Dear visitor,The great English playwright Oscar Wilde once remarked that he felt he must have been wrong in case people were in agreement with what he had said. Do not be worried to be wrong when you engage in debate – if you can be sure to find anything here, then it is somebody who vehemently opposes what you advocate.
If this is your first contact with university-style debate, you might frown at what on earth the excitement is all about. We most of times discuss what may seem to be dry-as-dust matter – be it borrowed from politics, ethics, or philosophy – and only rarely turn to the humorous (then again, if we do, things usually conclude in unprecedented hilarity!).
However, on a personal note, debating is one of the most exhilarating activities I can conceive of. Engaged in the "battle of the words" all stereotypes, prejudice and previously held opinions must be forgotten in favour or razor-sharp analysis of the issue at hand – from the viewpoint of one's (randomly assigned) side of the House. To further my case, I follow the good advice of my high school debating coach, and attempt to be "nasty in the nicest possible way" vis-à-vis my opponent. I voice excited agreement whenever my partner utters something that could at least somehow help our case in the debate (and admittedly, I tend to cheer extra-loud when it's so politically incorrect that it might as well not). And when the judges have announced their decision I am either jubilant like a true champion or immediately diagnose where the judges could potentially have perceived something differently so as to see us win, after all … qualified soccer-player-style comments included. As you can see, debating is a sport in general and a team sport in particular – and if you set out to compete, you set out to win. It's easy as that.
Beyond competition, debating is an exceptionally educational university extracurricular. You learn to transform your knowledge – or at least your creativity – into persuasive arguments. You learn to put these arguments into a convincing framework (insiders will refer to this as an "explicit three-fold structure"). And you learn to present this framework verbally as if it came straight from the bottom of your heart. In short, you learn to convince others – both of your viewpoint and of your personality.
Finally – and this is especially true of the Jacobs University Bremen Debating Society – there is a second dimension to this extraordinary activity: Being a debater enriches your social life.Throughout the many debates and projects we have conducted together, our Society has become a team of friends. Moreover, many of us have travelled all over the World to compete in tournaments and to get to know new places and people.
I welcome you to our website, and I hope that after browsing the pages, you feel encouraged to become involved with our Society – be it as a Member, as a participant of the Jacobs Open tournament, as a spectator at one of our events, or as a sponsor of our numerous activities!
Sincerely yours,
Henrik Maedler (President in retirement)