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WNDI Policy Scholars Program

A premier experience at an unbelievably good
price. 12 talented policy debaters will be chosen to participate in the
WNDI Policy Scholars Program. The Three Week Program with ALL meals
and Room and Full Camp Electronic Evidence File and Instruction
is just $1150.
WNDI POLICY SCHOLARS STAFF
Ben and Matt return for the 2008
WNDI Scholars!
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Ben
Meiches
Ben was an NDT Octafinalist, CEDA Nats Quarterfinalist,
NFL Nationals Policy Champion, advanced to elims at virtually every
national circuit college tournament, and was one of the nation’s best
kritik debaters. He serves as the Kritikal WNDI Policy Scholars Staff
Leader. Ben broke at every single tournament he attended for 21 months in
a row. Currently the Policy Debate Coach at the University of Puget
Sound, he loves Agamben, Zizek, Lacan and a
wide variety of kritikal arguments.
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Matt Schissler
Matt received an
NDT First Round Bid, was a two-time CEDA Nats Quarterfinalist, advanced
to the Octas at the NDT, was Washington
state champion, and was one of the nation’s best affirmative researchers
and debaters. He serves as the Policy WNDI Policy Scholars Staff Leader.
Matt broke at every single tournament he attended for 25 months in a row.
He loves very specific affirmatives with “tricks” to answer generics. He
also likes space, heg, and trade arguments.
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You will also
work with many of the rest of our staff in lectures, practice debates, and
drills.
- TONS OF
EVIDENCE
At WNDI,
you do not have to worry about bad evidence cut by untrained high
school debaters. Our college staff prepare thousands of pages of evidence
files with disadvantages, kritiks, counterplans, and topicality
arguments. Click
here for a list of the evidence from last year’s WNDI. In addition
to the staff created files, in the WNDI Policy Scholars lab, you will
work with Ben and Matt to prepare carefully crafted positions by
learning and engaging in high level research.
- SMALL LABS
WNDI is
famous for individual attention and you will get it. You and the 11
other students will work directly with the Scholars lab leaders. You
will get your questions answered; you will get the drills you need to
improve.
- ADVANCED
THEORY LECTURES
We will offer an advanced series of lectures focused on strategy and
allowing you to get deep on Policy or Kritikal style arguments (or get
a balance of both). Policy side, you can choose lectures on arguing
the Politics Disadvantage, writing your PIC to win, how to leverage
soft left arguments to beat the crazy kritiks, arguing the framework
with evidence. Kritik wise, you can choose lectures on Agamben,
Foucault, Derrida, Butler, Campbell, arguing the framework right back
at “them,” running your alt so you beat the perm, creating your own
space in the policy arena. Both styles of debate will benefit from
discussions on the 1AR, answering PICs, leveraging textual versus
functional competition, dispositionality/conditionality, Spec
arguments, and impact comparison.
- DEBATES AND
DRILLS WITH REDOS
You will engage in the most challenging debates you have had because you
will debate other outstanding high school debaters AND you will debate
our staff—college national circuit elim participants. You will do
drills. We are going to work your debating until you do it right—that
includes speed, line-by-line, persuasiveness, rebuttals, and taking
strategic control. Our staff will give feedback on your strategies,
your delivery, your line-by-line, all of the key elements needed to
win. You’ll also participate in a 2nd week Tournament and a
Championship 3rd week Tournament.
- THREE WEEKS
OF INTENSIVE STUDY
We go
from 9:45am to 10:30pm each day. You will engage in at least 18
debates in addition to many drills. Whitman has a reputation as one of
the hardest working squads in the nation and we are going to show you
why we are the first team in history to have had all 6 teams advance
to elimination rounds at CEDA Nationals. You will be coached in the
same way that we coach on our program. If you are up to the challenge,
then we invite you to apply. Most days, you will have a special
Scholars lecture series in the morning covering advanced debate theory
and practice (such as arguing the Politics disadvantage effectively,
using evidence and the right arguments to win framework debates, and
intrinsicness and textual versus functional competition). In the
afternoon and evening, you will work in your lab with research,
drills, and one-on-one discussions with the Scholar Lab leaders.
Details on the schedule, designed by the Scholar Lab leaders, as well
as the Scholars lectures will be posted when we get closer to the
beginning of the institute.
- HOW TO
APPLY
Complete the online registration forms including for the WNDI Scholars
Application. We urge you to do so as soon as possible. STUDENTS MUST
HAVE COMPETED IN AT LEAST 10 TOURNAMENTS IN SENIOR/CHAMP/OPEN DIVISION
OF POLICY DEBATE. Students chosen will be based on a review by Jim
Hanson and the WNDI Scholar Lab Leaders. Students chosen will
demonstrate competitiveness in senior/championship division and a
strong work ethic. Students will be told if they are admitted, on a
waiting list, or encouraged to apply for our regular but usually
advanced policy program. By May 12, we will have established all of
the WNDI Scholars. If you aren’t chosen as a WNDI Policy Scholar, you
may still participate in the WNDI Policy Labs, attend the advanced
lectures, and receive all the benefits of regular WNDI enrollment.
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