What+Is+Policy+Debate

Policy debate is a two-on-two debate event where teams debate whether the government should enact a piece of legislation. One team upholds the affirmative, and the other upholds the negative. Policy debates involve issues of current events, foreign and domestic policy, philosophy, political science, and much more. The topic for 2012-2013 is “ Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its transportation infrastructure investment in the United States.”
 * __ What Is Policy Debate? __**


 * James Luck, Executive Director, **** Battelle Memorial Institute **

"Forensics has influenced my personal and professional development more than any other activity or experience. Those who have participated in forensics often share this view. A survey of Governors, Senators, and other leaders across the country conducted by the Bicentennial Youth Debates found a high level of agreement about this key role of debate and speech activities. Debate teaches so many things - the complexity of issues, the importance of research, techniques of gathering and organizing information, analytic and verbal skills, respect for opposing views, the interaction of evidence and values, and a variety of frameworks for evaluating arguments and reaching decisions. At the heart of this is something crucial to our society - the open testing of ideas."