Reagan Debate goes paperless

Find book, copy select pages from book, underline, cut out selection, tape to fresh page, copy, summarize article selection, cut out selection and summary, tape to new page, copy, highlight, file in expanding folder, place in tub: from wheeling filing cabinets full of index cards to hundreds of eighteen gallon tubs filled with paper across the country ... For years, the school debate has been locked in a battle with the distribution, transportation, and use of paper evidence.

The Reagan High School Debate program, however, is making a difference and going paperless.

"Like debate itself, the way evidence is created has evolved over a lifetime of the activity," said Ryan Sun, a Senior at Reagan. "Early debate involved printed articles filed in massive metal filing cabinets that had to be pulled out whenever they were needed. If the evidence was found in a book, an arduous progress of copying the book page, cutting out the particular paragraphs, and taping this onto another blank page had to be carried out. As time progressed, debaters found the need to make their evidence more portable, so they put the information in the aptly named expand-o, a file folder with multiple pockets that could expand to fit the large amount of paper that each debater required."

"Pragmatism tends to mandate innovation and it seems only fitting that paper as debate resource has become obsolete," added Matt Reichle, Reagan's director of debate. Far from being behind the curve, Reagan’s debate team is entering their second season as a paperless debate team.

"You could see a debate squad walking around a tournament, they would have a dolly with three bulky, plastic tubs, and now you see debaters with a backpack and a laptop," explains Junior Ben Roberts.

Junior Bobby Zhan further explains that "paperless debate stemmed from the development of technology that made it possible to convert evidence efficiently electronically. As innovative debaters across the country developed software and Web sites to make electronic debating possible, paperless debate caught fire as a popular method that is preferable to traditional forms. This has caused a revolution that changed the landscape of debate towards paperless techniques."

Junior Christina Wiener explained that going paperless brings great benefits to the program.

"While the task of switching from paper debate to paperless seems daunting, the benefits outweigh any of the concerns," said Wiener. "Money is no longer spent on cartridge upon cartridge of ink to print thousand-page files. Instead, teams invest in netbooks, which cost a quarter of what they would have spent annually.”

This cost-reduction effort is aligned with district spending cuts; however, there are other reasons to move to a paperless system.

"Paperless debate's impacts extend far beyond the debate community, changing how debaters interact with the environment," said Junior Rodrigo Paramo. "Before paperless debates, individual policy teams had to roll around six or seven tubs of evidence, along with all of their luggage, to each out-of-town tournament. Paperless debate means that each team can transport their evidence on a single computer. Debaters are now more conscious about their interactions with the environment."

"Keeping abreast of a world that demands technological proficiency and ensuring that students engage with different modes of electronic resources are a few of the perks of debating without paper," said Reichle. "After a year of paperless debate the costs, speed, organization, and environmental benefits have extended beyond paper cuts and ink smears here on the Reagan debate team."

Reagan debate students demonstrate their transition to paperless.

Posted on September 6, 2011