"The National Debate-In" Debates on the issues surrounding September 11th and its aftermath Sunday, November 18 at 3:30 p.m.

On the Sunday afternoon of November 18 at 3:30 p.m. the Wake Forest University campus will be the site of an extraordinary event: "The National Debate-In" on the issues pertaining to September 11th and its aftermath. The top-ranked intercollegiate debate teams from across the United States are dedicating their intellectual, research, and rhetorical resources to public debates designed to answer the public's call for reasoned argument on issues including civil liberties, the causes of terrorism, diplomatic versus military solutions, arms control, "war" rhetoric, and more. It is anticipated that a public audience will choose from a program of dozens of debates.

The idea for the debates springs from the national intercollegiate debate community's observation that while the media churn out volumes of information, panels of experts weigh in with their opinions, and discussion forums are held, debates are a uniquely valuable vehicle for civic engagement. At a moment in history that demands the best of our democracy, it is essential that proposed answers to the questions raised by September 11th be subjected to careful, critical analysis. Unlike the three minute sound bite-sized television shouting matches, academic debate's dialectical method carefully compares and evaluates ideas. The debate community, like the public at large does not have easy answers and is not of one mind concerning all of the policy ramifications. But what debaters do have to offer is the ability to organize and explore the arguments we all need to grapple with. The expectation is that debaters and the public will leave the debates ready and willing to ask the next questions and to seek reasoned answers to them.

All debates will include time for audience participation including audience cross-examination and post-debate discussion. A reception for the public audience and all debaters will be held at the conclusion of the debates.

Return to Debate-In Page