The American Parliamentary Debate Association (Apda)

Abstract

WHAT IS APDA? The American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA) is a national non-profit association of debate societies and departments at over fifty American colleges and universities. Membership is open to any community college, junior college, and four-year college or university in the United States. Most APDA member schools participate primarily in parliamentary debate. Some, however, participate in parliamentary debate as well as other forms of collegiate debate, as part of a larger program in speech and forensics. While APDA is primarily an undergraduate organization, faculty-led or coached programs are welcome. Annual membership dues are $100.00; however, fees are often waived for those programs which demonstrate financial need. WHAT DOES APDA *DO*? APDA schedules weekly debate tournaments throughout the year, serves as a clearinghouse for debate-related information, produces a monthly newsletter, and organizes the annual APDA Novice Tournament and the APDA National Debate Championship. In addition, APDA represents the United States on the World Council of Debate which convenes each January at the World Championship Tournament. WHAT IS PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE? Parliamentary debate is an extemporaneous form of debate loosely modeled after the debates which occur in the British Parliament. It is patterned after the style of platform debate first made famous at Oxford University. Although its style differs from nation to nation, parliamentary debate is the most common form of debate worldwide. Illustrative of this fact, the Word Championship Tournament is attended by participants from over thirty nations including England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Greece, Malaysia, the Philippines, New Zealand, and South Africa. In the United States, the format pits two two-person teams against each other in a contest of argument, wit and rhetoric. The Government (proposing) team prepares and presents a case for debate based on a topic or resolution announced ten minutes before the beginning of the round. Resolutions are chosen from a wide variety of political, philosophical, economic, cultural and humorous topics, and debaters often have a broad scope in which to define the specific case for debate which is drawn from the resolution. A different resolution is debated in every parliamentary debate round. Examples of some different types of resolutions follow: * This house believes that the blood of East Timor is on Australia's hands. * This house believes that the government should not legislate morality. * This house believes that American culture is an oxymoron. * This house believes that morality has no place in foreign affairs. PURPOSE APDA was created over fifteen years ago in order to foster Parliamentary Debate in the United States. It was conceived as an alternative to some of the more technical and researched based forms of debate which were already prevalent in the United States. Undergraduate run and undergraduate centered, we seek to promote a competitive and social environment that keeps debate exciting, worthwhile, and fun for students. …