Aug 02, 2023 At 09:14 AM EDT
In late July, most schools are empty and quiet. But walking down the halls of D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School, one would hear a cacophony of students simultaneously running speaking drills to work on projection, diction and speed. Or you might hear a lively debate about whether a taco is a sandwich.
For three weeks each summer, students gather for the Matthew Harris Ornstein Washington Summer Debate Institute, sponsored by the Washington Urban Debate League (WUDL).
Nine years ago, Judy Harris and Norm Ornstein started the Matthew Harris Ornstein Memorial Foundation and this camp to memorialize their son Matthew, a champion debater who died in 2015 at the age of 34.
"Debate was really such a central part of Matthew's identity," Ornstein told Newsweek. "He loved it, he excelled at it, he built this community of friends from all around the country."
Matthew had attended the prestigious debate camp at the University of Michigan, but his parents decided to focus on students in Washington, D.C., who may not have the means or opportunity for summer debate instruction.
The camp runs for two weeks for novice and junior varsity debaters, with varsity debaters starting a week earlier, and it's free for all students. When it began, the camp only had about 30 students but it has since grown to accommodate nearly 200 students from across the WUDL, including many kids from Title 1 schools.
Participants learn different skills and concepts that will help them be successful debaters and get a head start on the topic for the upcoming season. They study important vocabulary and terminology, run flowing drills to keep better track of arguments in rounds, participate in mock debates and sit for lectures that help them better understand and contextualize the subject.
This year, the policy debate topic focuses on income inequality in the United States—specifically on whether the federal government should address the issue by adopting a federal jobs guarantee, by expanding Social Security, by providing people with a basic income or by some combination of those policies.
In addition to lab lectures, students were also treated to guest speakers working directly on this issue, including Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Kellen Grode, a labor economist at the Department of Labor, Natasha Murphy, a health care expert from the Center for American Progress, AARP Social Security Specialist David John and Gene Ludwig of the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity.
"Some of the smartest people in D.C. come to WUDL to talk to students," said Danielle Dupree, a senior at Howard University and the program coordinator for the WUDL who is directing the camp this summer. "You wouldn't get the opportunity during the regular [school] year to actually pick the brain of the author of the argument that you're going to be reading for the rest of the year."
During the school year, many debaters are coached by teachers who may not have any experience in debate. Camp gives them the chance to learn from former debaters—many of whom are alumni of the WUDL and this very camp.
Gaby Sousa, a rising junior at D.C. International School, said the feedback from alumni coaches is "really valuable" because she's debated with or against those same coaches years ago, so they know her and how she works.
It is inspiring for these students to be around coaches who were in their same position just a few years ago and have gone on to achieve many of the kids' ultimate debate goals, like attending the Tournament of Champions or obtaining debate scholarships for college.
Eric Clarke is a WUDL alum who debated for two years at Georgetown University. He now works as an intelligence analyst at the Mitre Corporation and coaches at School Without Walls, a public school in D.C. that went to the Urban Debate National Championships this past academic year.
As he moved from debater to coach, Clarke noted that the "gold standard" for debate has improved and the activity has become more accessible and diverse as more alumni return to support their leagues.
His goal for camp is to continue to increase that standard and keep expectations for coaches and students high.
"I know they can do so much better, and I'm hoping by the end of camp we can raise the bar, even if it's only a little bit," he said.
For the varsity debates, that means challenging the students to make more advanced arguments.
The first week of varsity labs focused on kritiks, known as Ks, which are arguments that center on assessing underlying assumptions of societal systems, like gender, race and capitalism.
Clarke said these types of arguments garner a lot of interest among students but are difficult to access due to the complex literature base. At this camp, at least, students can have coaches who can help them get started.
Joey Villaflor is a rising senior at Capital City Public Charter School who competed at the Urban Debate National Championships this past spring. He's been attending camp for seven years, and his goal this year is to "branch out" to experiment with different types of arguments, like kritikal affirmatives.
Rising freshman Greta Greaves is in the varsity lab this year. She said "everyone is terrified" of Ks "because they're scary." But as her lab broke them down, they became more enjoyable.
As students come to camp to learn how to debate or to make new arguments or to familiarize themselves with the topic for next year, Matthew's memory is still felt throughout, bonding all debaters—past and present—together through their passion and sense of community.
At the camp's opening ceremony on July 24, Judy Harris spoke to the group, sharing her son's story and noting how "gratifying" it is that students want to come back year after year as campers or coaches.
Then Jessica Berenson, the executive director of the foundation, announced the 117 Society—a group named after Matthew's favorite number that celebrates people who have been at camp for at least three years. The idea, Berenson explained, was to identify people who could serve as resources or mentors to the newer campers, just as Matthew had done for her when they debated together years ago.
Zara Escobar holds the record for most summers at camp. She started attending camp eight years ago as a rising seventh grader. Now, as a sophomore at Yale, she returned to camp to teach the varsity lab.
She said Harris and Ornstein have been "incredibly encouraging and kind" to the students every year, and she is glad they continue to share their son's story with young debaters.
"It's really impactful to see immediately how debate has touched the lives of others," she said. "When they talk about Matthew and his impact on his teammates and how much debate played a role in making him who he was, it makes it all seem more valuable."
Escobar said Harris and Ornstein played a massive role in creating a "strong, tight-knit community" at camp. The couple's unwavering support demonstrates the importance of debate and makes each kid feel valued, she explained.
If Harris and Ornstein are the heart of the camp, the students are its lifeblood. At the staff meetings at the end of each day, coaches share how students are eager and enthusiastic about learning.
As this particular week of camp went on, they shared how shy kids started to gain confidence when a concept finally clicked for them or how a kid who was dragged to camp by a parent is becoming an engaged participant.
Studies have documented the value of debate in the classroom, including improving reading scores and boosting GPAs. But Escobar said debate is about more than academic or competitive achievement.
"So often, we get caught up in academic achievement and punitive forms of measuring success and intelligence or exclusionary forms, like standardized tests and those kinds of metrics of success," she said. "We forget about any value and enjoyment of learning, and I think that's something both this camp and the league have always done so well, just encouraging us to learn and want knowledge."
And in case any student—or coach—forgets why they are at camp, they can glance down at the water bottle the staff provides, encouraging them to "drink knowledge."
