The American University Debate Society is the premier debating team at American, and is ranked eighth in the nation. Over the past three years, AUDS has excelled in developing first-year debaters, placing more so-called “novices” in the top 15 nationally than any school other than Yale. The growth of the Debate Society has produced top contenders for the past two years; American’s “A” team finished 16th in 2010, and finished 6th in 2011. AU’s individuals have also excelled, with one finishing 17th in 2009, 14th in 2010, and two finishing 19th and 10th in 2011. Our full accomplishments are listed in our Tournaments Results page.
The American University Debate Society was founded in its most recent form in 2002, and is the longest continually-active club at American University. The Debate Society is committed to improving the quantity and quality of rational, constructive discourse on the university’s campus, while also providing the opportunity for AU students to compete inter-collegiately in the American Parliamentary Debate Association. It achieves this mission by hosting on-campus debates, open to the student body, and by sending students to compete at tournaments throughout the nation. The AUDS is a completely student-run body, and is guided by its elected Executive Board. To learn more about the individual members of the team, check out our Team Page.
The Debate Society also hosts a tournament in early November each year, drawing over 150 debaters and 25 judges from schools around the nation. This prestigious “ProAm” Invitational is one of the largest tournaments of the year by number of competitors.
The Debate Society is open to all students at American University, both graduate and undergraduate. For more information, please contact us at debate@audebate.org.
Team Preparation at Johns Hopkins University