Hip-hop has come to high-school debate. Les Lynn, director of the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues, says a stylistic fusion came naturally as more inner-city schools got involved. Ten years ago, only three urban public high schools had competitive debate teams; now there are more than 300. Jen Johnson, who organized the Seattle camp, says hip-hop is definitely a draw. She needed to double capacity this summer to accommodate increased demand. Precious Reese, 16, was one of the newcomers. “I had seen debate, but it didn’t seem like something I would want to do,” says Reese. “But hip-hop debate, it informs you in a way you can understand.” Critics question, is this really debate ? “In established debate circles, their main concern is to en-sure that the rigor, the critical thinking, the analytical reasoning–that these are still there,” says Lynn. Often they are, he adds. “This isn’t an excuse simply to listen to music.”
