Participant comments

Plans for the 2008 WNDI:

We are going to make WNDI even better for 2008. Evaluations from 2007 were very positive but we will make a number of changes to address the feedback you provided us.

POLICY

• We are adding an advanced Policy lecture each morning.
• We are adding more time in Policy Aff Labs.
• We are giving more time for individual work, drills, and argument preparation.
• We are keeping the Scholars debates separate and letting students choose divisions for the Tournaments.

LD

· We are giving much more time to prepare for each LD topic.

· We are offering more advanced LD lectures.

· Students will have more time to improve and hone their cases and arguments.

· We are going to have “home” LD labs where you will work primarily with one staff member.

PUBLIC FORUM

· We are adding in more time for argument development.

· We are enhancing our “News hour” to improve discussion and understanding of current events.

· We are improving our drills for crossfire, summary, and final focus.

We hope you will join us for the 2008 WNDI, one of the nation's premier debate institutes.

Comments from the 2007 Surveys:

• The staff and the bonding created between the lab and our initial leaders. Also, the knowledge that infiltrated my mind. and, James and Joe being here. I think you should hire them both next year
• It attracts good debators; nice campus; nice evidence provided
• The new friends and instructors
• I like the enviorment. It helps create a serious atmosphere
• the friends i made
• The one-on-one attention. The breaks between cards and case writing to go to lectures.
• The staff was amazing
• We were able to have a lot of fun with the other students and with staff while still learning a lot about debate; it was a really good learning environment.
• The atmosphere. The level of education i got.
• The computers.
• The time we start and end is nice. Not too early and not too late. Also the friendly staff members are good.
• knowing that i was not the only novice in the world.
• Lab leaders
• The environment. I was able to learn a lot, yet still have fun. There was a good balance between debate and other things. I really liked the picnics as well.
• It taught a lot and had some hardcore parts, but the picnics were really fun and offered lots of things to do. The environment was very welcoming and the staff were WONDERFUL.
• THe close knit community
• Everything was really great. I liked the practice debates before the camp tournament a lot.
• Small aff lab, good lab leaders, smaller lectures
• freedom. time off but not the entire day.
• the friends
• The atmosphere. The lab leaders were awesome, and the campus is great. We got great evidence and great help from everyone.
• I liked that it catered to every person's need. strategy, skills, drills, lectures all helped in improving a debator. Also lab leaders were interactive, fun, and awesome people to meet. Another thing I really liked was the college debate lecture. I liked how all the college graduates told us about their experience and really inspired me to think about continuing on with debate even after high school. Another great thing was how you had the Whitman College Administrator "staff person" come and talk to us about colleges and what it takes for a student to do both debate in college and gave us really informative facts about applying to collge, what your GPA needs to be, and how he answered all our concerns about college. It really was a valuable lecture that day. :)
• It gave a taste of different parts of debate, especcially in a population where most of the kids have been doing this for over two years. It gave my partner and I goals to reach and prepared us a little better for Open level debate, as we were in Novice last year.
• It is really nice at whitman. And the dorms are nice.
• The staff are really nice and know a lot.
• The labs, especially the aff labs, gave the opportunity for good, one-on-one assistance and learning, and most of the lectures were very informative and helpful.
• The staff..the research..the judges..the management..everything
• The staff were awesome.
• debating
• The evidence and the fact were not treated like were in the army
• The people and lab leaders
• I liked how balanced everything was. There was a lot of work, we also got free-time in the evenings which gave us some time to relax. :]
• I really enjoyed the lectures and how critically the staff looked at our rounds and drills. I think I have learned more in the past week and however many days about policy debate than I have in the past year.
• I thought that WNDI provide the best services. I like how there are shuttle driving debaters from camp to the airport. Also, the food, housing, and the lectures provided were among the greatest. The lectures were so great that I learned more in the first week of camp than what I learned from a whole year of debating.
• I like the campus and the environment set up by the staff.
• I liked the one-on-one attention I received. Being able to talk to my lab leaders about any argument whenever is simply unbeatable. The lectures were also very good how you gave an explanation for a while and then a demo debate.
• the K was pretty well integrated into debate, Sam Allen!
• Everything, it was amazingly structured. I have been to Oregon and Stanford before this, and WNDI was the best by far.
• The people and pingpong.
• The teachers
• Close environment, good staff
• What i liked most was the emphasis on strategy and the speaking portion of debate. The fact that drills and debates were more of a priority than cutting cards is probably the most effective way of teaching debate in the NW. I liked the fact that our evidence was cut by lab leaders and college debaters and ensuring quality. And, i really liked how we had enough free time to relax, but not enough to make this feel like some sort of weird, expensive academic vacation.
• The staff was great--you can tell they did their work. The evidence was aplenty and distributed in an organized way. The food was pretty good and mealtimes were at good times. We had more free time than I had anticipated. The rules weren't strict. It was a super learning experience. I am glad I came and can't wait to share all my stuff I got here with people from my own school.
• robby white, and hot staff members like luke and some other people
• I liked the fact that we got to switch from lab to lab. I felt that it exposed us to a number of different perspectives.
• Meeting new people
• Sam Allen and Rob Olsen and Ben Meiches and Candi Kissinger
• Sam Allen, Rob Olsen, and Mike Meredith!
• I loved the lab leaders and how much I learned
• The small group learning environment
• I don't really have any other debate camp experience to compare it to, but I really liked it, I really felt like the staff cared about my success and gave awesome feedback.
• The teachers are always willing to help.
• The college debaters and the knowledge they brought.
• Awesome staff. including the RA's Joe Allen and James Culmer
• it was so much fun, the campus is beautiful and everyone is really friendly and nice
• I really enjoyed having spencer as a lab leader and thought that he was definitely best for the position. Also i thought that the amount of time we had between activities was perfect.
• Everything
• Practice debates and tournaments
• Jim knows how to run a camp - he thought of everything from postcards to family, free long-distance upon arrival, "fun" activities like movies and picnics, and birthday parties. When I mentioned that I might like to apply for Scholars, he emailed me to remind me to apply. If there's a problem, I know he'll hear about it (and probably send out a late-night email to respond within 2 minutes). I've been to a few camps, and there's no director as hands-on and accessible as Jim, which is much appreciated.
• It was all very fun
• Good atmosphere and discussions of debate.
• Scholars

Comments from the 2006 Surveys.

• “The rooms had a nice layout with two rooms in one.”
• “The lecture topics were great.”
• “All the food was good.”
• “Cool lectures on philosophy and government”
• “Nicholas was completely awesome.”
• “The housing was clean and comfortable.”
• “The salad bar at Reid was amazing!”
• “small lab groups, interesting topics, fun teachers”
• “good research on topics, good small sized classes, I loved Nicholas”
• “The lectures went in depth; organization of topics and research was extensive.”
• “The food was great, way better than I expected.”
• “Excellent food and staff members as friendly and helpful as possible, worth every penny.”
• “Well-run labs”
• “I liked Rob Olsen – he is awesome.”
• “I really liked the lab leaders.”
• “I like the CP lectures.”
• “Thank you – I learned a ton!”
• “[Kara was] very thorough [and] encouraging!! [She] made sure she went through everything with us, good at prepping us.”
• “All the judges gave good advice. I’ve improved quite a bit.”
• “Good aff labs, awesome teachers, totally cool”
• “I liked the K lecture and CP. They were thorough.”
• “All of the lectures were well done and helpful.”
• “Good aff”
• “[Peter] wrote an excellent affirmative case for us and did an excellent job of explaining everything.”
• “All of the lectures were fine.”
• “Whitman is pretty.”
• “Fine.”
• “Meiches really explained Marxism to me.”
• “Naveen=amazing!”
• “I really liked the CP and DA lectures. They helped explain more advance theories.”
• “Whitman all the way!”
• “JJ helped a lot and so did Naveen.”
• “This is a great camp.”
• “Everything was very well organized.”
• “[Meredith] explained ideas well and helped my flow tremendously.”
• “Matt and Jake gave excellent RFDs and were available for questions afterward. Peter gave a good explanation as well.”
• “Unlimited drinks”
• “Fun environment, great staff!”
• “Jim was extremely responsive to concerns and very friendly and welcoming.”
• “[Stokes] rules, I loved him!”
• “I really liked the teaching value.”
• “Staff was knowledgeable and supportive.”
• “The housing was always comfortable.”
• “Good lab leaders! Very helpful when it came to 2AC drills.”
• “Great critics”
• “The practice debates were really helpful. It taught me a lot.”
• “Ross was awesome at fully reviewing all of the key debate elements and explaining theory.”
• “All the food was delicious.”
• “Plenty of food, and food tasted good. I also like the fact that it was healthy too.”
• “I learned a lot. Lab leaders were nice.”
• “Food was great.”
• “Naveen and Meiches were awesome.”
• “Eric was cool. I felt graced by his wisdom.”
• “I like the topicality lecture. Short and to the point.”
• “All the lectures were done well.”
• “I have no complaints. I walk away with a smile.”
• “I loved Dana and all the help she gave me. Pay her extra, I demand it.”
• “Comfortable rooms, well furnished basement (pool table)”
• “Sam went the extra mile to make sure everyone understood.”
• “We had fun. We learned of good offense in debate.”
• “Nice rooms”
• “Jeff was amazing and he taught me so much about debate.”
• “The food was surprisingly good all the time.”
• “I really liked the morning lectures. The counter plan one was really good. I felt that I learned a lot.”
• “Sam was cool. He pwned all of the other lab leaders. He gave us money for Teddy Grahams and Mountain Dew...On a scale of 1 – Chuck Norris, he’s Bruce Lee.”
• “Meiches is my new idol.”
• “I especially liked the CP/K lecture.”

Comments from the 2005 Surveys.

• “The practice debates were helpful with the critics.”
• “Really good drills and evidence explanation.”
• “I had a lot of fun!”
• “I liked the T lecture.”
• “I learned a ton about researching and the tools.”
• “I liked the K lecture. It was really helpful.”
• “Excellent job prepping us and helping us out.”
• “The lectures were great.”
• “The judging was very good. The critics were correct on every issue and gave great feedback.”
• “All the lectures were awesome especially the advanced K lab.”
• “Very nice campus.”
• “This camp is wicked-sweet.”
• “Love the lectures. Loved the drills.”
• “K lecture was awesome. Evidence given was excellent.”
• “This lab was very effective, in that I may just run Veto this year, which is definitely a feat.”
• “I really like the aff and choice labs. Also I liked how nice the staff was (and patient).”
• “Thank you for everything. It was really fun. All the staff is really good looking. Keep it up.”
• “I feel that I firmly understand Disads.”
• “I feel confident in my ability to run a CP.”
• “I am super glad I came and I will be back.”
• “I really enjoyed the Power Point presentations – and especially the Civil Disobedience, Free Speech, and Totalitarianism lectures.”

Comments about housing:

• “Spacious, nice for a dorm room.”
• “The rooms were great.”
• “Cafeteria food was awesome.”
• “Food was great.”
• “I loved the Deli service.”

Comments about the staff:

• “Really helpful when dealing with questions the members had.”
• “Amazing. Did very well explaining the K. All I can say is wow.”
• “Gives great oral critiques.”
• “Great at explaining the DA and how to make good 2NC answers.”
• “Very knowledgeable and helpful, especially in explaining the arguments, answers, and how to improve speeches.”
• “Dana always gave great feedback and was always supportive.”
• “Stokes was great. He did so much to help us.”
• “JJ is the best lab leader ever. He had a way sweet Black Fem K and he gave amazing feedback on our practice debate.”
• “Suni explained everything about CPs you need.”
• “Dave is the MAN! Extremely good at explaining the aff case and blocks and critiques…go Dave!”
• “Kept us on task. Helped explain args every well. Good feedback for improvement areas.”
• “Peter gave the best feedback; he analyzed everything.”
• “Debating against Jeff was fun and I learned a lot.”
• “Suni was the best lecturer.”
• “Dave gave good feedback. Meghan also.”
• “Everyone gave good feedback. I improved so much.”
• “They did well with preparing us for our debates.”
• “Ben explained case extremely well, made aff lab fun and enjoyable. Ben is the bestest lab leader ever.”

Comments from the 2004 WNDI participant survey:

LD Camp

• “Lab leaders were very knowledgeable.”
• “Lectures were very informative.”
• “The people are very friendly.”
• “My leader was very good at giving you helpful and insightful critiques and also made lectures interesting.”
• “I really liked the housing.”
• “Awesome lectures.”
• “Leaders are fun but responsible.”
• “Really liked the practice debates.”
• “I liked the food.”
• “Drills and feedback were the bomb.”
• “Leaders were fun to talk with.”
• “Webpage was very helpful.”
• “The tomato soup was good.”
• “Lectures were great. I enjoyed them immensely.”

Policy Camp

• “My lab leader really made us think, he didn’t just spoon-feed us answers.”
• “I grew so much at camp because my lab leader really cared about his kids. There is nothing he can improve on. He was awesome!”
• “The rounds were a lot of help.”
• “Everything was well organized and easy for parents. Questions were responded to quickly.”
• “Very educational, the small labs are better for learning.”
• “I liked pretty much all of the food served here.”
• “He helped in every aspect of debate that is possible and made us maximize our time.”
• “I really enjoyed the labs—good individualized attention.”
• “I basically liked everything.”
• “Good performance critiques after each practice round and helpful drills.”
• “Meghan totally rocks. She could not possibly improve on anything.”
• “Loved the theory, evidence and leaders.”
• “My lab leader was so nice and really cared. She made sure that everything was perfect and always went the extra mile to make sure we had fun, learned, and got our jobs done.”
• “Lab leader had great explanatory skills and inspiration.”
• “The food was very good.”
• “Dean made labs fun and took time to go over our individual problems.”
• “Evidence was great.”
• “Peter was awesome. He answered all my annoying questions and really helped me understand theory.”
• “Great evidence.”
• “I liked the counterplan and kritik lectures. They clarified the intricacies of those arguments.”
• “The advanced lecture on counterplans was great. Very informative.”
• “Good dorm room set up. Liked the extra dorm room.”
• “The lectures on theory were extremely helpful.”
• “Learned and enjoyed all of the lectures.”
• “I liked the research lecture. It really improved my research ability.”
• “Lab leaders tended personally to each person which was very helpful.”
• “Best coach ever. So positive and helpful.”
• “You can always get help when you need it. Happy Staff.”
• “I liked how they taught a really open style of debate.”
• “I really enjoyed all of the lectures.”
• “Critics were good.”
• “Performance debate gave you a new look on debate.”
• “I liked having a separate living space.”
• “We got so much stuff done and still managed to have fun.”
• “It puts out good evidence.”
• “Critiques of our drills were very helpful.”
• “Email responses were excellent and quick.”
• “Ross was good.”
• “Meghan is the coolest person in the world. She is so much fun to be around and very helpful.”
• “Lots of specific help, very welcoming, fun, and productive environment.”
• “Kritik labs rocked.”
• “Really good feedback for the practice debates.”
• “The CP, K, and Topicality lectures were the best, well thought out and interesting.”
• “He helped us a lot but still let us do our own work and kept us on task.”
• “He is really good at teaching and explaining things, and he was patient and willing to help.”
• “Jessica was the most positive persona and she was so effective at explaining things. All of us absolutely loved her.”
• “Gave great feedback.”
• “Couldn’t ask for anything better.”
• “Really fun and got a lot done.”
• “He is an awesome lab leader, the best I’ve ever had. He’s money.”
• “Natalie was freaking awesome. Such a great leader and moral support.”
• “They were very willing to explain and work one on one.”
• “I LOVED the Kritik labs!”
• “Nice lab organization.”
• “Great atmosphere—It was actually fun!”
• “They did very well in preparing us to run our aff.”
• “Kritik lecture was very enlightening.”
• “Did very well in preparing us for the year.”
• “Lectures were well formatted and very informative.”
• “Eric rocked the hizzous.”
• “Makes his students think.”
• “The 4 hour sit down of Agamben was so worth it.”
• “Friendly atmosphere. Feel comfortable.”
• “Love the pictures!”
• “I loved the performative critique lecture.”
• “They helped us very well with our 1AC’s and Neg. strategies.”
• “CP lecture was great.”
• “I loved everything about our lab leader. She really motivated our lab.”
• “Yum.”

Comments from 2003 participants:

LD Camp

• The lecture on argumentation was very interesting, as were the social contract and deontology lectures.
• Everyone was very good.  There’s a great mix of strengths and weaknesses which is nice.
• All the critics I had gave me excellent feedback. What especially helped me was the speech by speech critique.
• I really enjoyed the first amendment and Aff/Neg strategies lectures.
• My lab leader was nice and helpful.
• Everyone gave good, constructive comments.
• My lab leader was excellent.  If you did something wrong, she would stop you or ask you to correct your mistake.
• All of my critiques were good.
• The philosophy lectures were very informative and interesting.
• My lab leader is an excellent critic and debater and has a lot to teach.
• The lecture on postmodernism was interesting and enlightening.

Policy Camp

• I liked the laid back mornings.
• All lab leaders were successful in the camp.
• I came last year and really liked it again.
• The Kritik lectures were very helpful.
• My lab leader was awesome!  Good research and great explanations.
• My critics were all just awesome and I love them all.
• My lecturers gave wonderful and specific feedback, they really cleared up stuff by adjusting to different learning styles.
• The advanced theory was good.
• My lab leader was extremely good at explaining our aff and all its intricacies and she was excelled at defense to kritiks.  Overall: GREAT!
• The counterplan lecture was really helpful.
• My leaders gave the best feedback and made us correct our mistakes.
• The kritik lectures were great and they taught me things I never knew.
• I was really taught how I could improve in easy ways that I could understand.
• All the lectures were great.
• I loved the practice debates, they really helped me a lot.
• My lab leader was SO awesome!
• I really liked the performance lecture a lot because it was something new and it inspired me.
• My lab leader had a free spirit, love, personality, and a great argumentative style.
• I improved all aspects of my debating.
• I had a great feedback on all of my practice debates.
• Advanced theory was great.
• I liked the counterplan lecture best.
• My leader helped me write an awesome case and gave us great evidence.
• The lecture on the 2NR was very helpful.
• I got great secondlines.
• My lab helped me prepare for the 2AC as well as prepare neg strats.
• My lab leader helped me in all aspects of debate.
• I learned a lot of strategy drills.
• I am now prepared for next year.
• The camp was very knowledgeable on the K.
• My lab leader was the best ever.
• My lab leader was great at giving feedback.
• I learned great time allocation techniques.
• My leader was straight up, he helped my strategy a lot.
• Theory and CP lecture were awesome.
• My critics gave the best advice and really helped where I struggled.
• My leader was very helpful and gave positive feedbacks.
• Critics were very helpful in rebuttal redos.
• I really liked how the critics broke down what was good and what needed some work.
• The drills were SO helpful
• Critics were straight up in a non rude way.
• My novice lab leader was amazing.  She inspired us and helped us with our debating skills while becoming my friend.
• I liked it because it was small. I got SO much attention!