Charles Olney debated at Oak Harbor High School (WA), where he twice qualified for the TOC and advanced to late elimination rounds at a number of national tournaments including the semifinals of Berkeley and the quarterfinals at USC. Charles debated at Whitman College, where he received three first round at-large bids for the NDT, including twice being ranked among the top 5 teams in the country. Charles was the top speaker at the 2003 NDT, where he also reached the semifinals. He won a number of national college tournaments including Fullerton and the Dartmouth Round Robin, where he was also named the top speaker. In addition, he reached the quarterfinals or better of the CEDA National tournament all four years, making the finals in 2003. Since graduating Charles has coached at Michigan State University, Harvard, and Dartmouth. He has coached one NDT champion, two NDT semi-finalists, one NDT quarterfinalist, two NDT octo-finalists, and one NDT double octo-finalist, as well as eight teams who received first round at-large bid recipients to the NDT.

Debating at Burlington High School (VT), Josh Kernoff won a number of northeast tournaments as well as multiple TOC bid rounds at national tournaments. Josh went from starting his high school debate team to making the elimination rounds of the NFL nationals and winning the Vermont State Championship. Working as a coaching assistant, Josh has also helped teams reach elimination rounds of both the JV/Novice Nationals and the TOC. As a Dartmouth debater, Josh has qualified for the NDT three times, including a top five first round at-large bid. Josh reached elimination rounds at national tournaments during each year of his college career. This year he has reached the finals of the Gonzaga, Wake Forest, Cal State - Fullerton, and West Georgia tournaments, in addition to finishing second at the Kentucky Round Robin. Josh has also won speaker awards at most national tournaments this year. He reached the finals of the 2008 NDT.

As a Nicolet (WI) debater, Nicole Serrano reached the late elimination rounds of Wake Forest, Harvard, and NFL Nationals. She also qualified for the TOC. As a debater at Dartmouth College she reached the late elimination rounds of tournaments such as Northwestern, Wake Forest and Kentucky as well as winning the University of Northern Iowa tournament. As a high school coach, Nicole has coached two teams to the top 6 at NFL nationals, as well as coached a team to the semi-finals or better at every major national high school tournament, including the TOC. She has also coached students to numerous top ten speaker awards, including a top five speaker at the Glenbrooks, Harvard, Emory University's Barkley Forum, Massachusetts' State, and NFL's tournaments.

Ken Strange is the director of debate at Dartmouth College. He has coached eight teams to the finals of the NDT, including 3 NDT champions. He also coached about a dozen NDT semi- finalists, three CEDA Nationals finalists, and a number of top ten NDT speaker award winners. In every one of the 28 years that Ken has coached at Dartmouth, he has had at least one first round at-large team to the NDT, including five Copeland Award winners, and in each of the 28 years he has had teams winning elimination rounds at the NDT.

In addition to the lab leaders Bill Shanahan, the director at Fort Hays, will serve as a class instructor and assist all the labs with his special expertise on critical and innovative arguments.

Ross Smith, coach of the 2008 NDT Champions at Wake Forest, will be a guest instructor and teach a number of theory and elective classes.

Each student will have the opportunity to work with every staff member in the many classes other than labs. Students, however, are usually inordinately concerned about lab placement. Here is how labs are decided. Labs will be assigned primarily on the basis of coaches' requests, constrained by the size of the labs and partner requests. Beyond that, we try to make the labs geographically diverse, similar in gender and age mix, and equal in prior year's record. Typically, each of the labs at Dartmouth have an overall win record of about 70% from tournaments the previous year. Every lab has outstanding instructors and debaters. Historically, students from every DDI lab have done exceptionally well at tournaments across the nation the following year

Our application process does not involve applying to particular labs, but we are almost always able to accommodate the coaches' requests for lab assignments. If a coach requests either of two labs, it is near certain that the debater will be placed in one of them. Conflicts with partner requests are about the only thing that could preclude our honoring one of the two requested labs.

Applications
Applications must be RECEIVED by May 9, 2008.

Application requires the following forms which are available on the Application page: Student Application Form, Coach Recommendation Form, and a copy of your high school transcript. For those who are interested, there is also a Scholarship Application Form.

You do not need to send all of the materials together. In fact, you are advised to send each of these forms as soon as possible, even if that means sending them separately. Do not wait on your coach to complete Form 2 or your high school to send the transcript; in the past, such waiting has unnecessarily delayed applications.

There is no application fee. Please do not send money with your application.

Application materials can be sent by US mail to the address on the application forms, by e-mail to ken.strange@dartmouth.edu, or by fax to 603-646-0004.

Applicants will receive notice regarding their admission by US mail, sent no later than May 16, 2008.

Institute Fees
The fee for the four week session is $3850. This covers tuition, housing, and a declining-balance meal plan. In addition, a $50 damage deposit will be required and returned in cash to students at the time of their departure from the Institute. There are no laboratory fees or other hidden charges.

Those students flying into and out of Boston's Logan airport can be provided transportation on a chartered bus for a fee of $80 round-trip / $40 one-way. Those driving their own cars will be charged a $75 storage fee.

A number of scholarships are available. All are awarded based solely on need. Most range up to a maximum of $1900. Two full scholarships, the Slappey Scholarship named after the Institute's first Administrator, and the Baker, named after former staff members, will be offered; these scholarships are made possible by the contribution of Dartmouth alums Lenny Gail and Mark Koulogeorge, the 1984 NDT Champions, and Steven Sklaver, the 1993 NDT Champion. A scholarship application form with an explanation of the scholarships is available on the application form webpage.

Students will be required to make a $500 non-refundable deposit by May 24, 2008. The remainder of the Institute fee can be paid anytime up through registration on July 13, 2008. All checks should be made payable to the Dartmouth Debate Institute. We cannot accept credit cards.

Research Facilities
Institute students will have full use of the College's library system. Dartmouth's libraries are of the quality one would expect of an Ivy League college. A full time staff of over 100 people administer more than a million volumes and process over 300,000 loan transactions each year.

The College's librarians will provide orientation and on-going assistance to Institute students. The Institute also will have a staff of high school coaches and intercollegiate debaters in the libraries to work with students on the special research needs called for in debate. In addition, the Institute will maintain a special collection containing hundreds of articles on the resolution.

Students also will have use of the College's computer facilities, including hardwire and airport access from their room in the residence hall.

The College Experience
Dartmouth, College, an Ivy League school established in 1769, is located in Hanover, New Hampshire, a small New England town located on the Connecticut River. The student body includes about 4,100 under-graduate and 1,600 graduate students. Because the Dartmouth Enrollment Plan involves most students attending one summer term, many classes are in session during the Institute. Institute students who are interested may be able to observe classes.

Institute students will live in college residence halls, eat in the college dining hall, use college class-rooms, and have access to the college's recreational facilities.

Arrival and Departure
Students should arrive at the Institute on July 13, 2008, and they should depart on August 10, 2008. Only under the most extreme circumstances will early/late arrival or departure be permitted; such special arrangements must be made in advance of the Institute with Ken Strange.

Registration for the Institute will be on Sunday, July 13, between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. in the Choate Residence Halls. A campus map will be enclosed with a confirmation letter in June. Students who are not on the chartered buses are advised to register before 5:00 p.m. to avoid the rush. The opening meeting of the Institute will be Sunday, July 13 at 9:00 p.m. Students may depart Dartmouth at any time on Sunday, August 10.

Between July 13 and August 10, students are expected to remain in Hanover. Institute classes and activities are planned throughout this time, including weekends. If a student has some exceptional reason for briefly being out of Hanover, his/her parent(s) should contact Ken Strange, Institute Director, by mail or telephone well in advance of the planned departure so that arrangements can be made.

Transportation
Hanover can be reached by automobile on either Interstate 89 (exit 18 in NH) or Interstate 91 (exit 13 in VT). The college is about a two and one-half hour drive from Boston or about a five hour drive from New York City.

Students who drive themselves to the Institute will not be permitted to drive their cars during the Institute. Our residence hall director, will hold the car keys during the Institute. Cars will be parked in a campus storage lot, which is secured by Dartmouth campus security. The charge for automobile storage is $75.

Vermont Transit Company buses serve Hanover, and White River Junction, VT. White River Junction is about a ten minute drive from Hanover. Amtrak also runs to White River Junction. We will pick up and return students at the bus and train stations at no additional charge.

US Air commuter flights serve Lebanon NH, which is about fifteen minutes from Hanover. Connections can be made through Boston, New York, and elsewhere. You should be warned that these are small planes, and that they frequently miss luggage connections. We will pick up and return students at the Lebanon airport at no additional charge.

Continental, Delta, Northwest, Southwest, United, and US Air fly into the Manchester NH airport. Manchester is a little over an hour from Hanover. Vermont Transit bus line provides transportation between the airport and Hanover. A schedule is available on the Vermont Transit Webpage. We will pick students up when they arrive in Hanover.People Movers is also available for transportation between Manchester Airport and the Workshop residence halls.

If you choose to fly into and out of Boston's Logan Airport, we will provide transportation on a chartered bus for $80 round trip or $40 one way. On July 13, representatives from the Institute will meet you at Terminal C at Logan. If you arrive at another terminal, you can take an airport shuttle bus to Terminal C. The chartered bus will depart Logan at 3:00 p.m.; we will not be able to hold the bus after that time. On August 10, the bus will depart Hanover at 8:00 a.m. and should arrive at Logan by 11:00 a.m. To be safe, you should arrange arrival at Logan on July 13 prior to 1:30 p.m. and departure from Logan on August 10 after 12:00 noon. Information about the airport is available on the Logan Webpage.

If arrival or departure on the chartered bus from Logan is inconvenient, an alternative is Dartmouth Coach (a private shuttle service, not associated with the College). They make a number of trips daily. A schedule is available on the Dartmouth Coach Webpage. The cost is about $35 each way. Their number is 1-800-637-0123 or 603-448-2800. Another option is Vermont Transit bus line, which has several buses running between Logan and Hanover. You can get the summer schedule on the Vermont Transit Webpage or by calling Vermont Transit in White River Junction at 802-295-3011 or their vermont headquarters at 800-451-3292.People Movers is also available for transportation between Manchester Airport and the Workshop residence halls.

Food Service
Included in your Institute fee is a meal plan. This is set up as a $350 declining balance. The card can be used at any of the several food services on campus. If use of the card is less than the allotted $350, the balance cannot be refunded. If use of the card exceeds $350, the additional purchases must be paid in cash. We were able to go to this meal plan for the first time several years ago. Prior to that students had a set number of meals in the "all-you-can-eat" line in the main dining hall. With the declining balance plan, there were some who did not use all of their balance, but those were few since near the end of the Institute they purchased lots of snack food to take back to the residence hall. There were some who exceeded their balance, but they were able to make arrangements for cash purchases since they knew their remaining balance with each purchase. Despite these problems, students strongly preferred this meal plan since it gave them more options as to where to eat and made much better food available to them.

Housing/Living
Institute students will be housed in the Choate residence hall cluster. Admissions packets will include a map of campus and provide driving directions. Men and women will be housed on different floors if possible, and definitely be on different corridors. There are both double and single rooms. Enrollment materials will request preferences at to the type of room, and we will try to honor as many of those preferences as possible. We also will try to honor mutual requests for roommates. Otherwise, rooms will be assigned randomly, except to assure geographic diversity of the students on each corridor. We believe that one of the opportunities provided by the Institute is for students to get a sampling of what college life is like. This includes the experience of meeting and living with people from different parts of the country and from different backgrounds.

Students will be required to be in the residence halls at 11:00 p.m.; this will be verified by a room check. After room check students may leave their rooms, but they will not be permitted on floors or corridors occupied by the opposite gender after 11:00 p.m. There are common areas available for debate work to continue later than these times. All students must be in their own rooms at 1:00 a.m. There will not be a standing "lights out" policy, but 1:00 a.m. "lights out" may be imposed if it becomes apparent that students need more sleep.

Visitors are not permitted in the residence halls after 11:00 p.m. Under no circumstances may guests stay in the dorm overnight.

Mail and Other Deliveries

Letters and packages sent by US mail should be addressed to the student at the Workshop address: Dartmouth Debate Institute, HB6145 Robinson Hall 319, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755. With express mail be sure to waive the signature requirement. This is the Director's campus mailbox. Mail will be distributed to student boxes in the residence hall.

Items sent by private delivery services (UPS, Federal Express, etc.) should be sent to the student at Dartmouth Debate Institute, Robinson Hall 319, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755. There is no street address on campus. Be sure to waive the signature requirement. This is the Dartmouth Forensic Union Office. We will deliver packages to the students in the residence hall.

During the Institute, students will have Dartmouth e-mail accounts. Their address will be firstname.lastname@dartmouth.edu.

We will make arrangements with UPS pickup at the residence halls for students wishing to ship items home at the end of the Institute.

Telephone Calls
Each student will have a telephone in his/her room in the residence hall. It is the responsibility of students to inform their friends and relatives of their phone numbers upon arrival at the Institute.

Emergency numbers, including that of the Residence Hall Director, will be included in the confirmation letter. They also will be listed on the office answering machine of the Institute Director, 603-646-3877.

Things to Bring
Most of the debate supplies you might need are available at the Dartmouth Bookstore, one block from campus, but you might want to bring supplies anyway. Tubs are not available at any store within walking distance; you'll probably need several to carry your Institute evidence.

You are urged to bring a three ring notebook with dividers and plenty of paper. You will want to keep careful notes during Institute classes. This or another notebook also will be useful in keeping the bibliographic work for your research organized.

Hanover summers tend to be mild. You should bring warm weather clothing, but a sweater or jacket will be needed for some of the cooler evenings. No Institute activities will require more formal dress. Sheets, pillow cases, and towels will NOT be provided. You should bring linens for a single bed. Pillows and blankets are provided. You should bring a robe or something to wear to the shower. The residence hall is not air-conditioned, so you may want to bring a fan. (The temperature on most nights is in the 50s or 60s, but it is usually warmer in the rooms; a fan will bring in the cooler outside air.) You might also want to bring a small desk lamp. Be sure to bring an alarm clock!

Computers
Students will have full access to the Dartmouth College computer facilities, but, if it is convenient, you may want to bring a computer. All of the residence halls rooms have hardwire and remote access into the College mainframe. So, if you bring a computer and have or purchase an ethernet card or a wireless airport card, you will be able to do library searches, use the internet and Lexis, access e-mail, etc. from your room; you will also be able to print on the College's public printers.

Spending Money/Cash
The amount of money past students have spent out of pocket during the Institute has varied substantially. There are no lab fees and the meal plan should be sufficient for most students throughout the Institute. Copies of briefed evidence produced by a student's lab are covered in the Institute fees. Students will need to pay for copying articles, books, and other research material; this tends to cost about $50 and rarely exceeds $100 for the four weeks. Those wanting to rent a refrigerator (about $30 for the entire Institute) will need to pay in cash on the first day of the Institute. Students also will need to do laundry during the Institute; machines are in the residence halls. Beyond these expenses student spending varies primarily based additional food expenses: eating at restaurants, ordering pizza, using the vending machines, etc.

To have cash available for the four weeks, travelers checks or use of an ATM card are suggested. We have made arrangements at a local bank for Institute students to cash checks from home; they will cash checks up to $100 each.

Coaches Are Welcome
Coaches are urged to consider attending our Coaches Workshop. Coaches are also welcome to observe all of the Institute's classes. The only expense involved will be a charge of $30 per day should you wish to stay in the college residence hall. Those judging in the Institute tournament, August 5 - 9, will be housed for free. If you are interested in observing, please notify Ken Strange by mail or email.

Format -- Teaching Staff -- Applications -- Fees -- Facilities -- Dartmouth
-- Arrival/Departure -- Transportation -- Food -- Housing/Living -- Coaches

Applications Page

Additional Information:

If you have any questions about the Dartmouth Debate Institute, contact Ken Strange at ken.strange@dartmouth.edu, by writing:
The Dartmouth Debate Institute
H.B. 6145 Robinson Hall Room 319
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH 03755
or by calling 603-646-3877