Initiative: Summer Institutes

When the school year is over for most students, it's only the start of the next debate year for our students. Each season begins in July, and every debater dedicates themselves to 2-3 weeks of intensive work. Summer debate institutes like those at Howard University or the University of Vermont, dubbed by the New York Times as "a boot camp for the mind", expose debaters to new cultures expanding their global perspectives.

For the JUDL, this experience is invaluable for reasons beyond debate competition. Summer institutes provide an environment for academic develop and for many students their first taste of college life. We have found that that alone has had a lasting impact on our debaters and positively influences their decision to pursue higher education.

Going away to institute
Emory, Northwestern, University of Miami (Ohio), Vermont, and Howard are some of our regular institute selections. We also send a contingent of debater to NY's CITI insitute.

The price to pay for summer institutes
Like any college student's parent will tell you, going to college is expensive. Despite that, how many parents will tell you they would have preferred their children not attend? The JUDL represents students whose families normally do not have the means to send their kids to a summer insitute.

Summer institutes fees are easily the most expensive item for our league. Despite the expense, summer institutes remain as one of the most valuable experience for our debaters.

JUDL summer institute
The JUDL has supplemented the regular summer institute schedule with our own. This week long institute is held at Rutgers University and concentrates on the topic and debate tactics.