Recent Exercises

  • Great Extinctions

    When we think about the loss of biodiversity, it evokes the idea of loss of variety, the loss of a diversity of creatures that, in essence, share a…

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    4 min read

  • Sometimes, always

    Nothing is heard more frequently among young debaters than phrases like, “That argument will always beat that one,” or “That argument will never win against a team that…

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  • Real Writing and Fake Writing

    Currently I am engaged in the tenure process, a year long examination of your life to see if you are fit to hold a faculty job in perpetuity.…

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  • Opening Closing; Closing Opening

    After the announcement that at USU Nationals this year rounds 7 and 8 would be closed adjudication, I received several short, snarky messages via social media about the…

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  • What I Want from a Debate Competition

    It needs to start at a reasonable hour. Maybe at 3 or 4 on a Friday, run until about 8 at the latest. On Saturday, nothing before 10…

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  • Sorry Public Speaking. Composition is Owning You.

    Nobody wants to be accused of “teaching to the test” – a trope used quite a bit in the public education policy discussion where state exams often radically…

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