Aggie 1937 - Yearbook

DebateDebate meeting number one for the season washeld December 2, 1936. Present at this meetingwere all six of the members who composed theschool squad this year. During the entire seasonno additions or subtractions were made fromthe original squad. The question for debate thisyear was : “Resolved : That all electric utilitiesshould be governinentally owned and operated.”This question was debated by high schoolsthroughout the entire nation.The debate season really got under way onJanuary 7, when the Northwest School was hostto four high school debate teams in a debate tournament.High schools participating were thoseof Grand Forks, Thief River Falls, Warren, andthe A. C. On January 20, we went to ThiefRiver Falls to meet them in a battle of wits. TheBeltrami High School debate team came to theNorthwest School on February 15 for anothermental combat. The purpose of these practisedebates is to prepare the debaters for the finalconference debates. Three Minnesota agriculturalcolleges take part in the final contest; they arethe West Central School of Agriculture at Morris,the Central School of Agriculture at St. Paul,and our own Northwest School.The benefits one may derive from the studyof debate are numerous and varied. Debatersusually gain fluency of speech; they learn to“think on their feet.” Rebuttal demands anamount of extemporaneous speaking, and goodpublic speakers never practise memorization. Debatersmust present their arguments eloquentlyand candidly, and this usually contributes to one’sability in general discourse. Vocabulary enhancementinvariably results from the study ofdebate. Then, too, the topic itself is informative;the current series of government operation andcontrol questions teach much about the affairs ofthe government.As the Aggie goes to press the teams aremaking final preparations for the conference debates.If the decision is against us, we will havethe satisfaction of knowing that we have gainedan appreciable amount of knowledge and reasonfrom our studies.Henry BeckerDuane MoenPage 50