Extra Credit 9/12/2012 Blog Post

I think this was the first Public UWG Debate I have attended and it was very interesting!  If there is another debate with an interesting topic I would most likely attend. Both debate teams (the pro and con) were prepared with excellent evidence as to why African Americans either should or should not go to a HBCU. Although they might have not used a "Research Question Checklist" to verify if their information was in line with the overall question, everything seemed to be in good shape.  Going to this debate was not only a great outside educational event, but this debate also set a foundation/example on how a research paper is done.  In the beginning, when both of the teams spoke for the first time, I think they acknowledged the question first and then went on about their research.  I found that important because by them doing that it was as if it was the "thesis" of their presentation.  If they did not acknowledge their question, I think it could have been unclear about what position their standing for.  Taking a position, and making sure it is clear to your audience is definitely apart of the research question checklist.  The evidence the pro team had was that if an African American student decided to attend a HBCU then they would have an advantage to the amount of support they would get because of the similarities amongst every student.  They said HBCUs help construct an identity, and builds assimilation.  Meaning there would be a different social-economic environment. For example, you would be amongst the rich and the poor.  Also the pro team said you could become more educated about African history (more educated than what a non-HBCU would offer) and companies go to HBCUs because of diversity.  The pro team made excellent reasons that answered their overall question, however it was brought up by the con team that they did not have plenty of statistics to back up their arguments.  Although they did mention a few statistics, it was not as much as the con's presented. Therefore making the validity of the pro's arguments questionable. The con's arguments were that African Americans should not attend a HBCU because it is expensive, companies will end up not hiring, because of the student's debt (if in dept.). Also they brought up that the HBCU does not make the person, but the character of the person makes that person and leads to them doing great. The con team had many statistics to prove their evidence.  I am more against the statement that African Americans should go to HBCUs because I feel that it limits your options. Overall both teams were great and shown that when you do research, you must have plenty of evidence, your evidence must be relevant, and your information needs to be clear.