Everybody thinks African-Americans excel only in music and sports. Since I am good in neither, I got stuck with debate. But that's OK because it makes me different, and different is cool. Consultants at Emory have helped OSI-New York create a debate program in 16 New York City high schools. Unlike the Lincoln-Douglas style of debating which focuses more on universal values, policy debate focuses on public policy issues, both domestic and international.
Policy debate is more complex and research oriented .
Research skills, or even any type of academic enhancement, are not necessarily all that students look for in the debate program. We all care for and support one another. Michael Vargas and Lisa Gonzalez, seniors at Grace Dodge High School who have been invited back to the Emory debate camp to teach this summer, have received scholarship offers from the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa. Debate has made me more aware of what's going on in the world.