Philosophy
It is the philosophy of the UM Debate Team that excellence is achieved through intensity of work effort and commitment, and that competitive success follows naturally from the achievement of excellence. Debate should help develop and promote citizenship, advocacy, and activism. We value and promote diversity in team composition, argument style and selection, team activities, and all decision making.
Mission Statement
Debate is a co-curricular activity, provided for the educational benefits of its students. It is the mission of the debate program at UM to provide participating students a valuable educational activity with a primary emphasis on intercollegiate debate competition. Public debate experience and community service to middle school, high school and developing college programs are important secondary components of the mission of the UM debate team. Educational objectives include but are not limited to skill improvement in critical thinking, research, ethical argumentation, advocacy, analysis, persuasion, oral presentation, listening, organization, teamwork, group problem solving, citizenship, and leadership. Debaters should learn to demonstrate discipline, maturity, responsibility, and professionalism.