When Stanford and Cal competitors square off, one can expect heated rhetoric. But Big Game taunts look polite compared to the great debate, where opponents toss barbs rather than balls, arguing nonstop.
The oldest intercollegiate event of its kind in the country, the Stanford/Cal debate began in 1894 and resumed five years ago, after a hiatus of more than 20 years. This spring, some 250 fans came out to cheer for their side of the Bay at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club. Amer Ahmed, '02, Jon Dunn, '01, and Jenny Herbert, '03, represented the Stanford Debate Society, which is coached by Matthew Fraser, a graduate of -- ahem -- Berkeley. The topic: whether the U.S. federal government should allow privacy concerns to interfere with the development of technology.
Arguing that privacy--"vacuous notions of rights concocted by folks residing in comfortable ivory towers who get free Internet access" according to one Cal debater -- should not inhibit innovation, the Bears defeated the Cardinal.
Debate organizers promise a bigger venue next year. Maybe Stanford Stadium?
