The University of Vermont’s Lawrence Debate Union and the Presidential Lectures Committee invite you to the UVM Janus Forum. The event will take place on March 20-22, 2026 on the University of Vermont’s campus. The Janus Forum is part of the UVM Presidential Lecture Series. For the 2025-26 academic year, the University explores the future of higher education. Changing demographics, upended federal and state policy, new technologies, evolving student and family expectations, uncertain job markets, rising mistrust of the academy, lessons from Covid, technological innovations, and disagreement about the very purpose of an education all raise questions about higher education’s ends and the means to those ends. The topic will focus on whether a higher education is still a vehicle to social mobility.
The event kicks off with the marquee Janus Forum debate between two leading scholars who study education and social mobility on Friday, March 20. The Topic Scholars this year are:
Paul Dean, author of Class Cultures and Social Mobility: The Hidden Strengths of Working-Class First-Generation Graduates, and Professor and Chair in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Ohio Wesleyan University.
Lauren Rivera, author of Pedigree: How Edlite Students Get Jobs, and the Peter G. Peterson Chair in Corporate Ethics, Professor of Management & Organizations, Professor of Sociology, in the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
Following the marquee Janus Forum debate on Friday evening the tournament will take place on Saturday, March 21 and end with final rounds on Sunday, March 22nd. The event will include four rounds of debate and final rounds. The final round judges will include the Janus Forum marquee speakers.
There are no entry fees. We have negotiated a block group hotel rate, which is detailed below. Registration is due by March 13th, 2026.
We look forward to seeing you all soon.
See the invitation:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VNNINKcBvMtvKWqow4OYUa-Uox0Zp32I5tFCT_QZyMk/edit?tab=t.0
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
ENTRIES:
Please pre reg at this link by February 2:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMUQPir6DwElkYiiLLV2ZNx0BLdD0alqE7qejZ8hvsFJQKfw/viewform?usp=header
Registration is due by March 13th: Form TBA
TOPIC: “Obtaining a college degree no longer enables adequate social mobility.”
Affirmative teams will affirm this topic by arguing the current state of higher education does not enable enough social mobility. The negative team will negate this by arguing higher education can and does allow for economic inequality.
FORMAT: The event will use the civic debates format, as follows.
• 1st Affirmative 6 Minutes, cross examination by 2nd Negative 4 minutes
• 1st Negative 6 minutes, cross examination by 1st Affirmative 4 minutes
• 2nd Affirmative 6 minutes, cross examination by 1st Negative 4 minutes
• 2nd Negative 6 minutes, cross examination by 2nd Affirmative 4 minutes
• 2 minutes of preparation time
• Affirmative Rebuttal 6 minutes
• 2 minutes of preparation time
• Negative Rebuttal 6 minutes
ELIGIBILITY: Open to any undergraduate student enrolled at their university.
JUDGES: Teams are expected to provide N=1 for the first team and N/2 judges for all additional teams. For example, if you are bringing one team, you are expected to bring one judge. If you are bringing 2 teams, you are expected to bring one judge. If you are bringing 3 teams, you will need to provide 1.5 judges (1 full commitment, 1 half commitment), 4 teams would require 2 full commitment judges, etc. Expert judges will be provided for the final round
AWARDS: We will have awards for the champions, finalists, and the top speakers.
FEES: None
HOTEL: The tournament hotel is the Best Western Windjammer Hotel in South Burlington, VT. We have negotiated a block hotel rate of $99 per night, under the name “UVM Debate” you must make reservations by March 6th! You can make reservations directly at the following link:
https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotel-rooms.46013.html?groupId=S98EP4N0
You should expect to arrive on either Thursday evening or Friday morning and depart on Sunday morning. If you have any questions about the hotel, call or email Sarah Hammitt at 802.651.0638 or
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SCHEDULE: MARCH 20-22, 2026 (subject to change)
Friday, March 20, 2026
5 pm: Check in and registration
5:30 pm: Janus Forum Marquee debate
Saturday, March 21, 2026
Breakfast on your own at the hotel
9:00 am: Check-in
9:15 am-11 am: Round 1
11:15 am-1:15 pm: Round 2
1:15 pm-2:15 pm: Lunch
2:15 pm-4 pm: Round 3
4:15pm - 6:00pm Round 4
Sunday, March 22, 2026
9:00am Check-in
9:30 - 11 am Semifinal/Novice Final
11:15 am - 1:15pm Final
1:15 - 2:15 Lunch/Awards
Departure
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