FP Behind the Scenes: The Hijacking of High School Debate

Last week, we published James Fishback’s illuminating report on the hijacking of high school debate. Since then, everyone from Rep. Ro Khanna to former Harvard President Larry Summers has commented on the story. And we figured you might want to talk about it, too.

Fishback credits his high school debate team experience with teaching him to “challenge ideas, question assumptions, and think outside the box.” But in recent years, he says, the pillars of high school debate have started to crumble as judges have let a left-leaning ideology influence who wins and loses. At national tournaments, students who argue “capitalism can reduce poverty” or “Israel has a right to defend itself” will lose—no questions asked.

This Thursday at 5:00pm PST, Free Press managing editor Margi Conklin will host a conversation about the current state of debate with James; two current student debaters, Briana Whatley and Matthew Adelstein; and a longtime debate coach, Said Dibinga. We hope subscribers of The Free Press will join us for this thought-provoking discussion. Subscribe now for the link to attend this event.

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May 19, 2021

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