What is Policy Debate?
1.
An obscure cult with its own distinct language understood only by members. The members speak incredibly quickly and think even faster. They tend to also be motivated students and often exhibit a mild form of OCD.
Such debaters engage in conversation with each other on a much higher level than the average human, both in and out of round. The student government and honor roll within a school typically consist mostly of debaters. 80% of congress debated in high school.
Membership in the cult lasts from 9th grade through 12th grade and sometimes through college, but the mannerisms and knowledge gained from it manifest themselves in all aspects of the current or former debater's life for the better.
Policy debate kicks aff.
I spent all last weekend hitting people, cutting and spewing. We broke and all the judges picked me up, but this one lay judge dropped me. I also got top speaks. Now I'm going to do uniqueness updates for my disad, then cut some a2 perm cards on the counterplan and come up with a kritikal aff so I can win framework.
I finally mastered the pen flip!
A: Did you hear so-and-so got into all 7 ivy's?
B: Really? he must be a debater.
Policy debate is SHITS (Significance, Harms, Inherency, Topicality, Solvency)
If you understood all the above, you're a policy debater.
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2.
best f-ing thing ever. the 2005-2006 topic is: Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially
decrease its authority either to detain without charge or to search
without probable cause.
My favorite arg: Foucault, baby. Debaters are generally smarter than you, hotter than you, bigger than you, badder than you, and generally better than you in any way imagineable. especially policy debaters. Big shout out to all my TOC homies out there GOOD LUCK.
policy debate = hot shit.
3.
Two-person team debate in which one team (the affirmative) generally proposes a policy which they advocate throughout the brave. The negative then argues against the affirmative case and plan on several levels - procedural, kritikal, and policy. Constructive speeches (2 per team) last 8 minutes and are punctuated by an additional 3-minute cross-examination period in which the opposing team asks questions to clarify and discredit the speaker's positions. Rebuttals (again, 2 per team) last 5 minutes and have no cross-examination period.
On the national circuit, and many other "champ" or "varsity" tournaments, delivery rate is extremely rapid, resulting in an atmosphere that emphasizes strategy and good argumentation over delivery and persuasion.
My parents used to get upset over the time I spent on policy debate - cutting cards, travelling to tournaments, and such.
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4.
The most legit debate. Not only is it extremly difficult to master, it is extremly expensive with tubs, expandos, copier paper, and a constant supply of
"You can't Policy Debate even if all you had to do was read the cards!"
5.
The best freakin kind of debate! You get a partner to back up your butt when you screw up. Much better than the aforementioned
POLICY DEBATE WILL RULE THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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6.
A widespread type of debate in high school; one of three debate styles used by the NFL. Two teams of two students debate a resolution which is announced in the summer, and lasts for a year. Any educational value of the debate is immediately lost when when impossible impact scenarios become the basis of one teams case. While some teams make the effort to make the debate educational and realistic, the vast majority of debates spiral into a battle to prove which plan is most likely to result in nuclear holocaust. Also known as:
Debate Coach: "I just judged a policy debate."
Debater: "Yeah? What happened?"
Debate Coach: "Well, in the 1st Neg constructive they claimed that the aff's plan would result in Nuclear Holocaust and diseases brought by Aliens. I lost focus and began doodling on the ballot. I hate judging policy debate."
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7.
Absolute waste of life. Manfiestation of all that is the ivory-tower intellectual. It may be named policy debate, but the argumentation contributes nothing to any policy in the real world.
Policy debate sucks.
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