U-M summer debate camp transitions smoothly to virtual

Emma Gavriliuc - Share on: Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn University of Michigan sophomore Giorgio Rabbini calmly collects his notes, "surrounded” by fellow students and a judge. Without warning, he breaks the momentary silence, launching into a bombardment of meticulously researched statements. Hardly stopping to breathe, Rabbini begins just one of the thousands of debates that the U-M Debate Program has hosted over the years. This year's summer debate camp for high schoolers is a bit different-rather than student teams making their points together in a room, they find themselves at home by video on their computer. Rabbini, whose debate against Emory University students was recorded for this year's planning, is visible through a small rectangle on the Zoom grid that has become emblematic of this year's transition to living at-home. Due to the global pandemic, the U-M debate camp was moved online. Students no longer have to worry about navigating around the Ann Arbor campus or living hundreds-even thousands-of miles from home.