Bard College Debate Union Hosts College Tournament

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—The Bard College Debate Union and the Bard Center for Civic Engagement are hosting the Bard College Invitational on the weekend of September 20–21, 2014. This will serve as the season-opening tournament for British Parliamentary debate teams in the Eastern United States, with more than 200 students in attendance from Yale, Cornell, Colgate, Hobart William Smith, George Washington, St. Johns, Rochester, Vermont, Adelphi, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, and the Bard High School Early Colleges. Students are expected to come prepared to debate any and all topics, ranging from international relations to criminal justice, social issues, and popular culture. Topics are to be announced 15 minutes before each debate. The final round of debate, Sunday at 5:30 p.m. in Bard’s Olin Hall, is open to the public. Additional information can be found online at debate.bard.edu.

“When the Bard Debate Union was getting ready to attend its first debate tournament in Fall 2004, I never could have imagined how far we would come in ten years,” said Ruth Zisman, Faculty Advisor of the Bard Debate Union. “Today our team has over 50 members who are all actively preparing for what promises to be an exceptional season of debate competitions, public debates, and outreach projects in area schools and in the Bard Prison Initiative."

On Friday, September 19, the Bard Debate Union at Eastern NY Correctional Facility hosts its second public debate, this time against the University of Vermont, on the topic of NATO. On Friday, April 4, 2014, the Bard Debate Union branch at Eastern NY Correctional Facility held its first competitive intercollegiate debate. The Bard Debate Union at Eastern welcomed the award-winning West Point Debate Team for a debate and discussion on the topic, “Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase support for the construction of a national high-speed rail network.” The debate occurred in front of an audience of over 50 people, including faculty and staff from Bard and West Point, Eastern NY Correctional Facility staff, BPI administrators, and nearly 40 Bard students based at Eastern. West Point Debate Coach and Political Studies Instructor Major Adam Scher, Bard Professor of Philosophy Daniel Berthold, and Bard Vice President and Dean for Civic Engagement Jonathan Becker, sided with the Bard team. This debate represented the culmination of a month of research and preparation for the Bard students as well as a year of debate training and practice for the team, which was founded in summer 2013 under the leadership of David Register, Bard BPI faculty member and debate coach.

Two public debates are scheduled in October: the Hannah Arendt Center Conference Public Debate with the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on the subject of American exceptionalism on Tuesday, October 7 at 7 p.m. in the Bertelsmann Campus Center Multipurpose Room, and the Family Weekend Faculty/Student Roundtable on the subject of the United States and ISIS on Friday, October 24. Bard Debate continues to work on outreach programs in the Red Hook and Rhinebeck Schools as well as research fellowships with the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI). Bard Debate also has a number of big tournaments lined up at Yale, Hobart William Smith, University of Vermont, and Brandeis. Additional information can be found online at debate.bard.edu.

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This event was last updated on 09-18-2014

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