The debate team seeks to cultivate in its members a passion for intellectual discourse. Milton’s debate program emphasizes many of the same tenets as Milton’s academics: cogency in speech, thorough understanding of material, and hard work. The debate team competes regionally, nationally and internationally against debaters from other secondary schools. The Milton Academy Debate Team is a member of the Massachusetts Forensic League, The National Forensic League, The Catholic Forensic League, and the Debate Association of New England Independent Schools.

Lincoln-Douglas is a value-based style of debate in which two competitors argue a predetermined resolution. Each resolution is used for a period of two months at all L-D tournaments. Past resolutions include “the possession of nuclear weapons is immoral,” “capital punishment is immoral,” and “when in conflict globalization ought to supercede conflicting claims of national sovereignty.”

*Catholic Forensic League Grand National Lincoln-Douglas Champion

*Massachusetts State Lincoln-Douglas Champion

*Eight nominating bids to the Tournament of Champions in the past three years (held in Louisville, Kentucky)

*Two top finishers in the World Debate Championships
(held in Cyprus and London)

*Invitations to the prestigious New York City Invitational Round Robin Debate and the
Stanford Invitational Round Robin Debate

*National Forensic League Championships 3rd Place in Lincoln-Douglas

*Top Speaker at the Harvard University Speech and Debate tournament (more than 300 competitors in L-D debate)