Brooks Quimby Debate Council
The Brooks Quimby Debate Council is the debating society at Bates College, founded just after the College in 1855.
Among many firsts, we participated in the first intercollegiate debate in 1896 and the first international collegiate debate in 1908. Today, as one of the world’s premier debating societies, we compete domestically against other teams in the American Parliamentary Debate Association, and participate in a number of international debating events, such as the World Universities Debating Championships. Committed to inclusivity, we always welcome new debaters to our program – many of our best debaters learned how to debate at Bates!
Please explore our website to learn more about our program, or feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the BQDC or debate in general – we’d love to hear from you!
We meet every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 4:10pm in Pettigrew Hall (Room 300).
After a very successful season last year, the BQDC is happy to see many new novices interested in the team and debating at Bates, and we are excited to see where the new season may lead us, and how the team continues to grow. We sure have many exciting tournaments coming up: Oxford IV, Panama WUDC and many tournaments in New England.
Recent News
- Annual Dr. Rev. Benjamin Mays Debate
Rev. Dr. Benjamin E. Mays ’20 Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Debate This ever-popular contest between members of the debate teams of Morehouse and Bates Colleges honors Dr. Mays, a Bates debater, longtime president… - Brooks Quimby and Match High School
In the Pettigrew Hall debate room on Jan. 16, Bates debater Harry Meadows ’19 of Princeton Junction, N.J., leads the morning workshop session, teaching the Match High School students how to form arguments and other… - Winter Schedule 2019The Brooks Quimby Debate Council will be participating in the following tournaments during the Winter Semester of 2019: January 18-19th Tufts II (APDA) February 1-2nd Brandeis (APDA) February 8-9th Bates (APDA) February 22-23rd Yale ProAms…
- Season Results 2013-2014
The Brooks Quimby Debate Council concludes its most competitively successful season in recent institutional memory, ranking among the top debate programs in the United States and throughout the world. Results for American Parliamentary Style (APDA) Tournaments… - Bates Wins National Championship
Taylor Blackburn and Jack Stewart win National Championship at Purdue University. At the United States Universities National Debate Championships (USUDC) held at Purdue University on April 13, the team of Taylor Blackburn ’15 and Jack…