Students on the Michigan State University Debate Team are set to debut at their first tournament of the season next week.
The first tournament of the fall semester is the Owen L Coon Memorial Debates hosted by Northwestern University beginning September 14 in Evanston, Illinois.
“The debaters have been back on campus since before classes even started,” said Kevin McCaffrey, MSU Debate Assistant Coach. “We’ve been preparing for the topic by researching and practicing our arguments.”
The MSU Debate Team will debate the same topic all season. This year, the topic asks whether the United States should adopt a clean energy policy for decarbonization including a market-based incentive.
MSU Debate returns to competition this year after an outstanding 2023-2024 season where teams regularly reached the Sweet 16 at major national tournaments.
“We’re returning almost all the students who competed for us last year so it’s an exciting time for the team where we’ve retained a lot of our competitive experience,” said Will Repko, MSU Head Debate Coach.
Students on the team have come to MSU from all over the United States and even China to compete for the MSU Debate Team.
In addition to the season-opener at Northwestern University, the MSU Debate Team will also compete at tournaments hosted by Harvard University, Wayne State University, the University of Kentucky, and Wake Forest University in the fall semester.
The MSU Debate Team is part of the Honors College.