Annual Debate

Each spring semester students participate in an Oxford-style public debate. The debate is a venerable institution in Western higher education dating from medieval universities. While largely an exercise in public oratory, the JAF annual debate is also a time for members of the Gordon community to engage in thinking deeply together about controversial questions.
Watch previous debates ➔

Spring 2024  | Human Dignity

Resolution: “The concept of human dignity cannot be supported apart from a religious or transcendent justification”

The Affirmative Case

Abe Antonelli, Abi Eisner, Sophia Hefner, Hannah Morton, Daimen Storch, Eliza Weigelt

The Negative Case

Lilly Jache, Giovanna Johnson, Simon Kim, Juliana Leach, Danya Li, Charlotte McNamee, Johnny Paul-Faina

Student Testimonial

Micah Freer ’20

"One of the most formative experiences of the JAF program was the spring semester debate. For this debate, you prepare with half of the JAF cohort throughout the semester on a challenging topic. This provided us with the opportunity to test our leadership skills, grow closer as a team, learn from diverse perspectives and intellectually challenge one another before practicing our rhetoric skills in a schoolwide debate."