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Hooked on Debate DETROIT, MI (Michigan Radio) - In a non-descript and inexplicably hot classroom at Wayne State University, two pairs from different Detroit schools are set to debate. The question: whether or not the federal government should increase social services for people living in poverty.

Malond Few from the Life Skills Center of Metropolitan Detroit takes the podium to support the idea and starts talking really, really fast. "Each one million in Federal appropriations ensures care for an additional 8400 patients," Few begins, making the case for supporting community health centers.

As Few talks, his debate partner, Sarah Walker, jots down rapid-fire notes and rifles through a plastic file bin. Members from the opposing team, Plymouth Prep Academy, do the same. After Few's time is up, Plymouth Prep's Will Sanders takes the podium. Sanders says private philanthropists are better equipped to provide social services.

Few and Walker grill him. "You're assuming that these people are gonna donate to your cause?" Few asks.

"No, I'm not assuming," Sanders replies, "because as I read in my evidence, they do it as a tax write-off, so they'll be a part of our social services."

Walker pipes up: "How much do they contribute to the social services? Is it more than the government?"

These teams compete to represent Detroit in the National Urban Debate Leagues Championship in New York City next month. Few and Walker have only been debating since November, but both show a command of the issues and the policy debate format.

The teams don't know how the judges are scoring them. The winners won't be revealed until the last round is over, but Life Skills coach Raven Jones has peeked at a few of the ballots. "I'm not telling them how they're doing because I don't want them to lose morale if they find out that they're not doing well," Jones says. "And I don't want them to be egotistical if they find out they are."

The National Urban Debate Network is a non-profit with leagues in 27 U.S. cities. Despite being one of the first cities to participate, Detroit's chapter nearly vanished when institutional support dried up. But recent corporate sponsorship has helped the league bloom again.

Detroit League Executive Director Holly Reiss says it can be hard to convince kids to join debate, but once they get through their first tournament, they're addicted. "There's something about that feeling that just doesn't compare to anything else," Reiss says. "The fact that they didn't have to run a race or shoot a basketball they just used the gray matter between their ears."

League statistics show nearly all kids who participate in urban debate graduate high school, and more than three-quarters go to college. Proponents say it also has many less tangible benefits.

Jerrell Braden is a former urban debater and now a tournament judge. Braden says debate attracts smart but argumentative kids who quickly learn how to think critically and argue better. He says it also exposes urban kids to places, ideas, and experiences beyond their own.

"For 16 and 17 year olds who know nothing but themselves, all of a sudden opening their eyes to things that are much bigger than them is the greatest gift you can give any child," Braden says. "And just to have them think of someone else, even if it's for, like, five minutes."

At the awards ceremony, Holly Reiss asks the kids why they debate. Some say it's because they argue every day anyway. Others say debate helped them find their voice.

And then it's time for Reiss to announce the winners.

"Our two representatives our two teams for 2010 national tournament ," Reiss says, as the kids holler in anticipation, " are Northwestern and Life Skills."

After receiving their honors, the Life Skills team congratulates their competitors from Northwestern high school, the other Detroit team that will compete with them at the national tournament.

Malond Few appears to be somewhat in shock. Sarah Walker seems less surprised, but is also cautious. She knows she'll spend nearly all of the next six weeks preparing for the New York tournament. But Walker is looking forward to it.

"It's really, like, mind-stimulating," Walker says of debate. "You learn so much you can apply in everyday situations. You can apply it in every aspect of your life. It's not just good inside a debate room."

League officials hope they can hook even more kids like Walker on debate. The League has an initiative to expand beyond the seven schools it's currently in, to create a thriving--and sustainable--debate community in Detroit.


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