Welcome to the James Madison University Policy Debate Team homepage! If you’ve debated before, or even if you haven’t, joining the squad is a great way to become involved with James Madison, and improve your speaking and persuasion skills while you’re at it!  If you have any questions at any time, please feel free to email the Director of Debate, Dr. Mike Davis at davismk@jmu.edu.
The University supports JMU debate by providing a travel budget and arranging for faculty to work with the program. Debate at JMU is not a club or social organization. The University supports a regionally and nationally competitive program.
            The debate program is open to any undergraduate in academic good standing. The program operates within the School of Communication and is supported in many ways by the larger university community. JMU Debaters travel to tournaments all over the country and succeed in all levels of competition.  Our debate program is strictly for policy debate, and if you are unfamiliar with policy debate, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debate for more information. 
All students involved with debate receive academic credit by registering for SCOM 318, Practicum in Human Communication. The grade will factor into your cumulative GPA. Most students who are active in the program receive an A for their hard work and commitment.
Our director of debate, Dr. Mike Davis, debated at Syracuse University, and has expanded the program as well as become a great teacher for the team.  Click here for a more detailed bio of Mike.  In addition, Andrew Barnes, previously of Wake Forest and Clarion University fame, has added his card cutting skills and teaching ability to the squad as the Assistant Director of debate.
The 2007-2008 policy debate topic is related to the Middle East, and if you would like information on this topic, please visit http://www.cedatopic.com/0708topic.html
If you’re interested in learning more about James Madison University, please visit our homepage at www.jmu.edu.