On Wednesday, September 25, metro Detroiters will get a chance to see a microcosm of high school debate competition at Notre Dame Prep in Pontiac. The Notre Dame Prep debate team will participate and host other members of the Detroit Catholic Forensic League (DCFL) for a Debate Showcase, which will offer three different styles of competitive debate in one venue for the evening.
According to NDP's debate teacher LeAnne Schmidt, the event will start at 4 p.m. in the high school cafetorium with a session of congressional debate, followed by a public forum debate round at 5 p.m. and a Lincoln-Douglas debate at 6 p.m. The evening will conclude with an honors convocation for the National Forensic League Speech and Debate Society at 7 p.m. All activities are open to the public with no charge for admission.
"Since NDP was founded in 1994, it has participated in the DCFL and has consistently qualified for advancement to the league's Grand National Tournament," Schmidt said. "Along with our school, we represent the state of Michigan and the Archdiocese of Detroit in multiple categories, including all three forms of debate presented at the showcase."
For the Sept. 25 event, NDP's debate team is joined by teams from other DCFL member schools, including Brother Rice High School, The Roeper School, St. Mary's Prep and University of Detroit-Jesuit High School.
The event is designed to share the skills of high school debaters with the public. Debate coaches will be offering question and answer sessions at the Showcase to help educate the audience about the methods of each style and to compare and contrast the approaches. For more information, contact LeAnne Schmidt, Notre Dame Prep's debate teacher at (248) 620-7483.