League Policies
Disclaimers in debate should be incredibly rare. The Debate Committee works hard to ensure that an adequate treatment of any of our resolutions will not require the use of material that would need a disclaimer.
Although particularly shocking, violent, or grisly material would warrant a disclaimer, we would encourage parents and coaches to educate their students about what language and examples are fitting to the setting and to lovingly correct those that are out of place. Remind debaters that they may be debating a student as young as twelve years old who cannot excuse themselves from the debate round.
We would encourage debaters to steer clear of extreme examples and descriptive vocabulary that paints a graphic picture. (Sexually explicit language or descriptions are never appropriate in a debate round and are banned by our competition material policy, along with all forms of vulgarity.) Such speech is not necessary in order to debate our resolutions. Instead, when handling potentially sensitive subject matter, students can:
- Use statistics rather than graphic stories
- Use truthful but more succinct or general language
- Focus on the philosophical or policy issues that are at the heart of the resolution
Christian debaters should seek to sharpen each other in order to gain the skills they can use as ambassadors for Christ. Learning how to discuss heavy themes in a discrete and gracious way is a skill that is worth sharpening.