{"id":11557,"date":"2024-09-19T00:55:21","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T00:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/?p=11557"},"modified":"2024-09-19T01:03:07","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T01:03:07","slug":"coach-gwen-walz-lifts-up-student-debaters-at-2024-mayors-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/2024\/09\/19\/coach-gwen-walz-lifts-up-student-debaters-at-2024-mayors-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"“Coach” Gwen Walz Lifts Up Student Debaters at 2024 Mayors Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Minnesota<\/a>It\u2019s not every day that Twin Cities high schoolers get to flex their skills in front of Coach Walz.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach Gwen Walz, that is.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just a few weeks into the school year, four high school debaters faced off tonight in front of state and local leaders, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz opened the program at the Minnesota Urban Debate League\u2019s 12th annual Mayors Challenge event, held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat educators and coaches work at and dream of is the possibility of transformation\u2014for students to find their voices, to articulate their ideas, and to challenge, most of all, themselves,\u201d said Walz, a member of MNUDL\u2019s board. While Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is known for his time as a football coach, Gwen Walz started and coached the debate program at Mankato West High School, where both Walzes taught prior to their time in public office.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Wednesday night in Minneapolis, Ani McQuillen of Roosevelt High School, Minneapolis, and Max Ulven of Central High School, Saint Paul, argued the affirmative on issues related to AI. They debated Laura Afriyie of Tartan High School, Oakdale, and Sai Yang of Johnson High School, Saint Paul, arguing the negative. All are members of their schools\u2019 debate teams, hosted by MNUDL.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDebate is more than an extracurricular program: It\u2019s a leadership pipeline for our young people,\u201d said Amy Cram-Helwich, MNUDL\u2019s executive director. \u201cStudents gain crucial skills in debate that set them up for success in the classroom and in life. Our vision is that these benefits should be available to every Minnesota student.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the debate, the students interviewed Frey and Carter onstage, asking questions about climate change, education, city parks, and the process to change policy. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, also a former speech and debate competitor, delivered a fireside chat on AI and election integrity. Minnesota Representative Cedrick Frazier received the 2024 Champion of Change award for his work in education, criminal justice reform, and workforce development. MNUDL gives out the award annually to a changemaker who models courageous leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since 2012, the Mayors Challenge event has brought together education advocates from across the Twin Cities to watch an empowering, informative showcase debate and invest in the future of urban debate. Debate has been shown to positively impact literacy, self-esteem, critical thinking, attendance, and test scores. Students who participate in debate develop the capacity to engage in civil disagreement and civil discourse, skills that are essential for citizenship in a multicultural democracy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf ever there was a time to lift up the idea of finding respectful ways to disagree with one another, it is now,\u201d said Walz. \u201cIf ever there was a time to research, and discuss, and engage one another in issues of great importance, it is now. We come together around the most important of ideas: of enhancing education for the good of our students, of making schools better with discourse that is not all of one mind but is diverse and varied and rich in its contemplation\u2014and in hopes that our democracy might look much more like a debate team.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

About MNUDL<\/h4>\n

The<\/span> Minnesota Urban Debate League<\/span><\/a> is a program of Augsburg University that provides resources and programming to support competitive academic debate in Twin Cities high schools and middle schools. The mission of MNUDL is to empower students through competitive academic debate to become engaged learners, critical thinkers, and active global citizens who are effective advocates for themselves and their communities. Currently, MNUDL serves more than 1,300 students at 40+ partner schools and has seen sustained growth in student participation since its inception in 2004, in programs including national topic policy debate, middle school debate, Spanish Debate League, East African Debate, Financial Literacy Leadership Debates, and MDAW Summer Speech & Debate Camp.<\/span><\/p>\n

About Augsburg University<\/h4>\n

Augsburg University<\/span><\/a> offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees to more than 3,200 students of diverse backgrounds at its campus in the vibrant center of the Twin Cities. In 2023, U.S. News & World Report identified Augsburg as the most ethnically diverse regional university in the Midwest. Augsburg educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. An Augsburg education is defined by excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies, guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran church, and shaped by its urban and global settings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Media contact: Rachel Farris,\u00a0<\/span>farrisr@augsburg.edu<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not every day that Twin Cities high schoolers get to flex their skills in front of Coach Walz. Coach Gwen Walz, that is. Just a few weeks into the school year, four high school debaters faced off tonight in front of state and local leaders, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Saint Paul Mayor …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":11021,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3231],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media-advisories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11557"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11559,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11557\/revisions\/11559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}