Parliamentary Debate Team

The Columbia Parliamentary Debate Team (or simply Parli Debate or Parli) competes with elite schools in the American Parliamentary style, which involves no research (as opposed to policy debate) and a lot of wit and thinking on one's feet. Once powerful and well-respected, the CU team has declined much in recent years, and is undergoing a very slow and bumpy recovery. Tournaments are usually held on Fridays and Saturdays off-campus, although a few tournaments, large and small, are usually held at Columbia each year. The team has also held campus exhibition rounds on Columbia issues.