JDI - Information

Jayhawk Debate Institute

The Jayhawk Debate Institute prides itself on providing exceptional preparation to its students on the upcoming high school debate topic. The JDI summer institute offers nationally competitive debate instruction at a cut rate price. We specialize in providing experienced adult instructors with vast experience teaching both high school and college debate. The teaching staff includes professors and PhD students from KU's national championship winning coaching staff and experienced instructors from other Universities. We will also facilitate students getting the opportunity to take advantage of facilities at the flagship University for the state of Kansas and to communicate with University admissions.

Topic Lectures

Topic lectures will provide students with an intensive introduction to the topic and argumentation theory. Affirmative cases areas and negative approaches to the topic will be discussed. Separate lectures will be targeted for advanced and beginning debaters.

Debate Theory

Classes emphasize debate theory, case construction, strategy, and refutation. Students will be placed in labs with other students at their level to maximize their educational experience.

Library Resources

Students will have access to the Universities vast online research data bases. Students will receive instruction in using online research sources.​ One of the most valuable aspects of attending the KU Institute is the opportunity to do research in the multimillion volume KU Library system. This includes the main library, a full Federal Documents Depository, as well as the KU law, science, and engineering libraries. Holdings at the KU libraries include more than 650,000 government documents, over 32,000 serials, 2.89 million microforms, and book holdings upwards of 3.3 million volumes. 

Evidence

Each year at the JDI we produce 750+ pages of evidence that is available for all students in digital formats. We will also provide students with a packet of evidence at the beginning of the camp to facilitate practice speeches as quickly as possible.

Practice, Practice, Practice

We will provide students with extensive opportunities to refine their debate skills through numerous practice debates and speeches with feedback from our staff of excellent instructors. Students will participate in multiple practice rounds and will participate in tournaments at the conclusion of both the two week and three week camp sessions.

Education Targeted for Your Experience Level

The Jayhawk Debate Institute realizes that debate is not a "one institute fits all" activity. For this reason, the JDI offers different possible experiences for a student. Whether you are a novice debater looking to get some experience before the start of the season or a senior wanting a longer, more in-depth camp, the Jayhawk Debate Institute is the camp for you. 

Two-Week Policy Debate Division

The two-week camp will offer labs in the novice, intermediate, and advanced. The advanced division is for experienced high school debaters. Students are exposed to advanced theory and work intensively on developing in-depth approaches to the topic. The intermediate division is for students with some experience who seek to improve upon their basic skills and to begin investigating more advanced theoretical concepts. The novice division is meant for those students who are brand new to debate, either they are just entering high school or they picked up debate late, this special lab is a chance to focus on the basic skills needed to compete the following season. All students are placed into both topic and generic research labs. A tournament concludes the two-week camp. 

Three-Week Policy Debate Division

The most advanced workshop offered by the Jayhawk Debate Institute. The three-week session is for advanced high school debaters. Students will receive extensive assistance in research, argument construction, and debate skills; participate in tournaments; and receive special instruction in advanced debate theory. Jayhawk Extended Debate Institute students should expect to participate in ten tournament-style practice rounds during the institute as well as numerous, individualized practice sessions. Students participating in this session should expect to be doing a great deal of original research during their stay at the institute. A tournament concludes the three-week-camp. 

Three-Week Policy Debate K Lab

This three-week lab at the Jayhawk Debate Institute is oriented toward juniors and seniors who are specifically interested in kritikal research, argument construction, and argumentation at a nationally competitive level. During the three weeks of camp, students will read and develop familiarity with various subsets of critical literature, conduct both guided and independent research into this literature; develop and hone the ability to construct kritikal affirmative and negative positions; and explore various types and formats of kritikal debate as well as the traditions and histories out of which kritikal debate has developed. Students in this lab will participate in intra-lab debates as well as the traditional three-week JDI camp tournament. 

Information and FAQ's for 2026 JDI

Registration/Check in

Registration for the camp will be Sunday June 21st, between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. at Ellsworth Hall on Daisy Hill on KU’s campus. The address for the dorm is 1734 Engel Road, Lawrence KS. 66045. Registration will be in the lounge on the main floor when you enter the building.

 

There is a parking lot directly in front of Ellsworth Hall that has open parking on Sunday that you can use while moving into the dorm. The dorm has carts that you can use to transport your belongings up the elevators to the floors we are staying on for the camp. The main entrance of the dorm is on floor 3.

 

Dinner on Sunday the 21st will be provided after registration at Mrs E’s for both residents and commuters.

 

Check Out at End of Camp

Two Week Check Out

The final round of the 2-Week camp tournament will take place on Thursday evening July 2nd. Check out is in the morning on Friday July 3rd. Students must be out of the dorm by noon on the third. Breakfast is available in Mrs E’s Dining Hall on Friday morning. Rooms must be cleaned and keys returned before you check out. Lost keys will result in a $50 lost key fee.

Three Week Check Out

The final round of the 3-Week camp tournament will take place on Thursday evening July 9th. Check out is in the morning on Friday July 10th. Students must be out of the dorm by noon on the tenth. Breakfast is available in Mrs E’s Dining Hall on Friday morning. Rooms must be cleaned and keys returned before you check out. Lost keys will result in a $50 lost key fee.

Checking out during the camp

Students may leave the camp only with parental permission that must be directly communicated to the Camp Office. Parents or family members are welcome to check students out for a meal or a break from camp or for other special activities students may need to leave for. Some of our students choose to go home sometimes over a weekend or for the 4th of July. Resident students must check out and back in with the camp office if they are leaving camp for any reason. 

If students choose to end their camp experience early or if they are sent home for violation of University rules as outlined in the memorandum of understanding, we are unable to reimburse tuition fees. We are billed by Housing for the rooms and meals before the camp starts and we are charged for them regardless of whether or not meals are eaten or rooms are left empty. We also hire our staff based on the numbers of students at the beginning of the camp and our staffing salary requirements are baked into our budget.

 

Commuters

Commuters should come register during the 2-5 pm Sunday check-in period. You should plan on eating dinner in the dining hall and staying for the opening meetings after dinner. 

On camp days commuters should be dropped off in front of Ellsworth Hall in the morning ½ hour before morning lectures (generally 9:30 AM) and students will walk with their lab group to the lecture halls and classrooms. Commuters will be provided lunch and dinner on weekdays and dinner on weekends at Mrs E’s dining facility with the students staying on campus. Students can be picked up in front of Ellsworth Hall at the end of the day. If students are leaving campus at other times they need to communicate and make arrangements with their lab leaders and the camp office. 

 

Housing

We will be staying in Ellsworth Hall for the JDI. Entrance to the dorm during the camp is restricted. Resident students will have a key card that gets them access to the dorm. Commuters will need to contact lab leaders for dorm access. 

 

Security

Both KU housing and the JDI will be providing security and monitoring students in the dorm. The front desk is staffed by KU Housing 24 hours a day and the JDI Camp Office will be staffed from 8:00 AM to Midnight every day. Staff members will be living in the dorms and monitoring the floors. On campus we will have staff accompany students to and from lectures and class meetings. The World Cup is likely to increase traffic on campus during the JDI so we will be taking special care to make sure we know where students are at all times.

 

Room Assignments

We will attempt to accommodate roommate requests. If you have made mutual roommate requests on your applications we will try to honor them. If you have requests that were not on your form you need to email those to sharris@ku.edu by June 1st since we have to submit room assignments to housing on that date. Rooms are two person and 4 person suites. You will need to bring your own sheets and pillows for the dorms. You may bring mini refrigerators or microwaves. Open cooking is not permitted in the dorms. Wings of the dorm will be restricted based on gender and students may not have guests in their rooms. You can take a virtual tour of the dorm at this link.

https://housing.ku.edu/ellsworth-hall-virtual-tours

If resident campers check out during the camp they need to have parental permission and fill out a check out and check in form with the camp office before leaving and upon returning.

 

Mail

Mail will be delivered to students at nightly room checks or students can pick it up during the day at the Daisy Hill mail room. Mail can be sent to:

Students name

C/O Jayhawk Debate Institute

Ellsworth Hall

1734 Engel Road

Lawrence KS, 66045

 

Meals

Meals during the camp will be provided at Mrs E’s Dining facility on Daisy Hill. Residents will be provided with breakfast, lunch, and dinner on weekdays and brunch and dinner on weekends. Commuters will be provided lunch and dinner on weekdays and dinner on weekends. Mrs E’s has a variety of food options each day and offers the ability to deal with allergies or special dietary needs. If you would like to get an idea of the summer food options, you can see menus for the upcoming week at the link below. They post their menus in advance of each week.

http://netnutrition.union.ku.edu/NetNutrition/7#

 

Food Allergies or Special Accommodation Needs

If you have any food allergies that we need to be aware of or any health or medical accommodation needs, please fill out the survey at this link. The camp generally involves a significant amount of walking between the dorms and classrooms on campus. If you require special accommodation, please let us know.

https://kusurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4JjSNygUgw1fPGm

 

Personal Vehicles

Students with personal vehicles may park them in designated yellow or green student parking spaces on Daisy Hill. You may not park in spaces marked as red, blue, gold or handicapped parking. If you receive a parking ticket from KU Parking you will be responsible for paying those tickets through the parking authority. Students may not give rides to other students without expressed parental permission from the student receiving a ride. There are a large number of open spaces close to Ellsworth Hall that are available for students/parents to park.

 

Medical Care

Students are required to submit medical permission forms provided in the accompanying email for the KU Health Service. For any medical emergencies during regular daytime hours campers will be escorted to Watkins Health Service on KU’s campus. For any medical emergencies that take place at night or on weekends when Watkins is closed we may take students to the Emergency room at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Here is a link to information about Watkins Health Service for summer campers.

https://studenthealth.ku.edu/summer-camps

 

Things to Bring

We will be doing paperless debate at the camp so you will need to have a laptop for the camp. Debate requires use of the debate Verbatim software program and it does not work with chromebooks or ipads. If you will not be able to bring a laptop communicate with sharris@ku.edu. You should dress comfortably for the camp. You do not need to dress up for debating. Casual attire is encouraged. The daily schedule generally involves walking to the main campus for class meetings and back to Daisy Hill for meals. It is a lengthy walk from the dorm to Wescoe Hall. Summers are normally hot in Lawrence and the weather is unpredictable. You should bring a water bottle and an umbrella. The dorm air conditioning sometimes runs cold so you may want pajamas, sweats or sweatshirts for evenings in the dorm. You do have the ability to control the temperature somewhat in your own room. You will need to supply your own sheets, pillows, towels, soap and shampoo. You should bring paper and pens for flowing and taking notes during lectures. You should bring a laptop stand if you have one for speaking in debates. You may want to bring snacks to have in your room. You may bring a mini fridge or microwave for your room.

 

Will students need additional money?

That depends on the student. Many of the campers will order additional food from delivery services in the evening. Students living in the dorm will receive 3 meals a day but teenagers tend to get hungry at night. There are no additional fees or charges from the camp but some students may need money for ordering more food and snacks at night.

 

Laundry

Laundry machines (washers and dryers) are available for free in the dorm. You will need to supply your own detergent.

 

Airport Shuttles

The airport for flying to the JDI is the Kansas City International Airport. It is located about an hour away from Lawrence. There are a number of shuttle services available for transportation to and from KU. Here is a link to some of the available shuttle services to Lawrence.

https://iss.ku.edu/airport-lawrence

 

Prohibited Items Under KU Housing Policy

This is taken directly from the KU Housing website

Prohibited items in all communities include:

  • Command strips (Use push pins or thumbtacks on sheetrock walls. Use tape for block or plaster walls.)
  • Halogen lamps
  • Space heaters
  • Window or free-standing air conditioners
  • Candles or incense
  • Pets.
  • Weapons or weapon parts
  • Amplifiers
  • Hoverboards
  • Smoking, including the use of electronic cigarettes, vaping, and tobacco is prohibited according to KU's Tobacco Free policy.
  • Alcohol or alcohol containers, such as wine or shot glasses, flasks, etc
  • Additionally, the following items are prohibited in residence halls:
  • Air fryers
  • Toasters
  • Toaster ovens
  • Hot plates
  • Electric skillets
  • Instant pots
  • Rice cookers
  • Wax warmers
  • Other appliances with exposed heating elements, such as a George Foreman grill

 

What to expect at the JDI – Schedules

The JDI is a camp with long days and students will be kept busy during the 2 or 3 weeks they are at camp. We begin at 10:00 am most days although there will be some weekend sleep in mornings. The daily schedule will go to 8:00 pm most days with some optional evening special lecture or speech redo sessions they may run later. Room check is at 11:00 pm each evening and students must remain in their rooms after room check. Students will have some lectures split into advanced and intermediate and will be assigned to working groups (labs) of approximately 20 that they will spend most of their time. Each of the working groups will have 2-3 lab leaders in the group. Labs are assigned based on the experience level of the students. There will be a practice tournament during the last week of each camp. The specific schedule for this year will be provided at registration.

Coaches Workshop

The coaches workshop will provide coaches with an in-depth exploration of this year's policy debate topic. The workshop will include the material from the topic lectures, presented in an open-discussion format. It is an opportunity for coaches to learn what their students have been working on at summer debate camps.