I’m Gideon! This is my second year as a member of LASA Debate, but it feels like forever. Debate is by far the most rewarding activity I do. We learn so much more content more quickly than anywhere else. In half a year, varsity debate taught me an amazing amount of information, from theories of International Relations to trying to understand humanity’s core drives to obsessively checking the news for updates about current events. I owe my current understanding of the world to debate.

Debate has also been an awesome way to connect with people. We get to meet debaters from across the country; I’ve become friends with people from California, Washington, Tennessee, and Illinois. Going to tournaments is incredibly fun, getting to experience different places, and it’s super demoralizing when we have to cancel a trip because of coach availability or funding.

The biggest hurdle for my learning has been the lack of institutional support. LASA is uniquely disadvantaged in the debate space; we don’t have an officially backed program. We get by with volunteer coaches, no funding, and no school time to do debate work. We can’t get coached during most tournaments because we can’t pay for coaching, so only a couple people get active instruction. Your donation will allow LASA Debate to continue to support its members. Debate is awesome and I hope you will help it continue to be awesome!