About Us:
Smith College has been encouraging debate since 1900. It began as an on-campus activity where teams representing different classes held debates in John M. Green Hall arguing resolutions that concerned everything from segregation laws to international relations. These on-campus debates were successful enough to garner mentions in local newspapers, and soon, talk of intercollegiate debate began to spread. The Smith College Debate Society was officially started during the 1914-1915 academic year, with the intent “to encourage the open communication of ideas and interests outside the classroom; to develop the speaking abilities and the researching abilities of its members; and to create a full time Smith College Intercollegiate Debate Team as a branch of the Smith College Debate Society.” The entire student body was eligible to compete. The formation of Smith's Debating Union coincided with the first official talks of intercollegiate debate between Smith, Vassar, and Mount Holyoke. All of the planning finally paid off on the sixteenth of March 1918, when Smith held their first intercollegiate debate, facing off against Vassar in John M. Green Hall. The Debating Union successfully challenged other women’s colleges in the area for the next five years, including Radcliff, Mount Holyoke and Wellesley. In 1922 Smith's Debating Union began hosting debates with men's colleges as well. For decades, Smith engaged in debate with schools like Dartmouth, Williams, Bates, Hamilton, and Oxford, establishing itself as both one of the most active and one of the most successful women's colleges in intercollegiate debate. Smith held debates regularly with other colleges on topics such as universal free trade, coeducation at Smith and Yale, and U.S.-China relations.The Debating Union transformed into its current incarnation, the Smith College Debate Society in 1976. It continued to uphold its reputation for success in the Northeast, even placing third among the American schools at Canada’s international tournament. With the formation of the American Parliamentary Debate Association in the early eighties, intercollegiate debate became better organized and the Smith College Debate Society found a permanent home. Smith now regularly competes in tournaments all over the east coast, around the country, and across the world.
Other Sites to Visit:
American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA): The American Parliamentary Debate Association is an intercollegiate debate association featuring membership from dozens of colleges and universities across the United States.Parli Debate: Some recordings of past debates, useful for watching to get a sense of what debate is about, as well as honing your debate skills by watching how cases are run, what type of cases to expect, etc.