Debate Club

LAWS students have always demonstrated an avid interest in arguing the issues and ideas presented to them in the classroom. The LAWS Debate Club was recently formed, at the urging of some of these students, to teach the formal art of debate to students who wouldn't normally have access to such a club.

The club provides LAWS students with an opportunity to improve their public speaking abilities, create persuasive arguments, think critically about what they read and hear, and develop their confidence inside the classroom and without. LAWS students are coached by members of the Hart House Debate Club and law students at the University of Toronto, many of whom have national and international debating experience. In its first year, the program culminated in a debating tournament at Central Technical School, and plans are in place to participate in debating tournaments around the city in the upcoming year.

“Just like freestyling and coming up with words on the spot, debating is the same. If I can freestyle and flow, I can debate” - grade 11 student.