Bates Debate Summer Camp is Low on Evidence, High on Critical Thinking

Aspiring young high school debaters are an interesting breed. It is not hard to imagine the result of combining a teenager's incorrigible moodiness and rebelliousness with training that focuses on effectively arguing even the most absurd positions and making one feel that they are always right (no wonder so many debaters become lawyers).

However, debaters entering their sophomore or junior years are at a crossroads that some parents simply don't understand. These debaters have taken some knocks at the lower levels of competition and now find themselves caught somewhere between the desire to win and the desire to learn, between cynicism and openness to intellectual life. The debate summer camp that the student chooses is instrumental in deciding which path the impressionable youth will take in his debate and academic career.

The Bates Summer Forensics Institute in Lewiston, MA is an excellent choice for a debate camp summer experience. Not only does the camp give the prospective debater the tools to win debate rounds at the highest level of competition, but also aids in the growth of the individual in teaching one to think for his or herself.

From the get-go at my experience at Bates, I could tell that the camp would be a transformative experience. Our topic that year was WMDs, so the camp brought in college professors and Ph.D candidates to give lectures on the enormity of nuclear warfare and the daily impact of land mines. Rather than tell us from the get go "These cases are going to win," the camp wanted us to form our own ideas about what was important enough to debate about.

Bates' philosophy stressed learning and depth over a mechanical knowledge of debate tricks. We watched movies like Dr. Strangelove to give us a sense of the popular imagination of nuclear warfare. We discussed what it really meant for something to be called a weapon of mass destruction, asking "does it kill a whole lot of people at once, or does it kill thousands over time like a gun or a landmine?"

This is a stark contrast to camps at Kentucky University, Dartmouth College or American University where high schoolers slave away at research site Lexis-Nexis to produce stacks of evidence. These camps then compile and use this evidence to sell for tremendous amounts of money (a single affirmative case could cost over $100 from Dartmouth). The camps cost a small fortune and unfortunately, from anecdotes of past attendees, I've heard the learning experience at the camp boils down to tons of practice rounds and underlining book passages.

Of course, this points to the main drawback of Bates. Because the camp is geared towards novice/intermediate level students, the quality of evidence a team comes home with is mediocre and small compared to prestigious camps. If you are looking to participate in the making of gigantic 300 page files on Malthus you have come to the wrong place.

However, the instructors at Bates made up for the lack of evidence by teaching debaters in the camp how to think on their feet and outside the proverbial box. The Bates summer camp experience prioritizes engaging students in critical thinking and cross examination skills over reading evidence really fast. Furthermore, since the evidence at Bates isn't used to turn a profit, everyone in the camp is given the opportunity to write briefs and cases rather than just the top students or college assistants like at competing camps.

The results of Bates speak for themselves. My debate team at Carrollton High School (composed of stalwarts Thomas Fitzgerald, Augusto Lopez, Andrew Whitman, and myself) chose to forgo the flashier camps in favor of Bates. Our reward? We were the last public high school to win the AAA-level Georgia state debate championship, defeating Westminster Academy.

Another past attendee, Brian Smith from Georgia's Pace Academy, parlayed his summer camp experience at Bates into first place at the prestigious Tournament of Champions in 2002.

The camp's accommodations were reasonable though not amazing. The rooms were poorly air conditioned, which would have been a bigger problem had the camp not been located in Maine. However, the included cafeteria food is delicious and boasts a menu any typical high schooler would drool over.

Lastly, Bates wasn't all debate and no play. Lewiston is a great town with an alternative atmosphere and tons of outlet shops for the clothes freaks out there. And there is no overstating the benefit of living in a place that sells $3 dollar lobsters all summer.

Unfortunately, the Bates Summer Camp does not have an official website, but if you are interested in more information (your welcome in advance, Bates) call 207-786-6077 for details.