Richard B. Russell Debate Scholarships The University of Georgia   The Richard B.

The University of Georgia is pleased to host the Fifteenth Annual Bulldog Debates this spring. The tournament is March 2-4, 2012 and will include open and novice policy debate, with a TOC bid awarded to open teams reaching the semi-finals. Come join us in Athens this weekend!

Defining  the term "Democracy Assistance" is difficult as there are a number of conflicting definitions available. Richard Lappin was kind enough to provide some illumination on his definition of the term in an email exchange...

Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially increase its democracy assistance for one or more of the following: Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen. .

Technical problems required us to temporarily remove the comments link from the web page.   We plan to reinstitute the comment link and post blogs again in the fall term.

The college topic for next year is out. In case you haven’t heard, its democracy assistance to the Middle East and North Africa. The topic paper is here.

The Georgia Debate Union will again be holding a "pre-season retreat" on the UGA campus.

When: Monday, August 8 – Friday, August 14.  This is the week before classes begin (first day is Monday, August 15).

Where: First two days will again be in Georgia Center, then we will move to meeting in the squad room in Phi Kappa Hall.

What: Team orientation, topic introduction, argument lectures, practice speeches, and research. Every thing we need to do to win next year.

Anyone--regardless of previous experience--is welcomed to attend. If you would like more information, please email Casey.

Attached is the last year's (10-11) packet, to give you an idea of topics covered.

Interested in joining the Georgia Debate Union for 2011-2012? Now’s the time to make contact!

Over the next few months, we’ll be planning the pre-season activities for next fall. To get in the loop, contact us now.

As always, the GDU is open to debaters of all levels of previous experience and has immediate opportunities for competition and travel.

The University of Georgia, represented by the two-person team of Mike Lacy ('12, Alpharetta) and Austin Layton ('13, Alpharetta), finished the season strong at the National Debate Tournament in Dallas, TX. They compiled a preliminary record of 6-2, including wins over Dartmouth, University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Southern California and qualified for the elimination rounds as the 10th overall seed out of a field of the 78 best debate teams in the country.

In addition to their immediate success, UGA LL was also honored to recieve the 13th overall First Round At-Large Bid to the NDT, recognizing them as one of the top teams in the country over the course of the season.

Please congratulate Mike and Austin on a job well done!

The Georgia Debate Union and the UGA Department of Communication Studies will be hosting a session called Public Speaking and Leadership Training for the 21st Century at the UGA-Duke Tip Scholar Weekend on April 16-17. About eighteen students in the Duke TIP high school program will learn about self-presentation, advocacy, communication, and leadership in our program.