Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

On Thursday, April 12, 2012, at the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues Annual Dinner, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gave an important speech identifying urban debate as a powerful tool in leveling the playing field for urban students. He noted that urban debate helps develop essential skills for college readiness, career success, and civic engagement. Duncan identified competitive debate as one of the great equalizers of educational opportunity in urban schools.”

Read his speech here!

The BAUDL crew on the Washington Mall.

Two teams just returned from Washington DC after becoming the first BAUDL teams to break to the Sweet 16 at UDL National Championships. Kim & Jack Mejia-Cuellar from Fremont High, and Jason Auro & William Hampton-Bruce of California College Preparatory Academy, represented the Bay Area against more than 75 debaters from 18 other cities.

There was non-stop action from the moment we left on a redeye flight Wednesday, April 11^th until we returned on Sunday. On Thursday, April 12^th we attended the NAUDL Annual Dinner, where BAUDL had the opportunity to meet and interact with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Jack Mejia-Cuellar asked US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan about his plans to increase high school graduation rates for urban students.

Touring the PBS NewsHour Studio.

Friday was a full day of sightseeing. BAUDL watched the Great Space Debate at the National Museum of Air and Space and visited the National Museum for Natural History. BAUDL had the opportunity to visit Ryan Saxe, a BAUDL Bear who currently works on the staff of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Ryan lead us on a tour of the US Capitol including Senator Reid’s office in the Capitol, followed by a visit to the PBS NewsHour to see the show being taped.

We are incredibly proud of both teams for making it to the elimination rounds of the NAUDL National Championship tournament. Many thanks to Dylan Groves, Ryan Saxe, Elizabeth Siarny, Erica Ramirez and the tournament staff of the NAUDL National Championship Tournament for making this trip an incredible experience for all!

The Great Debate

So often the voices of young people barely register in debates about education reform and the juvenile justice system.  On March 29, students from the Bay Area Urban Debate League showed that youth voice can be as well-researched and enthralling as anything adults have to offer.

In front of a raucous, full crowd in Oakland, BAUDL youth lit up the night with their passion and insight. Celebrity judges including City Councilmember Desley Brooks, Board of Education member Alice Spearman, and Reverend Kwasi Thornell of St. Augustine’s Church helped to make the night special.

Shah and William

Exhibition: Waiting for Superman? William Hampton-Bruce started off the night with a fiery speech advocating that all OUSD schools be gradually turned into charter schools, rooted in his own experience but drawing in academic research. Shah Turner countered with a stream of stormy statistics on the checkered history of charter schools, finishing with the point that many charter schools are even more segregated than urban public schools.

Zakiya and Elisa

Great Debate: Juvenile Justice. The Great Debate was intense - sparks flew
when Zakiya Moore kicked off the debate with a call to end youth incarceration entirely and replace it with community-based rehabilitation.  Elisa and Ciera on the negative countered with a plan to invest in educational programs that could help to prevent the problem of youth crime. In response to a question from the audience, Chris Marquez gave an inspired defense of debate as one such program - and his point was immediately stolen by Elisa on the negative!

A tremendously exciting night.  Hope you have the chance to see one soon!

Rashid judges a round at the 2011 Summer Institute

BAUDL Alum Rashid Campbell went 6-2 at CEDA Nationals this weekend, advancing to the Sweet 16 in the nation’s largest college tournament as a sophomore. This kind of a performance is nearly unprecedented, and we are bursting with appreciation for this young intellectual.

Rashid will be on staff at the BAUDL Summer Institute - and those who have been there know that he rocks the house.  We also just confirmed Andres Gannon and Sarah Weiner, one of the top college teams in the country this year - along with Liz Jones, former Top Speaker at CEDA Nationals.

The summer institute will be amazing - students in our partner districts and schools get in free, and can register online: http://baudl.org/register.htm

Here’s the word from Rashid’s old coach Chris Scheer:

Rashid Campbell of BAUDL fame totally blew it up at CEDA Nationals this weekend. CEDA is one of the two big year-end college debate championships (NDT is the other). Rashid and his partner are both sophomores at the event for the first time, representing the University of Oklahoma. On Saturday, they went 6-2 and broke to elims, which was crazy impressive — getting to the final 64 in the country. Today, they won twice more, meaning they were in the Sweet 16!!!

Unfortunately, the opponents they drew for tomorrow morning in the final 8 are the top senior pair for Oklahoma — so they are forced to give their teammates (who are favored to win the championship) a “walkover.” This is considered prestigious: They end their debating year with an honorary “W”.
Rashid also was ranked as the 33rd best speaker out of hundreds competing.

All-in-all, an amazing thing for a kid from way down on International who only started debating as a junior in high school.

Rashid will be at summer institute. We owe it to the kids in the Bay to recruit the hell out of it this year and get them to take advantage of the wisdom of Rashid, Jessica, Mya, Kyla, Robin and all the other amazing alumni of this young program because you really dont know all the crazy places debate can take them!

Over 70 BAUDL youth debated at the March Madness Tournament last Saturday.

Last Saturday, dozens of BAUDL youth participated in the March Madness Tournament at the June Jordan School for Equity in San Francisco. The tournament served as an opportunity for the BAUDL youth to practice their debate skills and hone their arguments in preparation for the State Qualifying Tournament, which will be on March 17 at Santa Rosa High School.

Our debaters learned a lot at the tournament and had a lot of fun! The debates were marked by intensity and the rounds were close, but all the winning teams went undefeated in their divisions.

The Varsity rounds were extremely competitive, but Greg Belvin and Zach Seidl of Skyline High School out-debated their competition and went undefeated, winning the Varsity Division. Also, Kim Mejia-Cuellar of Fremont High School won top speaker in the Varsity Division for her excellent debates.

The JV rounds also saw their share of intensity as well. Shah Turner and Neil Wessling of Skyline High School went undefeated and won the division; Shah Turner won top speaker for his stellar performance.

In the Novice rounds, Bobbie Mille and Michelle Thomas of Castlemont High School swept their competitors and, after going undefeated, won their division as well. However, Kenneth Chappell of the June Jordan School for Equity won top speaker.

Congratulations to all our winners and everyone who debated on Saturday! You all rocked it!

Thank you to everyone who came out and devoted their time to make this tournament possible — we appreciate you more than you know!

The BAUDL would like to give a special thanks to June Jordan School for Equity and City Arts and Technology for being so generous with providing us the space to debate. Without your generosity, none of this would have been possible.

The tournament was amazing! We can’t wait to see how our debaters do at the State Qualifying Tournament next weekend!

An experience like no other — sign-up for the Summer Debate Institute today!

We have gathered some of the top debaters in the nation to help you get a taste of what debate is all about. Our workshops are not like regular classes: they help you build important skills, but they do it through interactive high-energy activities that focus on the power of your voice.

Breakfast and lunch, as well as bus and BART passes to and from the institute will be provided.

The Summer Debate Institute is free to all young people who attend BAUDL schools and schools in Oakland and San Francisco Unified School Districts. However, other students are welcome with a small tuition.

There will be prizes given out every day, including iPods and gift cards.

To reserve your spot in the institute, click on the link and register today!

http://baudl.org/register.htm

On the night of March 29, the BAUDL will host an inspiring youth-led public debate on two important issues in the Oakland community: juvenile justice and the fate of charter schools.

The young leaders of the BAUDL have been hard at work all year honing their debating skills, researching the most crucial political and social issues facing their generation, and developing the power of their words to make positive changes in their communities.

We thank you for joining us in a celebration of the dedication of these young people, and in a discussion of solutions to the issues they bring to the table.

The evening promises to be exciting and informative  – these young people have a lot to tell us about urgent matters and they are more than ready to speak their minds. Prepare for an exciting night!

The Skyline debate team celebrates their sweepstakes award.

On Saturday, February 4, over 60 youth from all over the Bay gathered together on the campus of UC Berkeley to dialogue and debate topics from the role of police in society to the exploration and development of outer space.

Many thanks to our friends from the University of California-Berkeley Debate Team and UC-Berkeley Students who are dedicated volunteers of the BAUDL. Without them this tournament would not have been possible.

The Varsity Finals round was fiercely competitive. The team of Greg Belvin and Zach Seidl of Skyline High School won on a 4-1 decision against the partnership of Jazmin and Diego Garcia from Fremont-Media Academy. The final round was judged by judged by three UC-Berkeley Students, Physician and Attorney Dr. Marilyn Singleton, and the collective vote of the students.

Leonard Irving-Thomas of Skyline High School and Nick Ross of Fremont High School were champions in the Junior Varsity division, Nahndi Brown and Eden Dodds of Skyline High School won top honors in Novice Division. Greg Belvin, III of Skyline High School, was the top speaker in the Varsity Division, Greg has been the top speaker at 3 out of the 4 BAUDL tournaments this season. The Top JV Speaker was Patrick Hall of Emery High School, and in the Novice Division the Top Speaker was Nahndi Brown of Skyline High School.

For more photos please click here.

The next BAUDL tournament is on March 10th . Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Zach (left) and Greg (right) celebrate their victories with archrivals Diego and Jazmin Garcia from Fremont High.

Last Saturday was a landmark day for BAUDL, in part, because Greg and Zach from Skyline High School won the Golden Gate Speech Association tournament at Lowell, going undefeated against some of the best teams in the region.

Over the course of each grueling round, they advanced with a unique group of arguments including a plan to address the world’s poverty problems by launching solar power satellites into space.

Congratulations to Greg and Zach for their fantastic debating!