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High School Conference Begins SeasonHigh school debate competition in the JUDL began with its traditional opener, the Jose Espada Memorial Tournament, on September 22. The tournament is a special event for our league commerating the contributions of Jose Espada, a Newark Vocational debater who lost his life to heart transplant complications. Jose set the standard for service to the debate league, sharing debate research with ALL league schools even from his hospital bed. Fourty-eight (48) debaters from all 8 league high schools competed in three rounds from 9am to 5pm. Weequahic re-entered tournament competition after a four year absence. In the junior varsity division top teams were:
The Newark Vocational presents a special tournament award recognizing the school with the best overall novice record. The award is intended to highlight the important Jose Espada always placed upon training new debaters. Science Park won the coveted Novice Sweepstakes Award for the second consecutive year. Regional and National Competition BeginsOn September 29th six debaters from Science Park and University traveled to Washington, DC to compete in an early season national tournament. Facing 60 top level varsity teams from more than a dozen states, the Newark debaters compiled a record of 4-14 recording wins over Lexington HS (Massachusetts), Yorktown HS (Virginia) and Thomas Jefferson HS (Virgina). During the same weekend four debaters from Technology HS competed in a strong regional tournament at Yale University. The team of Norris and Scott finished 9th, missing quarterfinals qualification by 1.5 speaker points out of 166. Their record placed them above teams from Monticello HS (New York), Bronx HS of Science, Edgemont HS (Scarsdale, New York) and Lexington HS (Massachusetts). A week later on October 5 eighteen (18) Newark debaters took a 2 hour bus ride to Monticello HS in the Catskill Mountains. Debate competition lasted until 10pm Friday night and resumed at 8am on Saturday. In the junior varsity division the team for Guzman and Scindian from West Side finished in 8th place ahead of teams from Stuyesant HS (NYC), Lakeland HS (NY), Newburg Free Academy (NY), Edgemont HS (NY) and Weston HS (Connecticut). Additionally Guzman was 4th place speaker out of 28 and Scindian was 10th place. In the varsity division both Science Park and University qualified for the quarterfinal rounds. Science Park (De Sa and Taylor) finished 7th lsong to Bronx Science in the quarterfinal round while University won its quarterfinal round against Newburg Free Academy and finished 4th, losing in semifinals to Bronx Science. Andrea DaSa of Science Park finished 2nd speaker out of 32 and Jamil Ahmed finished 4th. Middle Grades Coaches Select Fall/Winter ResolutionVoting was conducted among the 26 coaches of JUDL's middle grades conference to select a fall/winter resolution that is a subset of the2007-2008 national high school resolution. By a one vote margin the following topic was selected: Resolved that the United States should significantly increase its direct public health assistance to refugees in Sub-Sahara Africa. While public health conditions in the refugee camps are undeniably horrible, the middle grades conference will debate whether increasing direct assistance to the camps is an effective solution. Indeed negative teams will advance the argument that increasing aid to the camps will further destabilize an already volatile situation in countries hosting refugee camps. Middle grades coaches attended after school topic preparation during the past two weeks and the first middle grades tournament will be November 3rd at University High School. Bridge to College TournamentOn October 20th JUDL will host its 4th Annual Bridge to College tournament designed to provide East Coast urban debaters with a venue for top fight competition as well as an opportunity to showcase their talents before a dozen college recruiters. The tournament will be held on the Rutgers University Newark campus from 8:30am to 5:00pm. Vistors and observers should come to Robeson Campus Center for guidance, We are expecting nearly 10 teams in three divisions from Boston, Providence, New York City, Newark and Baltimore. Most recruiting colleges will be represented by debate alum in our continuing effort to construct a network of JUDL alum that will assist senior debaters in there quest to attend the college of their choice. Excerpts from the 2006 - 2007 JUDL Annual ReportEducational ImpactThe true worth of the Jersey Urban Debate League lies not in statistics reflecting steady growth in debate training and tournament participation nor in the steadfast and stable dedication of the league's staff and consultant. True worth is revealed in JUDL's impact on the academic performance and life accomplishments of those students who have been able to benefit from the unique experiences presented in the world of debate. JUDL began a collaboration with Newark Public Schools Office of Testing and Evaluation in May 2007 to formally assess the impact of the debate program on state testing performance at the eighth and eleventh grades. The test scores of nearly three hundred debaters will be compared to those of a similar cohort of Newark students who have not debated. While the results of this study will not be available until December, we do have significant anecdotal evidence. Ms. Linda McCloud debate coach and literacy coordinator from Maple Avenue School in Newark reported this June . Last week we received the GEPA scores. Maple had only three eighth graders score Advanced Proficiency in Language Arts. You guessed it: the debaters! I met with them the other day to discuss their scores. They completely credit being on the debate team for their success. I asked them: which came first?? Were you scholars who joined the team/ or did the team make you scholars? All three quickly replied they owed it to being on the team. They were pretty specific. "Debate taught us to read more quickly so we were able to complete the literacy passages." "Debating taught us to consider 'deeper' issues when writing the persuasive essay." "We had to read more carefully than we had ever read before." Additionally, 100% of JUDL's junior and senior debaters passed the state's High School Proficiency Test, many with advanced proficiency scores. This compares to a district pass rate of 64% and a state rate of 83% November 27, 2006 - Nearly fifty teams gathered on November 18th at University High School for the "unofficial" opening of the middle grades division's season; "unofficial" because we were not able to supply bus transportation and a number of schools had to drop out of the tournament. Nonetheless by public bus, walking, parents driving or coach driving 100 middle grades students competed and nearly 40 high school students judged on November 18. Often adversity provides the opportunity for people to showcase their best. The entire JUDL staff was "blown away" by the determination and dedication demonstrated by coaches, debaters and parents. Your example inspires us !!! After three rounds of competition and a great lunch (thank you Chartwell !!) the league gathered for a high spirited awards assembly. Bronx Law was the big winner. The full listing of teams with winning records and the top 16 speakers can be viewed by clicking here. But that wasn't all !!! Concurrent with the middle grades tournament JUDL ran a novice high school division. The third round of high school competition featured a debate between the two teams with the best records. On the affirmative was Kylah Braighton of Science HS and on the negative was Tahjanea and Tahjanae McMillian of University HS. Held in University High School's library, this top debate was witnessed by an audience of 40. The judge panel was composed of three experienced JUDL debate alumni and 5 middle grades debaters. For 1 1/2 hours, the two teams locked in high level academic argumentation over the affirmative proposal to increase participation in medical peace corps to combat AIDS in Africa. In the end Science won, but the entire league is indebted to all three young women who provided a model of academic debate at its best. Hey…What's Bronx Law's Secret ?!No secret at all folks. Just fundamentals. The tournament judges concurred that Bronx Law debaters did a great job of line-by-line direct clash. Remember there is a difference between speech-making and debating.Don't forget we are a part of a large speech and debate community in Newark ! Many were astounded by the size of the turnout at University on November 18. But that was only part of the whole picture. On that same weekend there were high school debaters from Newark competing in Glenview, Illinois at a national tournament, high school speech and debate competitors at a state competition in Randolph, NJ and three bus loads of high school speech competitors at the Villiger Tournament in Philadelphia. All total approximately 325 Newark students and teachers participated in speech and debate events during the weekend of November 18. Just in case you missed us…. Here's a bit of what the JUDL has been doing in the past several weeks. NOTE: A summary of all tournament results will be available on the website shortly. Try not to miss us again…., Here's where we will be in the next few weeks: December 2
October 8, 2006 - The 2006-2007 season is off to a roaring start. Building the strength of the league at the school level is our top priority and several of our newer coaches are clearly leading the away in recruitment. Guided by our determination to remove barriers to new program development and widespread recruitment, JUDL will be adding several new and specially targeted tournaments. Our Middle Grades Conference began its season with a full day workshop for coaches and debaters on September 26. Fifty debaters and coaches participated in a lively and productive discussion led by University coach, Havier Nazario and the JUDL Director. University HS debaters Jamil Ahmed and Judith Ezeke provided an instructive demonstration debate while Science HS Kevin Cenac modeled flow sheeting. A makeup workshop for those unable to attend was held on October 5. Eighteen coaches and debaters participated. MAJOR REVISION TO MGC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE !!!!!! Coaches attending the September 26 workshop voted to change the opening middle grades tournament form November 4 to November 18. The site will remain University HS and this will be JUDL's Bridge to High School tournament featuring recruitment efforts by Newark's high school debate teams. September 21, 2006 - The staff of the Jersey Urban Debate League extends a most hearty welcome back to coaches and debaters. Welcome back from an incredibly productive summer and welcome to the opening of our sixth year. We are better prepared than ever. Our enrollment in summer debate institutes reached a record 72 ! Debaters from Newark, East Orange and Orange studied at Dartmouth College, Emory University, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, University of North Texas and the University of Vermont as well as at Sacred Heart HS in Massachusetts, CITI 2006 in New York City and JUDL's own 3 day August wrap-up at Technology HS. Watch the website for reflections on the 2006 summer experience. Summer "vacation" ended on September 5th and by now everyone should know the JUDL in OPEN FOR BUSINESS !!! Competition has begun. During the weekend of September 16 we sent Lincoln Douglas debaters to Yale University and policy debaters to WakeForest University in North Carolina. Our first high school JUDL tournament is September 23rd at Newark Vocational High School. This is a very special tournament for us - the Jose Espada Memorial Tournament. Jose was our most gentle colleague - a debater, a joyful teacher and a loyal friend. As a league we will pause each year at our opening tournament to remind ourselves that we best honor Jose through our service to others and to make sure that every new debater knows of Jose Espada - a JUDL hero. Our first middle grades tournament is November 4th and the middle grades conference will meet for a full day workshop on September 27. The day will be packed with topic analysis (universal military draft), flowing practice and a demonstration debate. Certainly we are excited to roll out the welcome mat to new middle grades conference members - Robert Treat Academy and Science High School So JUDL is open for business but business is only good if we recruit at the school level. Last year our member increased 17% to 385 (six years ago membership was 47). The "State of the League" address at our May banquet set the goal of making 10 the minimum size of all JUDL school programs. This requires aggressive and conscious recruitment. Science, University, East Side and West Side have all reported successful recruitment meetings. Remember recruitment is not some one's assignment. It is EVERYONE'S JOB. Let's see if we can reach 450 this year !!! April 4, 2006 - Policy debate teams from the Jersey Urban Debate League turned in powerful performances during the second half of the 2005-2006 season. Kicking off 2006 at the Hunter College tournament in New York City, the Technology novice team of Brian Riberio and Rajeem Scott placed first out of teams from New Jersey and New York City. In early February, the Jersey Urban Debate League hosted the largest ever Newark Invitational Debate tournament. One hundred and ninety eight (198) policy debaters and eighty-eight (88) Lincoln Douglas debaters from Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Washington DC competed on Friday and Saturday in the varsity division. They were joined by an additional 270 competitors in the junior varsity and novice divisions on Saturday. Edgemont HS of Scarsdale, NY captured first place in varsity policy debate and Berkley Carroll High School emerged at the top of the Lincoln Douglas division. During the second weekend of February, the team of Stephanie Oliveira and Chris Pinho from Science HS made a significant break through at the Harvard National Debate tournament, one of the most difficult of all tournaments on the national debate circuit. Chris and Stephanie faced several of the nation's most competitive teams and fared exceptionally well. Going into the eighth and final preliminary round, they faced a team from the Greenhill School in Dallas, TX, one of the top debate schools in the country. After the debate, the judge deliberated for over 15 minutes and rewarded a narrow victory to Greenhill, leaving the Oliveira/Pinho team with a final record of 5 wins and 3 losses. While this decision prevented them from advancing to elimination rounds, the experience has given Science debaters the confidence to take on and defeat some of the best teams in the country. Additionally, their success has again solidified the reputation of Newark Science as a nationally competitive school. Beyond the win/loss record, however, the Harvard tournament marked Stephanie and Chris's rise from level of strong tactical debaters to proficient strategic debaters. On March 11 teams from the JUDL dominated the New Jersey Forensic League state final tournament in policy debate. State championship of varsity policy debate was captured by Science High School, junior varsity state championship went to Technology High School and University High School emerged as novice state champions. For overall performance in all divisions of debate, Technology High School won the second place in the statewide sweepstakes. Finally on March 18 and 19, the National Forensic League held its New Jersey qualifying tournament for national finals. After two days of intense competition, two teams from Science High School are selected by the judges to represent New Jersey in policy debate - Stephanie Oliveira / Chris Pinho and Kevin Cenac / Walter Diaz. March 29, 2006 - 2006 NJ Forensic League Policy Debate Finals Results Varsity 1st place - Chris Pinho and Stephanie Oliveira (Science HS)
Junior Varsity 1st place - Tiffany Mariano and Stephanie Mariano (Technology HS)
Novice 1st place - Joshua Gonzales and Youseff Camara (University HS)
State final debate sweepstakes awards are given to schools on the basis of their teams overall combined performance in Public Forum Debate, Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate, Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate, Novice Policy Debate, Junior Varsity Policy Debate and Varsity Policy Debate Out of more than 25 schools from around the state……. The 2nd place Debate Sweepstakes winner was Technology HS The 5th place Debate Sweepstakes winner was Science HS Also Brent Farrand was presented with the 2006 Coach of the Year Award by the New Jersey Forensic League March 14, 2006 - The JUDL would like to belatedly congratulate the five members of the Gold Key Society class of 2006: Jonathan Alston (Newark Science High School), Sharon Semmens (Emory University), Doug Springer (New Trier High School), Tara Tate (Glenbrook South High School), and J. Scott Wunn (National Forensic League).  February 16, 2006 - The Jersey Urban Debate League is joining up with
The Urban Film Series to connect communities with history and progressive cinema. Proceeds
to this event will benefit the JUDL! The JUDL will also demonstrate a debate on the
topic of racial profiling. See their schedule for more details (scroll halfway down).
The film festival will be on Saturday February 25, so come out and support progressive cinema
and the Jersey Urban Debate League. [Press Release]
January 30, 2006 - The 2006 Newark Debates is finally here! Registration for this tournament has been tremendous, and we expect quite a competition. If constructions go as planned, this will be our final Newark Invitational in East Side High School. Science High School and the JUDL would like to thank the great forensics staff at East Side led by Mimi Rosenbaum for their years of commitment to the tournament and hopsitality.
Newark 2007 will be held at our new site: the brand new Newark Science Park High School. January 23, 2006 - Part 3 of State of the League series focuses on debate training outside the regular debate meetings. Middle school debaters and coaches received a full day workshop on October 25 focused on developing arguments and counter arguments for the fall resolution - that the United States should ban racial profiling in law enforcement by passing the End Racial Profiling Act. Although the workshop was held on a staff development day when students were "out of school", more than 100 middle grade students participated from 9am through 2:30pm.
JUDL's weekly Debate Resource Center has been redesigned to focus on providing an arena for regular practice rounds and three special scrimmage sessions have been conducted. The scrimmages and resource center practice rounds permit our debaters to witness the decision-making process used by highly qualified judges as they evaluate debate rounds. JUDL has instituted its own news clipping service. Several times per week news articles pertinent to the current topic are posted on our own Yahoo Group site (registration required) and then emailed to all JUDL debaters. The clipping service has dramatically improved our debaters dedication to updating their evidence files. Finally the league has established a tradition of a "JUDL war room" at regional tournaments. After each round of competition, all JUDL teams gather in a designated room equipped with computers and printers. In rapid fire succession, teams report on the new arguments they faced, responses are cooperatively formulated and briefing sessions conducted - all before the next round begins. January 17, 2006 - Part 2 of our short series concentrates on JUDL tournament evolution. Two of the fall tournaments were particularly noteworthy. On November 16, the JUDL hosted our 2nd Annual Bridge to College tournament. Over 150 teams from four cities (Providence, New York City, Newark and Washington, DC) gathered at Montclair University for 3 rounds of intense competition meshed with recruitment sessions that involved representatives from 21 colleges and universities. The event was co-sponsored with Montclair's Latin American Student Organization (LASO).
On December 3, JUDL inaugurated its first combined high school and middle grades tournament. Hosted by University High School and conceived as an event to unite the entire league, the tournament provided middle grades debaters an opportunity to observe and judge high school debaters and allowed high school and middle grades coaches a chance to network. Additionally each high school team set up a recruitment table during the lunch hour, eagerly discussing with middle grades debaters the prospects and promise of high school debate. In all, the tournament brought together 280 middle grades and high school debaters, 30 debate alumni and 43 debate coaches. January 12, 2006 - Let's take a quick look at how the JUDL is growing in this first part of a short series. Participation in middle grades tournament has continued to grow robustly. In 2004 an average of 160 students attended each of the two fall tournaments. This year each of the two fall tournaments for the middle grades conference were attended by more than 200 debaters. Although school membership remains steady at 28, every school has reported strong recruitment of new debaters. Tournaments have been expanded to include three divisions - beginner, experienced and advanced.
Participation in high school tournaments has shown modest but steady growth. More than 80 high school debaters have competed in 4 JUDL tournaments and 8 regional tournaments The programs at Science, Technology, Newark Vocational, and Orange form the solid backbone of the high school conference. Central and West Side are rapidly solidifying. Weequahic has recruited a new coach who has made remarkable advances since September. University has re-established its high school team largely through middle grades debaters becoming high school freshman. They are a dominant force in the novice division. Indeed, the most exciting development in the high school league is the 26 freshmen debaters who graduated from the middle grades league and are now competing for 4 of the high schools. January 10, 2006 - Some unofficial results has leaked from the first two tournaments of 2006. Full results are on their way. Ridge HS: JUDL speakers took 4 of the top 10 speakers awards. Hunter College: Technology, University and West Side brought home a slew of trophies. The big news is the 3-0 top team in the Novice division by Technology HS! January 4, 2006 - The Middle Grades Conference is choosing their Spring resolution. Tell us what you think. Vote on your favorite resolution.  |
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