Critical thinking, real wisdom: Two retiree debate teams took to the stage at Wake Forest
WFU debate team students served as coaches
Two debate teams faced off at Wake Forest University on Nov. 12. All of the debaters were over the age of 70. One was about to turn 97.
Inspired by the Wake Forest University Debate Team’s 2023 national championship, residents of Salemtowne Retirement Community launched their own debate society with the help of Wake Forest Debate students and debate faculty.
Media Coverage
- Golden Gavels The Wake Forest University Magazine
- Are you ever too old to debate? WXII
- With help from Wake Forest students, Salemtowne residents learn to debate Winston-Salem Journal
Wake Forest Debate partnered with the Wake Forest Lifelong Learning Program to host the first competitive debate between two retirement communities: Salemtowne from Winston-Salem vs. Abbotswood from Greensboro on Nov. 13 at the Porter Byrum Welcome Center on the Wake Forest campus.
The topic for debate: Should the U.S. repeal the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which protects the rights of U.S. citizens to keep and bear arms? A coin flip a few weeks ago determined which team would argue in favor of repealing the amendment and which would argue against it.
Cole Wolfe, a Wake Forest collegiate debater and sociology major, coached the Salemtowne team along with Allan Louden, retired director of Wake Debate.
“I think this is a demonstration that the critical thinking skills and the ability to learn, grow, research, debate, argue, be intense, be passionate – none of these things die with age,” Wolfe said. He described the debate participants as a “dream team” who bring “real wisdom built around their own experience” to their arguments.
Harper Lindsay, a sophomore on Wake Forest’s Debate team, coached the Abbotswood team with Jarrod Atchison, the current director of debate at Wake Forest.
The debaters delivered speeches and rebuttals of three minutes and five minutes, citing constitutional law, gun violence statistics, current gun laws, and other points to support their arguments. A timekeeper on the front row flashed a card to signal when speakers reached the time limit.
The two teams were evaluated by three experienced college debate judges from Emory University, the University of Northern Iowa and Wake Forest. An audience of more than 200 people, including Wake Forest students and residents from both communities, cheered them on.
Atchison said this is the first official debate of the National Retired Communities Debate League. He plans to expand the model nationally, creating a “debate in a box” for other retirement communities with how-to materials and potential debate topics. He envisions these retirees around the country holding similar debates on substantive issues and bringing finalists to Wake Forest for a national championship.
“We hope this will spread like wildfire,” Atchison said.
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