A curious Natassija Jordan (right) was among the dozen students attending the Gonzaga Debate Institute.

Fifteen Students Awarded Scholarships to Prestigious National Debate Camps!

Beginning in mid-July, 15 of the BAUDL’s most dedicated debaters traveled to attend the Cal National Debate Institute at the University of California, Berkeley and the Gonzaga Debate Institute (GDI) in Spokane, Washington – two of the most prestigious debate camps in the nation.  The excursions, made possible by scholarships funded generously by the Julia Burke Foundation, will be filled with lessons in debate theory, technique, and critical thinking, and have already generated serious excitement among the students.  Downtown High School coach Anne Marie Grace recounts the reaction one of her students:

“When he opened the envelope he sat for about 10 minutes (literally) with a big grin on his face and his hand on his chest…In the car on our way back he was asking questions about Washington weather and musing aloud about how he would need to get a back pack for his stuff. Then he burst out, “Oh no! I don’t have a passport!”

With all such logistical problems well-resolved, our students were on their way on July 11.

The BAUDL Summer Institute @ Westlake Middle School, August 9-13

Funded by the Julia Burke Foundation and free of charge to all Oakland and San Francisco Unified School District students, the BAUDL will host its Third Annual Summer Institute.  Boasting a staff of award-winning BAUDL alums, community advocates, lawyers, and decorated college debaters, the five days will focus on everything from debate basics to the 2010-2011 Resolution:  The United States federal government should substantially reduce its military and/or police presence in one or more of the following:  South Korea, Japan, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq, and Turkey.