“The Truf”

Stephen Babb shares his opinions on the strategic gap created by “Sophist mercenaries” and on the incoherent treatment of the ballot.

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One Thing For Sure

Debaters should be thinking about the Schiavo events.
Not necessarily for the reasons everyone else is, though. It’s all about the spectacle.

For many debaters, Schiavo revives the archaic question of whether we ought prioritize life itself or the quality thereof. The last two weeks may also have introduced important concerns about separation of […]

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The Proliferation of Politics and Shenanigans

Read it. It’s amazing.

Politics is nothing new in the debate community. My earliest memories of the national circuit consist of disdain for the political clout held by the likes of Vestavia’s Ms. Dukes and others. While I was a bit removed from all the action, I heard plenty of stories about the animosity […]

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Ask the Experts?

I’ve left you an opportunity to reconsider the traditional educational arrangement with which high school debate has typically grappled. I ask the question: have we moved beyond the age of experts? Are we always attempting a misguided return to that age? Because of this, is our radicalism all that radical at all… […]

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An Invitation to Respond: On Navigating Elitism

Given the recent discussion on round robins and the pursuant disagreement about who should be in them, how they should work, etc… I thought it might be appropriate to have some directed discussion on the relevant issues. At the risk of this becoming an unfortunate flame war, I’d like to see a good dialogue […]

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