By Mimi Yao

Why debate? Some, such as SAS student Tracy Hung see debate as “A way to express and address disagreements.” Yet, in the past few years, especially in East Asian countries, debate has become increasingly associated with tournaments, awards, and most significantly, an entrance ticket to top tier universities.

Competitive debate has existed since the late 1800s, yet it only gained widespread recognition in China in the mid 2010s, which saw the rise of debate institutions such as Inspira and Learning Leaders. At this time, many students joined debate to improve their public speaking skills, meet new teammates, or simply to have fun. “I wanted to participate in discussions about the important global events and events that affect us,” reflected Madelyn Li, who was introduced to debate in 5th grade through the Learning Leaders debate summer camp. The strong association between debate and academics, however, has resulted in a swarm of tiger parents eager to use debate as a tool to send their children to prestigious universities. This impact was amplified during the pandemic, when debate took place through a more accessible online format. Perhaps the most obvious manifestation of people’s mentality regarding debate is the glorification of Team China.

Each year, top debaters apply to for a position in Team China despite being aware of its demands: nearly daily training, non-negotiable competitions, and the constant pressure of being replaced by newcomers. “The most stressful part probably is all the travel,” shared Team China member Ruisi He, who has been debating since 6th grade. “Since I miss a lot of school, I often have to make up exams. Sometimes I don’t have even have time to study for exams, which makes balancing debate and academics challenging.” Former Team China member Mackenzie Zhu adds that because many prestigious competitions are international, debaters are often expected to travel to countries far from China. Last school year, for instance, Mackenzie travelled to Croatia for the Winter Holidays Open, where she spent Christmas day debating in Europe, while her family was celebrating in Shanghai. And, despite being advertised as a golden ticket to Ivy League colleges, the real relationship between earning a spot in Team China and gaining admission into top universities is far more correlational than causal. “The amount of strong mindedness, perseverance, the amount of collaboration and dedication, that you have to put into being part of this team would make you a successful student no matter what. So, people would most likely get into schools of the same caliber regardless of whether they’re part of [Team China],” explained Mackenzie.

Moreover, although debate seems to be garnering more attention each year, many advanced debaters have voiced grievances about the culture that has emerged around debate. “There’s a lot of pressure to win and so a lot of debaters give themselves the pressure to always be improving. And that’s not always a realistic expectation,” said Madelyn. Debaters’ fixation on winning has also sometimes caused them to resort to relying on competitive tactics, such as intimidation or jargon. This discourages less experienced teams from engaging with the opposition and draws the focus of the debate away from the actual arguments, which undermines the value of debate.

Debate, as an intellectual sport, is inherently competitive. However, it is not inherently toxic. Rather, it reflects the toxic obsession with academics and prestige that pervades China. Thus, the remedy to the toxic competitiveness of the debate community is not to shun this activity, but to reevaluate our priorities as a society.