Debate Team

I met with the coach and members of the CMR Debate Team yesterday.

I was extremely pleased with the enthusiasm they demonstrated toward this event. These are smart young people, and they know what they are doing. I am very glad we asked them to be a part of this event.

They will assist with developing a format. There will be time limits on responses, just like a real debate. Also, we are going to work hard to develop a way for candidates to question other candidates about their positions. It seems to us that we can learn an awful lot about a candidate not only from his or her answers, but the way he or she approaches the consideration of the other positions.

They will assist with developing the questions to be asked. This is not because the questions will be "censored" as some have said. It is to ensure that the topic areas are presented in a concise, reasoned fashion that will be easily understood by candidates and audience alike. It will also help to ensure that the questions can be answered. Directly, and not through long, evasive ramblings.

We also plan to allow a certain number of students to attend this event for free. We're still working on the criteria. Since we have no idea about attendance numbers, we do not know if we have the ability to just allow all students to attend.

I am very pleased with the level of commitment I saw from these guys. This will be a good thing.