The Debate Association sends a heavy blow a-rolling...

President William Howard Taft, Class of 1878. Newspaper editor and journalist William F. Buckley, DC '50. Brian Halligan Fletcher, CC '01, the pride of Iowa. All-American luminaries, all famous Yalies, and, remarkably, every single one a member of the Yale Debate Association (YDA), the oldest and best of Yale's speaking organizations.

SARA EDWARD-CORBETT/YH

While the actual list of advantages to be gained from being in the YDA could go on for pages and pages, I'll just give you a few quick reasons why—no matter what Eliot from the Mock Trial Association tells you—the YDA is just better.

First off, cool travel. Last year, YDA seniors received a free trip to Sydney, Australia, to compete in the World Parliamentary Debate Championships. This year, it's in Scotland; the next year, South Africa. Even for underclassmen, the view is no less interesting. The national Mock Trial competition last year was in lovely Des Moines, Iowa.

Second, exciting meetings. During board elections one year, legend has it, the good Mr. Buckley once held a rival at knifepoint to convince him to withdraw from the race. (Buckley's rival apparently saw no reason to argue with that kind of logic). Okay, so things have calmed down a little since then. But only a little.

Finally, and most importantly, no silly role-playing. We members of the Yale Debate Association don't have to go through the intellectual masturbation of pretending to be lawyers or diplomats. We simply get to argue about whatever it is that we want to argue about, expressing our own viewpoints. Which, after all, is what debate and discussion are really about.

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