Fund Our Debaters

Brooklyn Technical High School is a Title I public school in New York City with many working-class students. We are asking for donations to fund our debate team of 50 students in order to provide underserved debaters the resources necessary to engage in competitive nation-wide debate. In doing debate, students this year will learn about the policy nuances of criminal justice reform as well as the historical backdrop of on-going movements to change policing, sentencing, and the collection of forensic materials by law enforcement--- this is particularly relevant in light of this year’s current, national social movements for civil rights. Students will also be learning about US Healthcare i a format subject to change every month. In light of the pandemic, our students are falling behind in school as a result of home situations, not having resources like a stable internet access, and not being able to attend school. Our debate team works to supplement these student’s education, providing them a home and a place to learn in a time of need. Our debate students have historically gone on to become advocates for social change whether it comes to solving issues of racial bias at school, protesting against climate change, and leading a walk-out against gun violence. It is because of the value of the debate team’s efforts that we are currently staffed by graduate students who volunteer their time to work with the students. With funding, we would be able to pay our staff what they deserve so that they can continue their work on the debate team. In addition to funding staff, we will also use the grant to pay for debate tournament fees so that students who cannot normally afford to attend tournaments can be competitive nationally against larger, more resourced private schools. At times, the cost of attending a tournament can be as high as $100 per student. We want to eliminate these barriers to doing debate so that all our students can learn deliberation skills, to think from multiple angles, and ultimately change the world.