The University Debating Club

The University Debating Club, as at present constituted, is a purely administrative body. The club was formed by the uniting of the "Forum" and "Union" in the fall of 1898, and for some years attempted to keep up an active debating organization. But the rise of the class debating clubs and the large attendance in the various college courses directly or indirectly connected with debating, soon made it evident that there was not room for an active debating club open to the different classes. As a result, the University Debating Club last year confined itself to arranging the intercollegiate debates, and to bringing the class clubs into harmonious relations. The University debaters and the presidents of the class clubs are the only members of the new organization.

The intercollegiate debating committee has complete charge of the arrangements for the Yale and Princeton debates, and it has the power to appoint sub-committees from the class clubs to undertake part of the work. Besides the president of the club, S. B. Rosenthal 3L, the following compose the committee this year: H. A. Yeomans 1G., chairman; H. P. Chandler '01, secretary; H. B. Kirtland '01, H. F. Wolff 2L, and R. C. Bruce '02. This committee will choose the question for the Yale debate which comes in December, and will also decide which side of the question Harvard will argue in the Princeton debate next May.

The system of coaching University debating teams which prevails at Harvard is essentially different from that at Yale or Princeton. In the latter institutions the system of faculty coaching has been thoroughly adopted. The Harvard Faculty, on the other hand, has taken the position of giving no aid to the debaters, on the ground that their coaching would practically result in faculty contests between the colleges. Harvard, therefore, has to rely upon graduates who are interested in debating to coach the University team, and as long as such men are available the system is likely to prove successful. Last year, R. C. Ringwalt '95 coached the team that defeated Princeton and A. P. Stone '93 coached the team that defeated Yale.