Baltimore Students Achieve "GREAT DEBATERS" Dream

April 01, 2008

For the first time in history, two African-American debaters have become National College Debate champions by winning the CEDA National Championship. Dayvon Love and Deven Cooper are graduates of Baltimore City schools, and alums of the Baltimore Urban Debate League (BUDL). Love and Cooper are currently on Towson University’s debate team. Their preparation for this victory was aided by their involvement with BUDL, led by Pam Spiliadis, Weinberg Fellow class of 2004.

BUDL was the training ground for these young men. They both participated in the program for 4 years in high school, learning to debate, improving their academic and social skills. Each of them received college scholarships for debate as a result of their work with the League in high school. Dayvon and Deven both attended struggling under resourced schools in Baltimore City and debate helped to level the academic playing firld for them and gave them the focus, drive and skills to make college and the current amazing success a reality. For both of them debate was the vehicle to a much brighter future.

In response to this victory, Pam says, "This is of course an amazing achievement for Deven and Dayvon and one they [so] deserve, but I can't help feeling that is also a momentous day for Baltimore, for young people from urban communities all across this nation who are too often the voices that are never heard. Not this time!"

Love and Cooper won round after round, beating top-seeded teams from schools like Missouri State University and University of Northern Iowa.
In the finals, Love and Cooper scored a decisive 7 - 4 win against a Kansas University team. One hundred and eighty three teams competed in the tournament, hosted by the Cross Examination Debate Association. Previous champions have included Harvard University and Northwestern University.

Love and Cooper's winning arguments pushed the limits of traditional debate. Rather than addressing this year's topic, the Towson team took the moral position that discussions of liberation should take precedence over detached policy discussions. "This is a historic victory that has important implications for institutions like debate. Towson's victories suggest that there are ways to challenge dominant structures and speak truth to power," said Chris Baron, one of Towson's debate coaches. "I am so proud of our entire team, whose bravery, brilliance and determination speaks volumes to what it takes to succeed at the highest levels of this incredibly competitive activity," he added.

BUDL was founded in 1999 as part of a national initiative driven by the Open Society Institute to bring debate back into the urban classroom. Its mission is to enrich the academic experience of students from Baltimore City's public schools through participation in team policy debate.

Learn more about this story: http://www.budl.org/news_article?id=427

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