At St. Petersburg College, two events are being launched this fall to promote student engagement in the civic arena. On October 15, SPC’s Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions is hosting a Watch Party in connection with the televised debate between the candidates for governor of Florida. Students will gather at 6:30 p.m. for free pizza and discussion of the issues likely to be brought up in the debate, which begins at 7 p.m. Afterward, a member of the SPC faculty will facilitate a discussion of debate highlights and take part in a survey on who “won” or “lost”.

The second student event is called The Great Debate. It offers students an opportunity to engage in debate of topical issues outside the classroom and to compete for valuable prizes. By promoting critical thinking, effective communication, independent research and teamwork, The Great Debate fulfills three of SPC’s Strategic Priorities: The Student Success Initiative, Out-of-Class Learning & Experiential Initiative, and College Experience Initiative.

Five SPC campuses will participate in the debate competition: Seminole, Clearwater, Tarpon Springs, Downtown/Midtown, and St. Pete Gibbs. The campus competition will be held the week of October 13-17, and the finals well be held at the Seminole campus on Nov. 13.

Besides fulfilling SPC’s strategic goals, The Great Debate also promotes civic engagement and builds esprit de corps. Students who volunteer for the competition will research an assigned topic, assemble factual data to support their position, and anticipate their opponent’s arguments with facts at hand to refute them. Besides honing research and writing skills, this will open their minds to critical policy issues that affect them, and thus initiate a process of civic engagement.

Instructors who incorporate the debate initiative into their syllabus may use the assigned topics to generate class discussion and create research and writing opportunities for all of their students. Preliminary debates will be held the week of Oct. 13 at each of the five competing campuses: Downtown/Midtown, St. Pete Gibbs, Seminole, Clearwater and Tarpon Springs. The finals will be held Nov. 13 at Seminole.

Is anyone else planning similar events within the Florida College System? Let us hear about it.

David Klement, Executive Director
Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions