Princeton Debate Panel

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Princeton Debate Panel

Debating in the nation's service since 1765. Princeton’s historical success has been unrivaled since APDA’s founding in 1983. Timeline created by Andrew Min '15.

The Princeton Debate Panel, also known as the PDP, is one of the premiere collegiate debating societies in the country. Throughout the year, the PDP competes in weekly tournaments across the country sanctioned by the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA), of which Princeton was a founding member. A Princeton team, composed of two individuals, has won the Team of the Year (TOTY) award a

record eight times and the Speaker of the Year Award (SOTY) a record nine times. The PDP is also one of the world’s premier international debating squads, with teams consistently reaching late elimination rounds. Many of PDP’s debaters have also gone onto outstanding post-graduation success. Post-debate careers have ranged from for-profit positions at McKinsey & Co., Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley to non-profit positions such as clerkships for the Supreme Court and membership in the United States Senate. Post-debate graduate school destinations have included Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Cornell Law, MIT, Oxford, and Cambridge. Alumni have also won prestigious awards, including the Rhodes Scholarship, the Marshall Scholarship, and the Fulbright Scholarship. Most notably, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito ’72 was president of the PDP during his time as an undergraduate. Other famous Princetonians connected to the PDP include Jason Goldman ’99 (influential executive at Google and Twitter), Senator Ted Cruz ’92 (the top debater in the nation during his tenure on APDA, Judge Andrew Napolitano ’72 (an influential political analyst), Joseph S. Nye ’58 (one of the most prominent international relations scholars in the United States), John Foster Dulles ’08 (arguably the most influential diplomats of the century), and Woodrow Wilson ‘1879 (who coached the team while on faculty). The PDP also hosts two debate tournaments during the year. Each December, the Princeton Classic offers Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum Debate as well as Student Congress and Individual Events for high school competitors in the National Forensic League. In the spring, the PDP hosts the Adlai E. Stevenson Memorial Debate Tournament, one of the largest and most prestigious collegiate parliamentary debate tournaments in the nation. For more on the history of PDP, check out our timeline. Prospective members or others looking for information should contact the PDP at [email protected] and visit our Membership page.

03/28/2026

PDP at Cornell Novice Nationals!!! Had a good ol’ time at Big Red 😄🫶🙏

03/22/2026

As they say, Better late than never!

Here’s a recap of PDP @ WUDC 2026! 🎉

📍 Sofia, Bulgaria

It was a commendable run for PDP at the World Universities Debating Championships! A big shoutout to our team for a great performance. 🫶🏻

Congratulations to our breaking team, Ollie and Rahul, for reaching the Quarterfinals!

Congratulations to Mya for securing third place in the Public Speaking Championship!

Finally, a huge congratulations to our very own PDP alums: Xiao-Ke for judging the Open Final, Open Semifinals, and EFL Semifinals; Jane for judging the ESL Semifinals and Quarterfinals; Tarun for judging the EFL Semifinals! 🥳

With love,
PDP 🧡

01/28/2026

The Princeton Debate Panel, Princeton’s only competitive intercollegiate debate team, is very excited to welcome its newest batch of debaters for the Spring.
THE PERKS:
1. public speaking and argument construction practice,
2. a tight-knit community, and
3. free travel around the country (from California to Boston to Washington, D.C.) and the world (from the United Kingdom to Panama to Bulgaria)!

No previous debating experience is necessary. What this means is that if you’re interested, you should give yourself the chance to try out.
So…
SIGN UP AND TRY OUT:
Try out any day Friday, January 30 through Sunday, February 1 from 3pm to 6pm in Whig Basement, indicating what time we should expect you and complete an application prior to that time. Both links are in the bio!
ATTEND OUR OPEN HOUSE/WORKSHOP (9 PM THURS, 1/29) & WATCH OUR DEMO DEBATE (5 PM WED, 1/28)! Both will last around an hour.

QUESTIONS?
Email us with any questions!
With enthusiasm and encouragement,
PDP BOARD

05/09/2025

Here for Reunions? Join the Princeton Debate Panel for food, fun, and reconnection with your fellow debate alumni and former teammates!

What: Princeton Debate Panel Reunion Event!
When: Saturday, May 24, 2025 from 4:00pm to 5:15pm ET
Where: Whig Hall, Senate Chamber (2nd floor)

01/10/2024

Worlds post 📣 Worlds post 📣
PDP recently competed at the 2024 World Universities Debating Championship held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We sent 7 teams and 4 judges to compete—achieved some incredible results and had fun exploring the city!!

Massive congratulations to all of our teams: Afzal and Fawaz, Emily and Rahul, Janul and Wee-Ern, Mariana and Gen, Sheryar and Kaustubh, Uma and Jacquelynn, XK and Isaac!! Everyone brought their A game and debated so well 🫶🫶 Shoutout to our judges, Jay, Laura, Nandini, and Tammy, who all got to judge some excellent rooms!!

In a tournament of 300 teams, XK and Isaac, and Sheryar and Kaustubh broke to OCTOFINALS, i.e. the top 32 teams of the entire tournament 🤯🤯! Shoutout to Sheryar and Kaustubh for breaking at their first ever worlds!!

On top of this, XK received 5th best open speaker!! 🤯 let me repeat: 5th open speaker. At WORLDS! They’re literally the 5th best debater in the world right now 🙀🙀‼️what a massive achievement for one of the kindest, most hardworking and talented debaters in the community!! ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

What a fantastic way to start off 2024!! I am so so proud of PDP and so happy to be part of this amazing team 🫶🫶 thank you to the debating community for all your support and thank you to Vietnam for hosting worlds!! We’re looking forward to competing at Panama WUDC next year (shoutout Jane 👀) much PDP love 🥰🥰

12/23/2023

‼ Attention all ‼ Our very own Jane Mentzinger '22 (president of PDP from 2020-2021) is a DCA for Worlds!! This is the first time a PDPer has adjcored WUDC since Princeton hosted worlds in 1989 🙀🙀 We're all so proud of her for repping both Princeton and North America 🥳🤩

08/22/2023

Finally we have Wee-Ern! It's always smooth sailing when you're hanging out with Wee-Ern--his easygoing and laidback personality always ensures a relaxing and happy time! Much love to PDP's current BP tour director!! ⛵⛵

08/21/2023

Up next is Kaustubh! Kaustubh is a star in everything he does-- not only does he shine as a debater, he's also an amazing journalist, great friend, and has a dazzling personality. Much love to PDP's current classic TD!! 🌠🌠

08/20/2023

Continuing our summer bios series is Norah! First thing you'll notice about Norah is her chill and friendly vibe! She's a great listener and an even better conversationalist--hanging out with her is always a good time! Much love to one of our current social chairs!!🤎🤎

08/06/2023

Next up is Laura Zhang! Laura hopes that you’ve been enjoying the summer bios series and getting to know PDP!! There’ll be more to come very soon 🤩🤩🎨

08/03/2023

Next is Janul! A great debater, and an even greater friend who's always supportive and encouraging. He's energetic and happy even after a long day, and after the moon's out! Much love to PDP's current classics TD and one of our equity officers 🌙🌙!

08/02/2023

Next is Tammy! Tammy is one of the sweetest, kindest and most considerate people you'll ever meet! Time will butterfly-fly away when you're hanging out with her or hearing her stories about her hometown. Much love to one of our current equity officers!! 💜💜

Address

1 Whig Hall
Princeton, NJ
08542

Website

http://debate.princeton.edu/

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