The New Normal: Debate Society
By Nathan Robichaud
Photo by Miguel Henriques on Unsplash
Society activities at SMU were thrown out the window during the Winter 2020 semester. This was bitter news for many, including myself (a member of the debate society). Because of COVID-19, I had to miss excellent opportunities to socialize and participate in a group activity I’ve become passionate about as debate practices met the chopping block. Weekly in-person debate practices have given me the chance to meet and spend time with many people I’ve come to enjoy over the last couple years. However with the universities’ shift to virtual operations, the debate world eventually moved online and has become more accessible in an increasingly isolated world. Accessibility improved as the result of two factors. First, it no longer matters where people are; all you needed was a stable Wi-Fi connection to participate. Second, everyone was bored, unemployed, and stuck inside. This made debating online with friends a desirable option to those familiar with the activity. The immediate result of these factors and the shift to online practiceswas the birth of several online debate competitions and a surge of debaters eager to participate.
I was elected President of the Saint Mary’s Debate Society weeks before in-person classes were cancelled. As an executive, it is easy to worry that the upcoming academic year will make it impossible to achieve our goals. However, over the summer, the debate society has been able to accomplish more over the summer than is normally possible during a typical year. For example, this summer, we have had several teams digitally compete in various national online competitions hosted by other university societies across Canada. These online debate opportunities also lead to some fantastic partnerships with other Nova Scotia universities such as Dalhousie and SFX, whom we were able to form teams with. These partnerships included accomplished Saint Mary’s debaters Isaac Cain and Joey Karam, who won the Eastern Novices tournament in 2019. This year, Joey with his partner from Dalhousie, and Isaac with his partner from SFX both narrowly missed out on qualifying for the quarter finals of their respective competitions. Despite missing the next round, Isaac and Joey represented the Saint Mary’s debate society well, ranking highly, and proving they could compete with the likes of Mcgill, Queens, and other established debate societies. These achievements are particularly impressive as the Saint Mary’s debate society has only been active since 2017.
In ‘normal’ circumstances, sending teams to national competitions would utilize substantial society resources and the Educational Learning Fund (ELF) program available through SMUSA. Even then, participating members would often dip into their own pockets in order to pay for travel costs. However, due to the lack of travel, cost is no longer a barrier. I was lucky enough to find myself participating at an American international debate tournament with debaters from several countries this summer and I learned a little about what debate looks like in different parts of the world. The most notable difference was style and what debaters place emphasis on. For example in Canadian debate, debaters put a lot of effort into analyzing their points to really dive into the nuances of the debate. In the American tournament this analysis was important and many Canadian debaters ranked quite highly, but I noticed many American debaters spent more time analyzing the comparative. Analyzing the comparative is when debaters use their speech to examine arguments made on either side of the debate and compare them to infer which is most important and actually have merit within the context of the debate.
Not only has moving things online to places like Zoom and Discord affected competitions, these odd circumstances have also proved to be a catalyst for the development and distribution of new coaching resources. These new resources come in the form of weekly seminars that new and old debaters alike can take advantage of, and are a result of initiatives from CUSID, the governing body of Canadian university debate. Weekly seminars from prominent debaters in Canada (including from one former world champion) are being produced and shared for all members. Some of these seminars include tutorials for making arguments in specific debates, general guides to navigating debate rounds, and hot takes on how to make the most of your time in a speech. These are now available to all Canadian debate societies associated with CUSID.
Furthermore, practices have also become more accessible. Debaters who would normally be restricted to debating with their own club are able to attend a multitude of different practices hosted by external clubs in other places. For example, if one was inclined, they could attend several practices a week (or two in one day). Online debate sessions also allow for practices tailored to different experience and skill levels.
However, these benefits have not been without a tradeoff. The online environment offers less face to face interaction and can be less socially fulfilling. Some of the online platforms can be overwhelming to those unfamiliar with them or are otherwise technologically inept. Ultimately, there’s less opportunity to socialize before and after practice. Thus meeting online can be less satisfying than a traditional hangout would be. Naturally, members of the society who participate primarily for the social aspect might be less engaged (even though we started a Minecraft server to combat the shift). However, we all understand this is only temporary, and I will be really happy to see everyone in person when the time is right.
The drawback doesn't end there either. I’m worried for the upcoming academic year and it remains unclear what support societies can expect to receive from the student union and from SMU as an institution. I’m concerned the benefits of community, teamwork, and various paths to personal development that societies can offer will be deemed non-essential. As a result, student societies will be neglected in a way that damages the student experience. The social aspect of societies creates a sense of belonging for students. This is particularly true for students moving from other parts of Canada (or other parts of the world) who will be eager to discover a new social network. For this reason, I think it’s important that societies continue to operate in the best capacity they can so they can continue to engage students and enhance community and campus life at SMU.
This year our goal as a society is to continue to grow despite the challenges we are faced with and we will continue to host weekly discord practices for new and returning members until we are able to meet face to face again. If you would like to participate or simply listen in to one of our practices please email us at debatesmu@gmail.com and we can provide a discord link and provide our schedule!