Who I am:

I’m a student at Haverford College near West Philadelphia. I currently coach Speech and Debate to under-resourced students in New York and New Jersey, although I have also coached for students in Texas. I came from a low-income household in Houston where my mother, sister, and I had to persevere through the threat of foreclosure and a father who maintained addictions to multiple substances and other vices. Getting involved in Speech and Debate gave me a safe place where I could thrive, essentially saving my life. Unfortunately, Speech and Debate isn’t offered at every school, but I want to change that.

Me (left) with coach (right) and debate trophy

What I want to do:

Philadelphia public schools are facing massive budget cuts that threaten to undermine the livelihood and potential of thousands of inner-city youth.  In these post-recession times where most everything seems uncertain, kids need the hope that they can succeed in high school and beyond.

Speech and Debate teaches students countless skills that propel them forward in the classroom, on job and college applications, and in their communities. Students learn how to research independently, how to lead and mentor fellow team-members, and how to articulate themselves in front of an audience. Not only that, but the logic, philosophy, and history debaters use on a regular basis prepare them for university in a way most high school curriculums don't.

Supplementing the inner-city schooling experience with creative solutions like Speech and Debate is becoming more important every year. With every budget cut, with every program lost, students suffer-- losing time to learn and grow as people. Because it requires no specialized equipment, uniforms, or facilities, Speech and Debate is a relatively low-cost program with huge payoffs for participating students.

In fact, a recent report indicates  by Yale professor Minh A. Luong that participating in speech and debate significantly increases the chances of admission into top universities and colleges:

“State and national award winners have a 22% to 30% higher acceptance rate at top tier colleges and being captain of the debate team ‘improved an applicant's chances by more than 60% compared with the rest of the pool,’ according to the report. This is significantly better than other extracurricular activities that tend to recruit from the same pool of students as forensic teams such as school newspaper reporter (+3%), sports team captain (+5%), class president (+5%), and band (+3%). Even without winning major awards, participation in speech and debate develops valuable skills that colleges are seeking out and that is reflected in the above average acceptance rate (+4%). Colleges and universities today are looking for articulate thinkers and communicators who will become active citizens and leaders of tomorrow.” 

If it’s true that an education is one of the soundest investments anybody could make, then investing in The Debate League will prove to be invaluable. Any donated funds will go directly to starting an advocacy campaign to get Speech and Debate in public schools in Philadelphia.  

What You Can Do:

My advocacy campaign operates on a bare-bones budget, needing only to afford a website and transportation fees for me to get to and from schools in Philadelphia. A more detailed breakdown is below:

-       Website hosted via Virb (will set up once I can afford): 10/mo for 36 months - $360

-       Transportation fees, using SEPTA’s train system: $8/trip, 25 trips - $200

-       Indiegogo fee: 4%/$560 - $22.40

-       Total: $582.40

My campaign’s model allows itself to be used nationally with the potential to help hundreds of thousands of youth who could use the invaluable lessons, skills, friendships, and sense of community that being a part of a speech and debate team provides.  So, if you want to see this campaign come to your city, donate to get it off the ground.