Distributed May 1, 2002
For Immediate Release

News Service Contact: Kristin Cole



East Coast urban youths to compete in debate championship May 4

High school students from Providence, Newark, New York City, Baltimore and Atlanta will compete in the first East Coast urban debate championship for May 4, 2002.


PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Youths from five East Coast cities will compete in the first urban debate championship Saturday, May 4, 2002, at Brown University. The students will debate whether the United States should draft a policy limiting the use of weapons of mass destruction.

The Providence Urban Debate League will host the four-round debate tournament for high school students from Newark, New York City, Baltimore and Atlanta. Some 120 students are expected to compete.

Debate rounds will begin at 9 a.m. in classrooms at Sayles Hall, located on The College Green, and Barus and Holley Building, located on George Street between Hope and Brook. Tournament judges will primarily be students from Brown University and Rhode Island College.

Participants will debate both sides of this year’s national high school topic, which comes in the form of a resolution: “That the United States federal government should establish a foreign policy significantly limiting the use of weapons of mass destruction.” The teams will compete for speaking and argumentation points.

The debate leagues are funded by the Open Society Institute (OSI), founded by philanthropist George Soros. The grant to start the Providence Urban Debate League was made last year to Brown’s Swearer Center for Public Service and totals $130,000 a year for three years.

The event will begin with an opening ceremony and dinner for students May 3. Trophies will be given to top debaters at an awards brunch May 5, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Leung Gallery on The College Green.

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