Community Service & Campus Service
NYU debaters and coaches continue their commitment to community service with over 500 total hours of service to all ages and demographics. When our debaters leave the tournament arena and enter the community, they learn about themselves and the value of service. For community members, these activities provide opportunities for self-expression for people of all ages with many finiding their voice for the first time. NYUCEDA squad won the Cross Examination Debate Association National Public Debate Award for Service in both 2022 and 2023.
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Bridging the Gap: Intergenerational Debate
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NYU coaches & graduate students are entering the fourth year of their partnership with the Brooklyn Public Library on Bridging the Gap. Youth and older adults face some of the same challenges, including social stereotyping and political underrepresentation. Bridging the Gap provides a safe library space for generations to learn about one another while listening to one another. Bridging the Gap is a 10-week intergenerational debate program in which elders [ages 55+] and youth [ages 14-19] learn the art of debating and practice debate skills. Bridging the Gap teaches youth and older adults to develop and hone their research and public speaking skills.
The National Prison Debate League
The NPDL seeks to promote human potential and social diplomacy by creating safe educational spaces wherein a thoughtful exchange of ideas can increase knowledge, understanding, and community. NYU was proud to participate in its first event with the NPDL bringing a mix of junior varsity and new debaters to face a team from the Corrections system. The event was powerful and memorable and we look forward to future opportunities.
Campus Engagement
Research
Over the last three years, NYU team members participated in multiple NYU research initiatives.
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Foundations of Learning Science - Novice and junior varsity NYUCEDA debaters were selected to participate in research examining knowledge production and training strategies deployed in debate to draw conclusions about how learners learn. A trio of graduate students from NYU’s Foundations of Learning Science course, taught by Professor Alyson Wyse, conducted interviews, observed practice rounds and attended virtual and in-person tournaments using a constructivism lens.
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Center for Data Science — NYUCEDA partnered with the Center for Data Science on a postdoctoral research initiative. The CDS objective is to build machine learning models that debate each other as a way of helping people make better judgments on hard decisions. Students assisted with data collection, testing and brainstorming sessions to help determine factors in establishing controlled settings and evaluating the impact of AI.
Demonstration Debates
Demonstration debates appeal to instructros looking for novel ways to infuse excitement into the curriculum and those who wish to become change agents to make a difference. The team's debate-as-service model has led to on-campus debates with the NYU Breakthrough Scholars program, numerous classes .
The better we know each other's stories, the closer we are to respecting our differences.
​​​International Public Policy Forum
Breakfast
Ideas
2024 IPPF Finals Pictured: Final Round Judge Will Baker, Director of the NYU Global Debate Fund, the 2023-24 IPPF World Champions Westwood High School team from Austin., Texas coached by Dominic Henderson (back row) along with team members Eric Gong,, Ethan Andrew, Pranav Balakrishnan, Eric Zhu, Ayush Deo Tripathi, and .William A. Brewer, partner at Brewer Attorneys and founder of the International Public Policy Forum.
Our Partnership
Founded in 2001, the IPPF is the only contest that gives high school students globally the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy involving on average over 200 high schools in 15 countries and over 800 students each yr.
Thanks to the tremendous leadership of Brewer Attorneys LLC with extensive help from NYU CEDA the NYU team , the IPPF is available to any and all public and private high schools across the globe for FREE. NYU CEDA team members volunteer over 300 hours of community service each year serving as judges, essay graders, school ambassadors, and facilitators for the event.
During COVD, NYU stepped in as E-Host and Tab staff administering Zoom icebreakers globally, tabbing all the Elite 8 elimination rounds and streaming the IPPF final round.
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Amazing Advocates
To place in the top 20 teams in the nation consistently, our debaters read over 6,000 articles, books, and blogs about topics like healthcare disparities, law, foreign policy, economics, philosophy and military preparedness each year. To give that reading a real world context, we culminate each season by hosting an event called the Amazing Advocates Series where we bring in talented, smart thought leaders to discuss a related dimension of that season's debate resolution. One NYU CEDA team officer joins with Director Will Baker as the Principal Organizer for the event.
Amazing Advocates Fall 2020
Debatewatch Presidential Debate Series Co-Sponsored with the Commission on Presidential Debates and the AFA
Speakers: Donald Trump & Joe Biden
[NYUCEDA hosted a Debatewatch Zoom & Reactions Event]
Principal Organizer: Alejandro Scott
Amazing Advocates Spring 2020
Panel: Space Next Gen: Global, Galactic and Everyday Impacts on our Lives
Speakers: Dr. David Hogg, Dr. Farzad Mahootian
Principal Organizer: Alejandro Scott
Amazing Advocates 2019
Public Debate: NYU v. Univ. of Texas-Tyler
Inviting Controversial Speakers to Campus Principal Organizer: Josh Johnwell
Amazing Advocates 2018
Panel: On the Front Lines of Health Care: Perspectives You Should Know
​Speakers: ​Nicole Harrison, LMSW; Ruth Harmon, PMI & Dr. Peter Navario
Principal Organizer: Bryte Bu
Law and Human Trafficking
​Speaker: Martina Vandenberg, founder & president of The Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal Center
Principal Organizer: Angela Cammayo
