Women’s Debate Institute
Spring 2012
Volume 1, Issue 2
Our Community
Quarterly
Announcing 2012 Camp Keynotes
The WDI Welcomes Jillian Marty
Inside this issue:
Summer 2012 News
1
WDI in the Press
2
Financial News
2
Student Profile
2
Alumni Update
2
Staff Reflections
3
Apply Now for
Summer 2012
4
Congrats to Katie
Bergus, a WDI alum
and new staff member, was in the 5th
outround at National Parliamentary
Tournament of Excellence. She and
her female partner
will finish in the top
10 teams in the nation.
The WDI board is thrilled to
announce Towson’s Director
of Debate Jillian Marty will be
giving the first Keynote address in the summer 2012.
Marty specializes in argumentation and debate. After debating
for the New York UDL in
highschool, Jillian went on to
study at the University of Vermont (BA), the University of
Alabama (MA) and the University of Massachusetts (ABD).
autoethnography and political
economy of communication.
She is also interested in the
misuse of representations of
race and culture, the rhetoric
of hip hop, and the intersections of race, gender, culture
and class. She is currently writing her dissertation on how
urban students use nontraditional academic debate for
social, economic and political
empowerment.
Her research includes contemporary approaches to rhetoric
and the performance/
National Champion Carly Wunderlich
WDI is also very pleased to
announce the addition of a
second keynote to provide
camp participants with even
more insight and guidance
from experienced women leaders. 2012’s second key note
will be delivered by our Director of Curriculum, Carly
Wunderlich.
Carly Wunderlich is currently a
Debate Coach at Michigan
State University where she is
the Program and Events Coordinator. As a student in 2010,
she won the National Debate
Tournament at MSU. During
the 2010-2011 academic year
she worked at Gonzaga University and coached one of the
http://womensdebateinstitute.org/
top ten college teams in the
country. Carly also assisted The
Greenhill School to the octofinals of the 2011 Tournament
of Champions and has been
helping Niles North High
School’s novice program this
year. She has previously
worked at debate camps at
MSU (Spartan Debate Institute), Georgia and Wake Forest. This will be her fifth summer working at the Women’s
Debate Institute and currently
serves as the Director of Curriculum.
Page 2
Our Community Quarterly
Volume 1, Issue 2
Support from the A. Craig Baird Debate Forum at Iowa
The University of Iowa has
once again kicked off our University Scholars Program with
a generous donation of three
full tuition scholarships for
students to attend the 2012
WDI. Many thanks to Dr.
David Hingstman, Director of
Debate at Iowa, and the Iowa
team for supporting our mission and our work. The University of Iowa has a tradition
of exceptional debate teams
and counts National Championships, Top Speakers, and
Copeland Award winners in its
ranks. Thank you, UI!
Meet the University scholars
on our webpage at http://
womensdebateinstitute.org/2011-wdi-scholars
These donations go directly to
the meal and lodging costs of
students only – not to over-
head, not to staff, not to fundraising. The WDI is a 501(c)3
non-profit, and we are proud
that 75% of our annual revenue comes from donations by
individuals, universities, and
foundations.
For information about the
University Scholars Program
contact Sarah Glaser at
sarahmglaser@gmail.com
WDI is featured on
Ms. Magazine blog
http://msmagazine.com/
blog/blog/2012/03/17/
future-of-feminism-girding
-girls-to-win-debates/
Student Larbi Reports from the World Debate Team in Cape Town
My trip to Cape Town took me on an adventure. Not only was I thrust into a
strange and unfamiliar debate format, I
was deposited in a sub-Saharan African
country with a different definition of air
conditioning. WSDC became a journey of
discovery of new places as well as a new
way to debate. At no other time in my life
will I be able to say that I befriended the
country of Lithuania, or the Netherlands.
Or shared a chocolate bar with Peru. The
entire experience was incredibly unique. In
the debates, I found myself excited for all
the speeches. I stopped viewing my opponents as a team I needed to beat at all costs
and more as the other side of the issue
waiting to debate me. Because of that, my
speeches became less combative and more
explanatory. It put a different spin on debate than what I’m familiar with. It was
definitely a challenge to adapt, but I like to
think that I turned into a better communicator because of it. My teammates deserve
a whole paragraph for themselves.
All of them were great. I had not met any
of them in person until that first night –
and by night I mean one o’clock in the
morning – so my first impression to them
was an over-hyped, sleep-crashing, girl
who absolutely had to hang up her dresses
because they were chiffon and would wrinkle if she didn’t. Needless to say, it was all
downhill from there. Michelle and I could
relate on the technical level, since she competes in LD nationally. This definitely
helped me translate events in the round to
a language I could understand. Lauren
became a guidebook on how the debates
worked and what to do when, since she
was so experienced in the format. Elle
became my partner in crime. We ended up
rooming together and I felt the closest
with her out of anyone. They were all really patient and encouraging with me, especially in-round. That definitely made the
experience more positive and successful
when it easily could’ve been the opposite.
Kate Shuster and John and Jake Meany
were probably the most fun coaches I’ve
ever had, in anything. Who else would
accidentally buy a large metal hippo, or
plan to start a Twitter account making fun
of Twitter accounts about debate? The
three of them taught me more in the
course of 10 days about debate than I’ve
learned over 10 weeks of debate camp. I
felt like every sentence that came out of
their mouths was something I needed to
make sure to write down to use in a round.
They are truly gifted coaches and teachers.
It’s no wonder they’re considered the best
in the country.
But, none of this could’ve been possible
without WDI. I can’t imagine a world in
which I didn’t miss two weeks of school to
go cavorting around Cape Town, but if
WDI hadn’t agreed to have the auditions
held at camp last summer, I would never
have known about this debate format at
all. It’s sad to think of all opportunities
debaters miss to grow and explore because
of the lack of information-sharing between
formats. WSDC was one of those opportunities, and I count myself lucky to have
been a part of it.
Exciting Changes for WDI Alumni Greta Stahl
Congratulations to WDI
alumni Greta Stahl on her engagement to University of California
director Jonah Feldman
Since leaving her position as
Director of Debate at Michigan State University this past
spring, Greta Stahl has relocated to Berkeley, CA. She
now works as a content developer at Duarte Design in
Mountain View, CA, where she
uses her argumentation skills to
help clients in many different
http://womensdebateinstitute.org/
industries craft their messages
into compelling stories. She
also maintains a tie to the debate community, working with
the University of California
team and traveling to the occasional tournament to visit her
debate family!
Our Community Quarterly
Volume 1, Issue 2
Page 3
Thoughts from Our Executive Director, Christi Siver
While I knew about the wonderful work that WDI
was doing, last year was my first opportunity to
participate in the camp. I was overwhelmed by the
determination of these girls to persevere in debate
despite the many obstacles they face. Although
some of the girls competed for well-known and
well-funded debate programs, others came from
“With a handbook and a novice
partner, I headed off to my first
rounds with little idea of what I
was getting into. Despite our
atrocious record, I was hooked.”
Throughout my debate career, I’ve had a range of experiences.
In high school I was part of a declining program with a volunteer coach and very little funding. Much of my competitive
experience was funded by my very generous parents. In college,
I was part of a well-established program where I was given
virtually unlimited opportunities to compete without the sacrifices I had made in high school. However, when I returned to
coaching at a student-run program, we struggled to finance
even basic expenses and relied heavily on the goodwill of the
debate community to support our program.
It is because of this range of experiences, and the determination shown by the girls who attend the WDI, that I feel a sense
of pride that I can still contribute in some way to the debate
community. While I may not be at tournaments every weekend
or staying up late cutting cards, I take great joy making my
small contribution to promote and support women in debate.
programs they started on their own or from new
Urban Debate Leagues. Some had a long history
of debate education, while others were still learning the terminology and format. Despite the differences between these girls’ background and experience, they have a common desire for community.
My debate career began in a less than glamorous
way; my theater teacher in high school thought I
was argumentative and signed me up for a local
tournament. With a handbook and a novice partner, I headed off to my first rounds with little idea
of what I was getting into. Despite our atrocious
record, I was hooked. There was something about
the dynamism of debate that inspired and intrigued me in a way that no other academic activity had.
Board members Christi Siver and Aleava Sayre
at WDI 2011
Caption describing picture
or graphic.
http://womensdebateinstitute.org/
Women’s Debate Institute
Women’s Debate Institute
3379 22nd Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
The Women’s Debate Institute is a non-profit organization that
unites a robust community dedicated to the education of young women. Each summer we host a free debate institute for high school girls
from around the country. Our four day camp increases the number
of girls involved in debate, creates an environment that fosters community, and encourages young women to attend college.
E-mail: womensdebateinstitute@gmail.com
http://womensdebateinstitute.org/
Sisterhood is Vocal—Speak Out !
Join us this Summer —August 4-8, 2012
Sign up fast while spots are still available!!!