debate

[CX Champ]

This may be an odd question, but how many of you debated in high school and/or college? Do you think it turns the students ultra liberal?

[Gods_Mercenary]

I probably would have, but Football took up half the year, in my experience debators were already liberal, but debate didn't change that. They were also normally little geeky kids, but they stayed out of my way, and I actually liked some of them.

[Jack]

Only in college. I 'm very tempted to say yes to your second question only because I tend to think of those who like to debate, who enjoy having their beliefs challenged, are already somewhat liberal. But that would be a bit dishonest of me. It's my biased belief that conservatives don't like to think deeply and get offended by those who disagree with them. In reality, I suspect good debaters come from both sides of the political landscape.

[Gods_Mercenary]

I always liked getting assigned to group projects with debators, I 'm very smart, probably smarter than many of them, but have always been racked with mind numbing laziness, debators were always concerned about their grade enough to do most of the work for me, assuming that I was an ogre(a particularly handsome one) of a football player.

[The Bacon Guy]

My high school didn't have a debate team; it's not such a big thing over here. There is a pretty well renowned debate team in my university, but I doubt very much that I'll ever join. I hate formal and competitive debate. For me, debate isn't a competition; it's a means of reinforcing one's opinions and gaining a greater understanding of issues, as well as working on communication and persuasion skills.

One thing I always hated at school was writing discursive essays in which you are given a point of view to argue. I can't argue a viewpoint with which I don't agree: I always end up refuting my own points in my head and losing all confidence in the arguments I'm making.

So yeah, informal forum debate is what I'm best suited for.

[Jachin]

Quote by: CX Champ This may be an odd question, but how many of you debated in high school and/or college? Do you think it turns the students ultra liberal?

No.

Anyway, ten years from now you're going to be a totally different person with a totally different outlook and probably different politics anyway, and you probably won't remember much, if anything, about most of the classes you took in high school.

[notworthabean]

I was in my debate team, at th elocal tourneys it was balanced torwards libs because i was in a liberal area, but there were a fair few cons on the team (myself included). if you went to national ones it depended where they were from. the boston kids..mostly liberal...the texans...mostly cons.

so no.

[CX Champ]

Quote by: Jachin No. Anyway, ten years from now you're going to be a totally different person with a totally different outlook and probably different politics anyway, and you probably won't remember much, if anything, about most of the classes you took in high school.

Debate is so much more than a class. I went to about 12 tourneys this year, have a few more left, and we have taken state for three years. Its like a sport, you need that level of dedication, except we use our brains, they use their brawn. Not to mention it can get you a full ride alot easier than sports will.

[CX Champ]

Yeah, more debators tend to be liberal, the reason I bring it up is because I live in Utah, and here its UBER-CONSERVATIVE, and the debate team is banned by parents to many students because of the liberalism (don't know if thats a word). My good friend was forced out of debate by his parents because he's to liberal, ie he said Bush was an idiot. Thats how liberal it is.

[Jason]

I'm on the debate team (parliamentary) at Rice University. The students are, as most, fairly liberal. An anti-Bush joke or two during the course of a round is hardly uncommon. However, to win rounds you must be extremely flexible in your advocacy and all types of positions are taken.

[Autolykos]

I debated in high school. When I was a freshman, I took a class called Argument and Debate. Afterwards, I was recruited for my school's delegation to Student Congress.

While all this was going on, I was a libertarian Republican, so I don't see how debating makes one ultra-liberal.

- Rob

[Milton Bradley]

I did not debate in HS.


I had very little interest in what they were attempting to teach me at that time.

[phoenix_fire]

I used to be on the debate team. I never really got much into it, for many of the same reasons as Bacon Guy. I have some pretty strong feelings on things, and while I am able to see things the other guy's way, I don't usually take that so far as to argue for their side. I started out really conservative, but I wouldn't say that my ideals were changed by debate. I had a really great government teacher in high school that taught me a lot about how government and the parties really work. He made me cynical about politicians in general, although I'm sure that wasn't his aim. He wanted us to make researched decisions on candidates, and when I started researching them, I realized I couldn't bring myself to vote. The next person who really taught me how to think was my pastor at the church that I started going to after I moved off and went to college. This is probably when I started acquiring most of the ideas and thoughts that made my parents threaten to disown me. My pastor is a brilliant man who taught me to look into the scriptures and not to rely on someone else's interpretation of the Bible. It was then that I started seeing that a lot of the stuff touted by the "religious right" didn't really hold up well against the Bible. War, for instance. And the death penalty. College did a little bit to make me more liberal too. But I'm kinda an informed centrist...only because that's the average of my political ideas.

[Lullaby Chainer]

I'm in high school and I debate at the lunch table. (to everyone's consent.. no worries)

[Osborn F Enready]

I never debated in school, for class.

I have debated all my life.

[Jimmy the Pro]

Quote by: CX Champ This may be an odd question, but how many of you debated in high school and/or college? Do you think it turns the students ultra liberal?

I am writing this post from the debate room at my highschool. THANK YOU SIR FOR RECOGNIZING HS DEBATE!!!

I used to do CX at the beginning of the year, but I do LD for the most part. Hence why my name is LDmaniac It is pretty cool and I go to about as many tournaments per year as you do.

So tell me sir or ma'am, where do you debate at?

And also, since I debate in Oklahoma, it's kinda hard to turn ultra-liberal against the red wave.

[CX Champ]

I am a sir, and I debate at Bingham High School in Utah. Not to brag but if your familiar with NFL (not football) which you should be, we are ranked 12th in the nation and are state champs. I do CX, and I am wondering, do you spew (read fast) in oklahoma? We do but some schools in the north don't and I am unfamiliar with Oklahoma, having not attended nationals... yet.

[Kamehameha34]

My school doesn't have a debate team. I wish it did, seeing as I'm more of a formalized debator. Half of my arguments are to prove that my opponent's arguments constitute fallacies :eek:

[Jimmy the Pro]

Quote by: CX Champ I am a sir, and I debate at Bingham High School in Utah. Not to brag but if your familiar with NFL (not football) which you should be, we are ranked 12th in the nation and are state champs. I do CX, and I am wondering, do you spew (read fast) in oklahoma? We do but some schools in the north don't and I am unfamiliar with Oklahoma, having not attended nationals... yet.

By spew, you mean spread....and generally no, MOST Oklahoma people are very laid back and dont spread. HOWEVER, I come from Tulsa, OK, and the city boys learn to spread like lightning

I've scored over 300 points in the NFL I should be voted to the Pro-Bowl.


You know what sucks for seniors this year? Nats are in Derby, KS. You know where they are next year? LAS VEGAS!!!


As for my school... in the last 15 years, 13 straight regional champions, 5 time State Champs, 10 times placing at State 4th or better. And we always take at least 2 to nats.

Pretty cool to meet a CXer on here, I find it funny now that we have 1 LDer and 1 CXer....talk about balanced.

[CX Champ]

Spread, haha we call it spewing, and 300 points this year right, not over all, cause overall thats not much, your school sound good, are you 5a, we always take region, we don't have any competition there.:( Do you go to nat'l tourneys or local ones?