Tennessee Speech and Debate Society: Who We Are and What We Do

With the first day of classes beginning on August 23rd at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, many students may be searching for a student organization in which they belong. In this piece, we will provide an in-depth analysis of the Tennessee Speech and Debate Society, to show you that we are a student organization where everyone belongs and grow as students and future professionals.
Who Are We?

The Tennessee Speech and Debate Society is the University of Tennessee’s only competitive speech and debate team. However, we do much more than simply debate. Our mission is to promote open discourse on campus through providing spaces in which discourse can take place. During the academic year, we host public forums, town hall meetings, and have our weekly team practice open to anyone who wants to attend.
What Do We Do?
Our team competes in the International Public Debate Association (IPDA) circuit, and this season will be our 5th season as a member. We compete in approximately 8 tournaments per year, typically throughout the Southeast, but also as far west as Baytown, Texas and as far north as Boise, Idaho. During our season, we typically compete in four tournaments per semester, culminating with the IPDA National Tournament and Convention in the Spring as our final debate tournament of the season. The tournaments in which the team competes are open to all members of UTK Debate, and we accommodate all members who wish to compete.

Our team is unique in the fact that we cover all tournament fees, hotel expenses, and most if not all miscellaneous costs. We are committed to providing an opportunity for debaters regardless of economic background. We also do not hold tryouts: anyone can be a member of our team regardless of educational background or debate experience. If you put in the time and effort, you will always be guaranteed a spot at a tournament.
As a team in the IPDA Circuit, we compete for both season-long and national tournament trophies. Members of UTK Debate who choose to travel with the team to our slate of tournaments are more likely to win a season-long award, as season-long awards are granted based upon the accumulation of wins at individual tournaments. Conversely, IPDA National Tournament awards are granted based upon one’s successes at the National Tournament. We have amassed several accolades since our inaugural season in the IPDA Circuit in the 2013–2014 season. Since our inaugural season, the team has won 34 individual awards at yearly IPDA National Tournaments, 20 IPDA season-long awards, 13 season-long championship trophies, 10 top-5 Team finishes in IPDA, and we have had 5 Individual National Champions. Basically, we are a high-achieving team for those looking to debate competitively.
What else do you do?
Firstly, in one tournament per season we do not travel at all. Each year, we host the Vol Classic on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Our tournament is open to anyone who would like to come watch, judge, or even try out competing without having to travel!

TSDS’s motto “Academics first, debate second” is not simply a statement, it is our credo. For many members of our team, becoming an attorney is their academic goal, and taking the Law School Admissions Test is a must. All members of UTK Debate gain access to the team’s copious amount of free LSAT prep material. This includes in-depth explanations, tips, and tricks of the ins-and-outs of the LSAT, over 70 practice tests, and collection of drills in each section.
Also, on October 17th, 2017, we will host an informative LSAT webinar with LSAT Engine, an innovative new LSAT prep company, to give our members, and anyone who wishes to attend, an idea of what the test will be comprised of so that they can prepare themselves for the exam.

Every other month, we hold a public forum at an on-campus location. At our public forums, we have members of our team speak on the topic, and open for questions from the audience. During the forum, members of the audience are encouraged to step to the podium and deliver their opinion on the topic. Typically, our public forums cover a hot political issue of the day; such as our two public forum topics from last year, which were “Protesting the National Anthem is wrong,” and “Gender is a social construct.” At each forum, we had two members step to the podium and attempt to affirm the premise of the resolution (give an argument explaining why they believe the resolution has the correct conclusion), and a member step to the podium to negate the resolution (give an argument explaining why they believe the resolution comes to the wrong conclusion). Afterwards, members of the audience took to the podium to express their thoughts on the matter. These public forums are open to anyone who would like to attend, and are held to provide free, open discourse through a substantive debate on both sides of a relevant issue.

Furthermore, we aim to complete at least one community service project each semester. In the 2016–2017 academic year, we participated in community service events at Smokey’s Pantry in Knoxville, TN, MLK Jr. Day of Service, and at Beardsley Farm.
Community outreach is an integral facet in the mission of UTK Debate, and we are grateful for the chance to assist our local community.
Finally, we offer at least one monthly fundraising event at which anyone can come and hang out with the team! During the 2016–2017 academic year, we hosted fundraising events at Jason’s Deli and co-hosted a gaming tournament with the University of Tennessee’s e-Sports Club. Fundraising events help our team afford the expenses which accompany a competitive debate season and provide the means necessary to most effectively promote civil discourse throughout the campus community.

How Can I Join?
It’s easy!
We require no debate experience and no mandatory commitment to the team for membership. Membership of UTK Debate is not contingent upon the amount of tournaments one attends, and our events are always open to potential new members.
We also encourage those who may not wish to debate themselves, but enjoy the activity of watching debate. In IPDA Debate, each team must provide judges to compete in each tournament. UTK Debate has several members of our team who judge for our team, and they are invaluable members. If you don’t enjoy debating yourself but want to watch, no problem!
The several places which you can reach us include visiting our once-weekly practice from 8pm-10pm EST in the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) building in either room 071 or 123, attending our public forums which are held twice per semester, visiting us at the plethora of fundraising events we hold at establishments on Cumberland Avenue and elsewhere, tagging along with the team on our community service ventures, and, of course, you can compete at tournaments with the team! The reach of UTK Debate extends far beyond the perimeters of our campus’s borders. As an organization, our team aims to give back to the campus and community who provide us with the opportunity to accomplish our goals of creating and promoting open discourse throughout our campus. With all of the potential ventures which you can join us on, whether you are super busy or simply looking for a student organization in which you can invest your time, we welcome you to join UTK Debate.

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Want to debate but don’t go to UTK? Email us at utkdebateteam@gmail.com and we will help you find a debate team in your area (high school and up only).
