Roger Sherman Debate Society
Western Connecticut State University Debate
2nd Floor, Haas Library, WCSU
c/o Department of History and Non-Western Cultures
181 White Street
Danbury, CT 06810
(203) 837-8565
What is the Roger Sherman Debate Society?
The Roger Sherman Debate Society is WCSU's debate team. We host public and parliamentary debates on WestConn's campus, moderate debates, and participate in competitive team debate tournaments that are sanctioned by the Cross Examination Debate Association. We are an organization promoting more and better debate both at WCSU and throughout the nation. Debate competition includes traveling to universities across the nation and competing against peers from almost every university in the country. As a member of the North East Conference of debate we take on the top competition in the world, facing off against the top academic institutions: NYC, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Boston College, and the United States Military Academy, just to name a few. We are among the most successful small school teams in policy debate.
Why Debate?
Competitive debate is an opportunity to show that your ideas are the best and students from WCSU are just as good, if not better, than students from other institutions. We pride ourselves on our competitive nature. Acting as a member of the team demands rigorous effort be put towards research, speaking and argument formation. Meeting the demands of competitive policy debate instills skills useful in academia, law, business, and other professions. Members of our team have gone on to tackle the demands of law schools across the country. Participating in debate has a net effect on the improvement of LSAT, GRE, GMAT, and other standardized test scores as well the improvement of GPA. For students who set high goals, debate is a true path to accomplishing them. Students from any discipline of study are encouraged to be a part of debate as each discipline can bring new and diverse ideas to the table. For those students interested in reaching for the stars, WCSU debate is at your finger tips.
What Have Debaters Gone on to Do?
Alumni of the Roger Sherman Debate Society have gone on to Ph.D. programs at places such as the University of Massachusetts and the University of Connecticut and to Law Schools such as Chapman University, the University of San Diego, George Mason University, and the University of Delaware. They have also gone on to coach major debate programs in the region.
Who was Roger Sherman?
Senator Roger Sherman (1721-1793), who made his home in Western Connecticut (in New Milford and later in New Haven), was the only person to have signed all four basic documents responsible for American independence: the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. He was one of the committee of five (along with Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Philip Livingston) to actually draft the Declaration of Independence. He later represented the State of Connecticut in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. He rose to prominence through diligence and hard work As a young man he overcame years of penury and debt caused by the early death of both his parents by making shoes for a living, and later became a highly successful merchant and the largest landowner in Litchfield County.
Roger Sherman was renowned for his debating skills. Sherman intervened when the famous Calvinist minister Jonathan Edwards Jr. was about to be dismissed by his New Haven congregation. His arguments were so influential that the congregation was persuaded to retain him as their minister, at least until after Sherman's death. Seeing Sherman in a crowd, Thomas Jefferson once pointed at him and shouted: "That is Mr. Sherman of Connecticut, a man who never said a foolish thing in his life!" For more information on Roger Sherman, see Christopher Collier, Roger Sherman's Connecticut: Yankee Politics and the American Revolution (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1971); Roger Sherman Boardman, Roger Sherman: Signer and Statesman (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1938); John G. Rommel, Connecticut's Yankee Patriot: Roger Sherman (Hartford: American Revolution Bicentennial Committee, 1980); and James G. German, "The Social Utility of Wicked Self-Love," Journal of American History 82:3 (Dec. 1995), 965-988.
How Much Work Does Debate Require?
Debate is a rewarding but time-intensive activity. Debaters are expected to devote at least 10 hours per week to meetings, reviewing materials, and doing evidence assignments. In addition, debaters are required to attend at least three weekend-long tournaments per year. These tournaments allow you to travel around the country and debate at prestigious tournaments against other top programs.
Where Do I Sign Up?
If you’re interested in joining the debate team, you can contact the President of the Debate Team, Priya Aswani at aswani002@wcsu.edu, or Wynn Gadkar-Wilcox, Co-Director of the Debate Team, at wilcoxw@wcsu.edu. You can also contact us by telephone at (203) 837-8565, or show up to our weekly meetings at 4pm in White Hall 324 on WestConn’s Midtown Campus.