ALEXANDRA HOLTZ
No one’s going to tell you the answers to, like, the big questions of life. So you’re going to have to be able to make those decisions on your own. And I think debate is an incredibly valuable tool to be able to make those value judgments.

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Charlottesville Debate League is a volunteer-based program at UVA, where undergraduates go into local middle schools and we teach debate. And at the very end of the semester, we hold a tournament with about 60 students where they’re able to use all the skills that they have learned.

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MAGGIE MEARES

You’re not always arguing for things you agree on, so it makes you really confront your own biases and your own opinions.

ARYAMAN SINGH

Debate allows you to make your own argument for what the other side might be, weigh them up, and then you get to decide which one you pick based on your value system.

DEBATE STUDENT #1

I really like debate, mainly because it’s really fun. I get to see so many friends and I get to talk with so many interesting people.

DEBATE STUDENT #2

Not only have I become an excellent arguer – my parents will agree – Nora and I have become closer through debate. And I’ve met some OK people, too.

DEBATE STUDENT #3

OK means fantastic.

DEBATE STUDENT #4

It’s a lot of fun to work with the people from UVA.

MAGGIE MEARES

They’re all so middle school and so unique, and that’s like the best thing ever. There’s a je ne sais quois for middle schoolers.

ALEXANDRA HOLTZ

A lot of these students are like my little siblings, and we’re just one big group that’s trying to learn debate.

MAGGIE MEARES

It’s really cool to be invested in some middle schoolers’ lives.

ALEXANDRA HOLTZ

It’s just this like all-encompassing pride that you have as you watch these students stand up. And then after the round, they’re so excited. And they come to you and they’re like, “Did I do a good job?” I’m like, “Of course you did.”

ARYAMAN SINGH

You see them show up the day of the tournament. Yes, first round might be a little difficult. Second, third round, they’re like, “Yeah, we got this. We know what we’re saying.”

ALEXANDRA HOLTZ

And at the tournament, it’s really not about winning. It’s about finding your voice, engaging in that dialogue.

ARYAMAN SINGH

CDL is amazing for me, because of the people in it. Everyone cares.

ALEXANDRA HOLTZ

CDL has been one of the most meaningful things I’ve done here at UVA. Middle school is hellish, and so if we can just be one pillar of stability for them, then we’ve done our job.

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