Stanford National Forensic Institute

The Stanford National Forensic Institute Core Program is a unique national-caliber program that offers a balanced approach to debate conducted by excellent instructors at a very reasonable price. Varying levels of instruction from novice to advanced are offered to ensure that all students receive a challenging and academically appropriate experience. One of the finest summer debate programs in the nation, the SNFI teaches students fundamental and advanced techniques in a rigorous, carefully structured environment.

The SNFI curriculum balances improving students debate technique through expertly critiqued practice rounds with in-depth discussion of debate theory and the topic for the year, as well as providing detailed instruction through the SNFI lecture and seminar series. Students will also work with each other and the faculty on research and argument construction to create a full set of evidence available to all SNFI students. Staff student ratios are guaranteed to be at least 12:1.

Core Program participants receive a disc of all evidence produced at the camp, and a “core set” of evidence on paper. This “core set” includes the affirmative case worked on by the student, negative files on each affirmative produced at the camp and a negative strategy package sufficient to participate in debates at the camp. An additional paper set of affirmative and negative evidence of nearly two thousand pages is made available at a cost of about $95. The resident plan includes tuition, housing and three meals a day on most days of the program. The commuter plan includes tuition and lunch and dinner on most days of the program.

Director's Note

I wanted to take some time to inform you of what we have in store for this summer at SNFI Policy. My name is Corey Turoff, and I am returning for my fourth year as director. I debated at the University of Southern California as an undergraduate and since have coached debate for the past seven years, starting at Damien High School and Chaminade College Prep and am now finishing my fifth year at the Head Royce School in Oakland, California. Speaking on behalf of the staff and myself, I can say we think of ourselves as teachers first and debate coaches second. Our approach each summer involves thinking of interesting ways to use the topic as a vehicle for teaching students how to compete successfully during the year. The focus, then, is on critical thinking and strategy: taking well-reasoned argument and tying it to evidence researched by the students on any given topic, and enhancing that argument in later rebuttals with strong analysis and expert vision. We also teach that every argument matters, even the ones whose legitimacy you question. Students should walk out of the SNFI experience with a confidence that they can compete in every debate round, regardless of the arguments being made because ultimately, our goal is to instill a love for debate derived from being prepared for anything, not just the evidence produced by a certain lab on a certain topic.

To accomplish these goals, we employ an unbelievably qualified and mature staff with a cumulative century of debate experience. Each works as a professional debate coach in some capacity during the school year and has worked with/attended the SNFI before. For the past several summers, we have made a renewed commitment towards hiring staff with teaching quality in mind, rather than on the draw that “names” could bring to the institute. We believe that our staffing this year accomplishes that in spades! They represent one of the longer running continuous staffs at institutes across the country and a very tight-knit group of friends whom refuse to allow their competitive natures to come at the expense of your student’s education. Whether through our extreme disclosure requirements during the camp tournament or the occasional friendly intra-lab practice debate, opportunities to teach skills such as block writing and in-round prep usage are never missed.

Through our staff’s experience as teachers, SNFI Policy has created a very simply pedagogical approach to the institute: student-driven learning. The quality of our files is not determined by the quality of the evidence found by an instructor but rather by the students themselves. And while the staff does not cut evidence directly, we use an extensive back-reading system and group sorting process to ensure quality control. Students choose the topics for seminars, and each lecture ends with a lab meeting so that they each have a chance to ask questions while the information is still fresh in their minds. Moreover, the choice in lab program (Swing Lab, Sophomore Scholars, Accelerated Lab, and the Core Lab) gives students greater control over their camp experience than any other site in the country. And unlike other camps, the majority of rounds judged, including the tournament, are judged by full-time instructors rather than recently-graduated high school students. The few younger staff we do employ are former students of staff members whose teaching credentials are verified before they arrive on campus, and most importantly, are disclosed as members of the staff before final decisions are made, which we feel is a stark contrast to finding out from your students in September with whom they worked during the summer.

Thanks for you time and I look forward to working with your students in beautiful Palo Alto, California this July!

-Corey Turoff, Policy Division Director