With an eye to the future and the past, Illinois students are organizing a series of annual intramural debates beginning with a tournament during the spring semester, 2008.

The proposal for an Intramural Debate Tournament was made during the fall semester 2007 by the Illinois Policy Debate Team through organizers Chime Asonye, senior, LAS, and Peter Campbell Graduate Assistant, Speech Communication, who will serve together as project managers for the upcoming spring debates.

"Public policy debates have been a significant part of the history of Illinois - the state as well as our campus," noted Chancellor Richard Herman in announcing the intramural debates as part of the ongoing Chancellor's Series on Critical Contemporary Issues. "But this new program will do more than just revive our time-honored tradition. It also will prepare students for challenges in assuming leadership responsibilities."

The resolution to be taken up during the debates will focus on an aspect of the value of difference, the theme for the Chancellor's Series this year. "Having students engage in debates on the idea of difference helps them learn about the concept in a self-reflective way," said Asonye, Student Trustee and co-founder, Illinois Policy Debate Team. "Change begins with understanding. By calling on our fellow students to deeply understand the issues they will debate, we believe we are putting the power of change back in our own hands."

As proposed, the Illinois debates will take place over the course of three days - preliminary, semi-final and final - in which two-person teams will argue opposing sides of a public policy question to be determined. Judging will be conducted by faculty and graduate students drawn from disciplines across campus. Recruitment for teams and judges to participate in the debates will begin soon. The debate rounds will be held on April 19, April 20 and April 23, 2008.

Intramural debates were first organized at Illinois in 1927 and held as recently as 1975. At various times, they were as popular as college athletics and took up questions ranging from whether the state of Illinois should require car insurance to whether affirmative action should be abolished. And, of course, the state of Illinois is associated with some of the most famous debates in American history: The Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 and the Kennedy Nixon presidential debate in 1960 (held at WBBM TV studios in Chicago).

"This is an exciting opportunity to bring policy debate back to the University of Illinois campus after a long hiatus," noted Campbell, Illinois Policy Debate Team coach. "Regardless of the resolution being debated, policy debate is unique in its ability to promote critical thinking, research, writing and speaking skills," he said. "It also is a great deal of fun for the participants."

It also is significant, Chancellor Herman noted, that Illinois is launching its debate competition at an important historical moment - during the 150th anniversary year of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, on the eve of the Lincoln Bicentennial and during a presidential election year, in which debates and town hall meetings will continue to provide an important public connection to the democratic process.

"Illinois will be known as the place where important matters are discussed, sorted and resolved in ways that stimulate the national conversation," he said.