Skip Navigation

COVID-19 information and resources: gonzaga.edu/ZagOn

  • University Navigation University Navigation
  • Search Button
Search Button
s
Close Menu

Gonzaga Home

  • About
  • Academics
  • Admission
  • Student Life
  • Athletics
  • myGU

College & Schools

  • Online Graduate Programs
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • School of Business Administration
  • School of Education
  • School of Engineering & Applied Science
  • School of Law
  • School of Leadership Studies
  • School of Nursing & Human Physiology

Info For

  • Future Students
  • Current Students
  • Military & Veterans
  • Parents & Families
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Our Community
  • Basketball Fans
Visit
Apply
Give
Close Menu
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University
  • Search Button
  • Toggle Menu
News, Events & Stories Menu
  • News
  • Events
  • Stories
  • Publications
  • Galleries
News

News

Close Menu
Events

Events

Close Menu
Stories

Stories

Close Menu
Publications

Publications

Close Menu
Galleries

Galleries

Close Menu
  • Home
  • News, Events & Stories
  • Stories
  • Gonzaga Debate Institute Pivots to Online and Expands Footprint Worldwide

Gonzaga Debate Institute Pivots to Online, Expands Footprint Worldwide

Growing a Rich Gonzaga Tradition

Aerial view of a previous Gonzaga Debate Institute summer camp held on campus. (GU photo)
Aerial view of a previous year's Gonzaga Debate Institute on campus. (GU photo)
July 21, 2020
|
Gonzaga News Service
Share Story

Top Debate Talent Grades 7-12

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Gonzaga Debate Institute has grown to become one of the nation’s premier summer debate camps for students in grades 7-12. Facing the coronavirus pandemic, organizers pivoted to an online program this year — welcoming students worldwide.

Some 150 students from the United States, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea and Switzerland took part in the camp’s programs — experiencing Gonzaga and its storied debate program virtually.

The camp concluded Saturday, July 25 with the championship round of a debate tournament that began July 22.

Participants in the Gonzaga Debate Institute Online.
Some of the participants in the Gonzaga Debate Institute Online.

Glen Frappier, director of debate at Gonzaga University and senior lecturer in communication studies, has directed the Institute since 1999, growing it from a small regional event to a national brand. He is pleased with the results of the sudden change in plans for the camp that began June 21.

“Being forced to transition from a brick-and-mortar summer debate institute to a completely online debate experience has allowed us to greatly expand our global engagement footprint,” Frappier said. “We have a large group of Asian students who participate in a component of the program that runs concurrent with their time zones.”

Schylar Smith, a student at Timberline High School in Boise, Idaho, takes part in the GDI.
Schylar Smith, a student at Timberline High School in Boise, Idaho, takes part in the online GDI.
Frappier says talented faculty with strong experience in online instruction worked hard to create a top-quality curriculum that takes advantage of the opportunities available in a virtual debate experience.

“One of our goals is to prepare students to debate the National Student Debate Association’s national topic,” Frappier said. “This year that topic is extremely timely: ‘Resolved: The United States federal government should enact substantial criminal justice reform in the United States in one or more of the following: forensic science, policing, sentencing.’”

Gonzaga debate team members Avalyn Hine and Molly Martin are serving on the GDI teaching staff this summer.

Gonzaga’s top debate team with the coaches at the ADA Nationals last year at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the last tournament they attended before the coronavirus pandemic. Front row (from left) Rachel Halbo, Avalyn Hine and Molly Martin. Back row (from left) coaches Jason Regnier, and Joe Skoog.
Gonzaga’s top debate team with the coaches at the ADA Nationals last year at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the last tournament they attended before the coronavirus pandemic. Front row (from left) Rachel Halbo, Avalyn Hine and Molly Martin. Back row (from left) are coaches Jason Regnier, Glen Frappier and Joe Skoog.
It’s not Gonzaga’s first experience with online debate, Frappier said. 

“The team had also been dabbling in online debate before all this became a necessity, competing in an online tournament last fall and doing some beta testing for various platforms in early spring,” Frappier said.

The college debate community has decided that all tournaments will be held online this coming season, positioning the Zags well for the coming academic year.

“Our staff and debaters are getting some great experience learning this technology and adapting our norms to online competition,” Frappier said.

While GDI Online has been a success, organizers intend to return to the traditional on-campus setting next summer. The application process for all GDI programs is competitive and programs typically fill up quickly.

Gonzaga Debate: A Rich History

For over 100 years Gonzaga has supported argument and debate as a cornerstone of a Jesuit education. Debate alumni have attended prestigious graduate and law schools including Harvard, Georgetown, Yale, University of California at Berkeley and many others. Many are now leaders in their fields in politics, law, economics, and mathematics. Notable alumni of the program include former Speaker of the House Tom Foley and former Gonzaga President Rev. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J. Throughout the years Gonzaga has remained a perennial competitor in the National Debate Tournament/Cross Examination Debate Association, earning consistent national rankings, elimination rounds appearances at national tournaments and multiple first-round bids to the NDT. In 2012 the team advanced to the semifinals of the NDT and in 1989 won the CEDA National Championship Tournament.

For more information about Gonzaga debate or to apply for the 2021 GDI, visit www.gonzagadebate.com.

  • Academics
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Communication Studies
  • Debate
  • News Center

Share Story

Related Stories

Gonzaga Debate Institute Pivots to Online, Expands Footprint Worldwide

July 21, 2020

Students Receive Eva Lassman Research Awards

June 01, 2021

Highlights from Gonzaga's 126th Commencement

May 15, 2019

Memes, Hobbits, Ads and Global Economics

March 07, 2019

Subscribe

Subscribe to Messages from Gonzaga University


First Name
Last Name
Email Address *

Get the latest news sent to you as soon as it is published. While the frequency of these emails varies, you’ll typically receive between two and five emails per week, depending on the time of year.

A monthly newsletter sent from August through June that highlights some of our best news, stories and events.


Back to Top
Visit
Apply
Give
Quick Links
  • Maps & Directions
  • Employment at GU
  • Emergency Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • Title IX
  • Consumer Information
  • ZagMail
  • Contact Us
  • Harassment & Discrimination Policy
  • Virtual Tour
  • myGU Intranet
Gonzaga University
502 East Boone Avenue
Spokane, WA 99258-0102
(800) 986.9585
A Jesuit, Catholic, Humanistic University
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube