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New York Parliamentary Debate League

The First Student-Run High School Debate League

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About the League

from Rodda John (Stuyvesant '17, Columbia '22), Co-Founder of the NYPDL

"As high school students ourselves, Radhika Mehta (Horace Mann '18, Columbia '22) and I founded the NYPDL to expand Parliamentary Debate, the most popular form of debate at college, at the high school level.  We wanted to create opportunities for students from schools without traditional debate teams to participate and form teams of their own. The league was built with an emphasis on student leadership. Though there are teachers and alumni of the league who oversee some of the activities requiring adults, the student-led board ultimately runs the league — scheduling, programming, and planning are all organized and executed by the students."

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About Parliamentary Debate

Parliamentary Debate, or Parli, is unique because there is no outside preparation! Debaters prepare their arguments for fifteen minutes before the round and have no access to outside sources. Within a single tournament, debaters can engage with topics ranging from international relations to complex moral dilemmas, allowing them to improve their rhetoric, logic, critical thinking, and knowledge of current events. Parli's intriguing, fun, and challenging style has made it the most widespread form of debate at the collegiate and international level, and our goal is to popularize the style at the high school level as well.

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Please visit our Resources page for introductory guides and videos to Parli, fun training games, our equity guide, and many other resources!​

How Do I Join?

If you are interested in joining the league or have any questions, please fill out the contact form below! By joining our mailing list, you will receive all of our updates about tournaments and initiatives. There is no fee to being a member of the league, and no minimum tournament participation requirement. 

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Please also follow our social media for more specific updates and recordings of high-level debate rounds!

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Contact Us!

Please fill out this form or send us an email with any questions you have about the league, our member schools and leadership, our tournaments, or parliamentary debate in general. Please also use this form to express interest in joining the league.

 

In order to ensure that you receive our reply, please add nyparli@gmail.com to your contacts.

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Check out our social media below for updates about the league and images and videos from our tournaments!

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