Spring Update

While the fiscal year for the Chicago Debate Commission begins on July 1st and the school year begins in August, there is a deeper sense in which the spring actually begins the annual cycle for the Chicago Debate League. Renewal and revitalization of the CDL are what the months of April, May and June are all about.

The seeds of our springtime re-birth are planted in the culminating championship events in March, which are featured in this issue of the Chronicle. Please read through this newsletter to learn the results of the Allstate Conference and City Debate Championships. You can also discover which outstanding coaches, administrators, debaters and squads were recognized for their season-long accomplishments. We celebrate their past work and look forward to its continuation.

In this April/May Chronicle, we also report on the CDL’s letter-writing campaign to the Illinois General Assembly to advocate stronger support for Chicago’s public schools. These efforts are aimed not only at the long-term sustainability of the CDL, but also at the broader stability of public education in Chicago and the state. The NAUDL’s Chase Urban Debate National Championship will be held in New York in a few weeks. We report on the two teams who qualified to defend Chicago’s title. Finally, we shine a spotlight on CDL alum Hannibal Buress who has converted his thinking and speaking skills into national prominence as a comedic writer and performer.

It’s possible to see the Chicago Debate League in the spring 2010 as an organism, healthy, very much alive and growing — a condition that complements our record as one of the oldest and most consistently high-performing UDLs in the country. It is that commitment to vitality — even more than our culminating events and positive-trending metrics — that is the connecting theme of this issue of the Chronicle. We hope you enjoy reading it and that it recharges you, too.