Debate Club Strives to Promote Discussions
by Karl Heine
If you like arguing, you are going to love the Cape Cod Community College’s (4Cs) Debate Club. The Debate Club offers an environment for students to develop their speech and debate skills. With civil discourse at the heart of what the club is about, students can learn the appropriate ways to argue. All students are more than welcome to attend the meetings. The club is always looking for fresh faces and thoughts to join their diverse club.
“We want the club to grow,” says Riley Donovan, President of the Debate Club. The club is currently working on a public debate to be held on December 4, 2019. The debate will be over the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.
“The goal is to have people come to the debate and walk away with more than they came in with.”
The debate, held here on the 4Cs campus, will be a three vs. three event, with one side arguing in support of the topic, and the other side arguing against the topic. The goal is to be informative, but also convincing. The whole debate is done in-house, with each side consisting of members of the 4Cs Debate Club. Make sure to stop by the debate on December 4 to show support for the 4Cs Debate Club.
“We want to keep it a learning experience,” says Kylie Power, the Treasurer of the Debate Club. The treasurer helps set up meetings, and acts as a sort of vice president for the club.
“It’s almost informative,” says President Riley Donovan about the debates. The teams will each be presenting information that supports their arguments and will be reciprocating the other team’s arguments with counter arguments. In preparation for the December 4 debate date, the club is doing research and preparation work.
The club’s mission statement does an adequate job of describing the club, and by extension, its members’ goal.
“The Debate Club seeks to promote open discourse as our first priority. Toward this end, we are an academically focused club that offers students the opportunity for competition on an inter-collegiate level, promotes open thinking, and fosters diverse opinions on campus with public debates.”
This statement gives students just a glimpse of all that the Debate Club has to offer. From competition to practice, the club covers all bases of debate.
The Debate Club at 4Cs participates in debate tournaments. The club had recently participated in a debate in New Hampshire for the first time in a few years. The club plans on attending similar events soon.
If you are at all interested in learning more about civil discourse, speech, or debate, come visit the Debate Club in room 117 of the Maureen M. Wilkens Hall (Wilkens South). Meetings are held on Mondays and Wednesdays at 2 pm. The club is constantly growing, and everyone is encouraged to come by and check things out.
Categories: Clubs, Around Campus, Student Life