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The A. Craig Baird Debate Forum
Cordially invites you to attend a
series of Public Debates

Boyd Law Building • Levitt Auditorium • 7:00 - 8:00 pm

There is no charge for admission.
Time reserved for audience critiques or cross-examination of the debaters.
David Hingstman, J.D., Ph.D., Moderator

Anyone requiring special accommodations to participate should call David Hingstman at 353-2263.

Sponsored by The University of Iowa, WSUI AM910, Baird Debate Forum,
Department of Communication Studies • Division of Continuing Education

Brief history of public debate at lowa

On April 26, 1861, the year following the establishment of the Collegiate Department in the State University of Iowa (Iowa City), the constitution and by-laws of the Zetagathian Society were adopted. Its purpose was set forth in the preamble to its constitution: "Whereas progression is the characteristic of the age and learning and intelligence are becoming universally diffused, breaking down the barriers of ignorance and superstition, we the students of Iowa State University, thirsting for knowledge and seeking our own good in that of society and having for our object advancement in learning and improvement in morals, agree to form ourselves into an association to be known by the title of the Zetagathian Society." So began the tradition of Forensics in the state of Iowa.

In those early days, earnestness and simplicity marked the first meetings held in a northwest corner room of Old Capital by the light of oil lamps. Vernon Carstensen wrote in TIle Collegiate Department (1936): "The literary society was by all odds the most important, the most popular, and powerful of all the early college organizations." In January, 1871, one editor somewhat prophetically wrote in The University Reporter: "The literary society is however a miniature of the Lyceum or the Legislative Hall. All the faculties which are brought into play in addressing public utterance --self possession, ready command of language, and pleasant possession --are cultivated. As long as the American people is a self-governing people so long will the ability to speak well in public be a desideratum, and so long will public literary societies be a necessary part of every educational institution."

For well over a century now, students at the University of Iowa have engaged in organized public debates, and today the A. Craig Baird Debate Forum is the student organization for intercollegiate debaters who continue the tradition of public debate.

The Forum is named for Professor A. Craig Baird, the father of modern debate. Dr. Baird's career spanned more than fifty years during which he founded the nation's first international debate program, authored and edited more than 100 books on speech, debate, and communication, and taught thousands of students. Professor Baird's "Radio Forum" featured live radio discussions, and thanks to John Lyne in Communication Studies and John Monick and Dennis Reese at WSUI that tradition was revived some years back. It owes its continuation to Professor David Hingstman in Communication Studies and teaching assistants in the Departments of Rhetoric and Communication Studies who recommend the debates to their students. Dean Chet Rzonca, Continuing Education, provides the resources needed to sponsor the debates, and Patty Ankrum, Continuing Education & College of Law, provides vital video support.

The format of the debate

Each of the four debaters gives a five minute constructive speech, starting with the affirmative, and alternating back and forth between sides. Each speaker is questioned for three minutes after giving the constructive speech. Then each debater gives a three minute rebuttal speech, starting with the negative. At the end of the debate, participation is invited. Audience members come to one of the microphones in the front of the auditorium, state their names, and make any statements or ask any questions of any of the participants.

Questions about debate or to participate in a debate

While intercollegiate debaters are required to participate in public debates, they are also open to other University of Iowa students. Ifyou would like to know more about the debates, please contact:

David Hingstman 319/353-2263 (office)
Department of Communication Studies,
105 BCSS 319/335-2930 (fax)
University of Iowa
david-hingstman@uiowa.edu