I am pleased to announce that the Wyoming Forensics Institute will return to the University of Wyoming this summer, 7/13-20.
As we are adapting to the reality of COVID-19, we are preparing for both the best and the worst: If we are able to safely hold events on campus, we will offer a one-week, practice debate intensive experience in Public Forum, Lincoln-Douglas, and Policy. Students will have 20 debates in 7 days and receive extensive feedback, both written and oral, from expert judges. If we are not able to hold events on campus, we are still dedicated to providing educational opportunities for you. In that case, we will hold an online camp over the same time period for a significantly reduced price. Fortunately, the University of Wyoming debate team is one of the most prepared institutions in the country to make this happen. Last fall, we hosted the first entirely online college policy tournament in the country. Due to our expertise at online debate, during the past few weeks we have acted as consultants for debate organizations as diverse as NSDA China, the Tournament of Champions, the National Debate Tournament, and many other summer debate camps as they have all considered or made an online transition. While we would vastly prefer to welcome you to a traditional brick-and-mortar summer camp, we are committed to provide an online alternative if that proves impossible, unsafe, or unwise. We will continue to monitor the evolving public health crisis and will keep you informed about our decisions regarding whether to host on-campus or online based on government and university recommendations. We hope to make registration available as soon as possible. At this time, recent events are slowing down almost all processes at the University. In the meantime, save the date: 7/13-20. Thank you and please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns. Matt Liu, University of Wyoming director of debate [email protected]
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Dear Wyoming high school debate community,
Today was a gut-wrenching day for both of us. At around the same time the Wyoming State Tournament was cancelled, the final nail was put into the college debate season, as the CEDA National Tournament formally announced the cancellation of their national championship without replacement. It’s somehow both still raw and feels like an eternity ago. I know your pain because we’re going through the same thing at UW Debate. Cancelling the tournament was unquestionably the right decision. Social distancing is the only tool we have to protect the most vulnerable members of our society. But it’s still allowed to hurt. I’ve seen many of your coaches share their heartache, knowing exactly how they feel as they watch their charges crestfallen after finding out all the hours they’d spent practicing and preparing was to have no outlet. I’d only started to get to know you at the Hole in the Wall tournament, and after seeing the incredible talent there I was so excited about debate in Wyoming I added the State Tournament to my already over-crowded schedule. I’m sorry I won’t get to see the amazing arguments you had prepared for States. I’m more sorry you won’t get to read them. Celebrate your seniors. Emblazon their accomplishments in stone forever. Acknowledge them for what they did and what they might have done if the opportunity to compete at the pinnacle of their talent hadn’t been so unfairly taken. Remind them that their potential state championship would have been far outlived by their impact on your squad, regardless. Tell them how they changed your story, how they sparked your interest in debate. How they built a passion for this activity that you’ll pass forward to the next generation. Then keep moving forward. We don’t know what the future holds for NSDA nationals, but if you or a teammate have qualified to that tournament or still could you owe it to yourself and them and the work you’ve done so far to stay focused. If the season isn’t over for a single debater at your school, then it’s not over for anyone at your school. If States was it for you, then trust me, I know exactly how you feel. Take the time you need to make your peace with that. Then remember, the end of one season is the start of another. Sincerely, Matt Liu Director of Debate, University of Wyoming Authors: Amari Bertagnolli and Ki Radcliffe, University of Wyoming debaters
The March 2020 LD topic is: Resolved: Predictive policing is unjust. Predictive policing is “the application of analytical techniques—particularly quantitative techniques—to identify likely targets for police intervention and prevent crime or solve past crimes by making statistical predictions” (RAND, 2013). It’s less Minority Report (stopping crime before it starts) and more patrolling places where crime has been documented in the past. Right off the bat we want you to know you should spend more time prepping for being neg. Our big takeaway isn’t that you’re doomed if you’re neg, but it’s that you need to put more time into prepping to be neg because there are some structural weaknesses you’re going to have to organize your arguments around answering. Keep reading for our thoughts on the predictive policing topic and how to make sure you have a winnable argument when you’re neg. Authors: Matt Liu, University of Wyoming Director of Debate, and Josh Mitchell, University of Wyoming debater
The March PF topic is: Resolved: The United States should increase its use of nuclear energy for commercial energy production. Almost all energy debates are fantastic. US energy policy is situated at the intersection of the environment and the economy, a juncture that regularly produces great debates and great topic literature. Nuclear power is no exception. The PF Topic Committee is doing excellent work. We hope you're as excited to debate this topic as we were to write about it. We have 8 thoughts about debating this topic: |
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