Are you interested in meeting young people from Europe, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia? Do you have an interest in learning more about transatlantic relationships, democracy and civic engagement?

The Department of Communication at Wake Forest University is offering 10 Scholarships for American students to attend the 2011 Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellows (BFTF) Summer Institute.  Application Deadline is April 15, 2011

In 1984 I found myself injured and incapable of continuing my athletic career.  Yet i was still filled with a deep desire to compete and followed my sisters footsteps on the Speech and Debate team at North Hardin High School. Debate back then improved my intellect and helped me with interpersonal and communicative skills.  It raised my confidence and enstilled in me the ability to think that would prove invaluable later in life.

Motivating students to believe in themselves, and gaining the courage to find and utilize their voice has become what Debate means to me.  Leading by example and encouraging perseverance for achievement is one advantage students gain from participation within debate and I hope I can continue to enable students to realize that privilege.

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Daryl Burch currently coaches debate with the Capital Debate which brings debate to several schools throughout Baltimore.

Debate Central and the Dallas Urban Debate Alliance have joined forces to create a Fundraising NDT! The National Debate Tournament is a collegiate championship tournament that rotates around the country; this year it will be held in Dallas March 25-28th at the University of Texas - Dallas. Donate money in the name of the National Debate Tournament entry of your choice.

In many ways communication and public relations is just professional applied debate. In many other careers you take the extensive skills you learned in debate and apply them, but in this field the parallels are even more direct. On any given day you're given a topic, then you have to figure out what the expert literature in that area looks like, and then you're expected to brainstorm arguments based on what's being written by experts and advocates. Strategies have to be developed and opposition arguments have to be anticipated, and all of that happens against a backdrop where you have a finite amount of time and space to convey your point. Sometimes you have plenty of time to create a file and put it on a shelf, and sometimes there's heavy time pressure to get a brief done.
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Omri Ceren debated for the University of Pittsburgh before coaching at Dartmouth College and the University of Southern California. He is currently Vice President at Davis-Block LLC, a Washington DC public affairs firm.

Congrats to Hillcrest & WT White for qualifying for a free trip to compete at the National Championship for Urban Debate Leagues to be held in New York City, NY in April.

Earning special recognition were the fllowing students - 

1^st place varsity team – Hillcrest Andrew Flores & Carlos Ramirez

2^nd place varsity team – WT White Joseph Reyes and Luke Strother

3^rd place varsity team (tie) – Molina Alexis Morgan & Jasmine Palacios

3^rd place varsity team (tie) – WT White Sage Stevens & John Strother

Dr. Kevin Jovanovic reflects on his debate experience

"Communication is a the heart of every successful relationship in life and in medicine.
Critical thinking gives a physician the ability to determine the level of scientific validity of different treatments. Fast pace and pressured environment allows for a surgeon to make split second decision that save a life of mom or baby. Theses skills are finely tuned in High School Debate. They are tested by stress and lack of sleep. Debate camps and long nights in the library help prepare for that last rebuttal. "

"Gosh, even 25 years after my final debate-- in 1986, debate is still a large part of my life. There are countless ways debate helps your brain develop--  as a chef debate instilled in me a wonderful sense of timing, the ability to think clearly and accurately under intense pressure, a deep love of research, and confidence in quick decision making. . . All these skills were and are important to me but most of all my debate career brought me deep and lasting friendships with many people from around the country."

As a debater for the University of Kentucky, Ouita won the 1986 National Debate Tournament. Chef Ouita and her husband, Chris, own and operate the historic and critically acclaimed Holly Hill Inn in Midway, KY. She was thrilled to be named Feb 17 as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for the Best Chef in the Southeast.