DU Students Find Their Voices in Great Debate

A quiet student raises a hand to express an opinion. It’s unquestionably an act of bravery, given that nearly 80% of college students are at least somewhat reluctant to discuss controversial topics, according to a 2024 report from Heterodox Academy. 

Thanks to the Debate Across the Curriculum initiative, though, University of Denver students are getting more comfortable with those discussions through a tool as old as Socrates: debate. The program aims to provide all DU students with exposure to and training in the effective exchange of arguments.  

This is not the political theater style of debate. It’s a lesson in civil discourse. Much like SPARK, DU’s annual day devoted to civil discourse and freedom of speech, it seeks to expose students to different ideas so they may better form their own.

Debate Across the Curriculum is used in classrooms across campus by teacher invitation. The process covers three class periods—the first prepares the students, the second is the debate itself, and the third is a debrief session where students discuss what they learned. It’s noncompetitive. No one is declared a winner.

“It teaches you your conviction should come after thinking, not before,” says Darrin Hicks, professor of communication studies. The former DU debate coach developed the program, which is sponsored in part by Braver Angels, a nonprofit dedicated to political depolarization. It debuted in fall 2022.

“This program works with individual faculty members in their classes and uses debate as a teaching tool,” he says. “I advise faculty members how to have a debate around an issue in their class. We have a really simple model: The essence of debate is two people on opposing sides of an issue.” Each side presents its case point by point, and questions follow.

“The University of Denver believes it is our responsibility to help our students hone the skills needed to engage in meaningful debate or discussion on complex issues,” says Chancellor Jeremy Haefner. “This is the holistic education we promise with the Four-Dimensional [4D] Experience—and it’s what will help our students thrive in the long term.”

Sociology professor Hava Gordon, one of the faculty members who have used the program, has incorporated it into her classroom twice. “There aren’t just two sides to an issue,” she says. “There are multiple sides that deserve exploration. Debate is a way students can dialogue an issue and not be afraid of disagreeing. It gives them the tools to engage with a different perspective than theirs in a way that expands their learning, rather than disagreeing with someone who disagrees with them.

Hicks says that’s the power of debate. “Ultimately, we learn what we don’t know yet and what we would need to know before we commit to a public policy position,” he says.

Kate Willink, a professor of communication studies, agrees. “Debate Across the Curriculum helps students learn how to deliberate together, and that is something we often don’t model as a society,” she says. “It makes the classroom a more alive and student-centered site where all voices matter.”

In Debate Across the Curriculum, the debate lasts for one class period. Every student is required to participate. Students are assigned sides, and each must present a point and answer questions from classmates. All questions are directed through Hicks, the moderator—a step that lessens confrontational tones. Students signal their approval about what is said by lightly tapping on their desks.

Lauren Roberts, a student who graduated this month and has participated in the program, values its practical applications. “I think opportunities like this are important for college students because they allow us to take theoretical course material and apply it in everyday life, which is really important for students’ career trajectories and for establishing themselves in the world,” she says.

Gordon says she wants to bring debate to all her classes because it has been such a positive experience for students. “Some students said it was the best part of the class,” Gordon says. “I would say it was their most engaged day. It was a way for students to synthesize their learning up to that point in a way that was much more engaging than a midterm exam or a paper. They made all the course material come to life.”

She saw normally quiet students begin to speak out—something she didn’t anticipate. “I thought students would hang onto their talking points, but I saw their arguments evolve in real time, and they thought of new points in response to the other students,” she says.

That’s to Hicks’ liking. “If we want to promote the ability for students to engage in a civil manner, we have to teach them how to do that,” he says. “Debate is the single best method we have so they can truly understand each other. And from that engagement, they can form their own core beliefs and figure out how they want to live their lives.”