The Yale Hindi Debate

THE YALE HINDI DEBATE

Born as a student’s idea in a Yale classroom, the Yale Hindi Debate has grown exponentially, from an ambitious venture to an intellectual, cultural, and social institution. 
The debate was established as a Yale-only event in 2008, and now sees participation from faculty and students from USA’s preeminent schools, including Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, NYU, Cornell, UCLA, Wesleyan, Rutgers, the University of Texas at Austin, and Wellesley College.

Meet the stars of YHD 2014

May 22, 2014  /  Akhil Sud

Let's celebrate the speakers at the 2014 national round.

azza cohen
harper sutherland.PNG
jack newsham
carson carruth
kelly lyon
honey blakeman
jacob rinck
thibaud marcesse
justin ben-hain
suchi sundaram
suyash bhagwat
neha doshi
rishika dewan
saloni gupta
shalini gupta
razi zaidi
tanvi bikhchandani
ragini roy
vidya mahadevan
Photography at the event by Karthikeyan Ardhanareeswaran, Yale University

Photography at the event by Karthikeyan Ardhanareeswaran, Yale University

The Winners

Best Speaker, Native
Vidyalakshmi Mahadevan, Upenn
tied with
Tanvi Bikhchandani, Columbia

Second Best Speaker, Native
Gautam Chopra, Yale

Best Speaker, Non-Native Heritage Undergraduate
Rishika Dewan, Princeton

Second Best Speaker, Non-Native Heritage Undergraduate
Saloni Gupta, Rutgers

Best Speaker, Non-Native Non-Heritage Undergraduate
Carson Carruth, UT Austin

Second Best Speaker, Non-Native Non-Heritage Undergraduate
Azza Cohen, Princeton

Best Speaker, Non-Native Graduate
Justin Ben-Hain, Columbia

Second Best Speaker, Non-Native Graduate
Thibaud Marcesse, Cornell

Best Interjector
Shivani Bhatt, Yale

And that's why apples are better than oranges

April 13, 2014  /  Akhil Sud

Any audience member at the national round (April 18) can ask any speaker a question - and the best question of the evening wins the Best Interjector prize, which, in addition to a gorgeous plaque bearing the winner's name, and a certificate worthy of being framed, is a $25 iTunes gift card. The card has been procured, and has your name on it - now all that's left is for you to start making your shopping list.

Source: Akhil Sud SM '16

Source: Akhil Sud SM '16

Explore Yale

March 31, 2014  /  Akhil Sud

Participants visiting Yale on the 18th: be sure to explore the courtyards, corridors, and curiosities hidden in the corners of our twelve residential colleges.

Source: Akhil Sud SM '16

Source: Akhil Sud SM '16

YHD + Sur et Veritaal

March 31, 2014  /  Akhil Sud

Don't miss the live performance by Yale's Sur et Veritaal on the YHD stage, on the night of the national round (April 18).

Check out an example of the magic they weave with their voices:

Also attend Chutney - their annual Spring show - on April 4 at 8 pm, right after the YHD preliminary round. 

Feminism through a transnational lens

March 06, 2014  /  Akhil Sud

“Feminism is worthless without intersectionality and inclusion.”
— We All Can Do It, Houriiyah Tegally and Julia Jenjezwa, Yale '16
"We All Can Do It", Winner of the Yale Women's Center "Feminism Today" Essay and Art Competition - Source: Houriiyah Tegally BR '16 and Julia Jenjezwa MC '16

"We All Can Do It", Winner of the Yale Women's Center "Feminism Today" Essay and Art Competition - Source: Houriiyah Tegally BR '16 and Julia Jenjezwa MC '16

The winning project of the Yale Women's Center "Feminism Today" Essay and Art Competition - "We All Can Do It" by Houriiyah Tegally and Julia Jenjezwa, featuring the talents of several Yale students - expertly intertwines feminism and ethnicity, arguing that the two are inseparable, and that without inclusion, feminism fails. Today's world has feminism in the spotlight. Is feminism, by being centered on inclusion, a testimony to the significance of ethnicity?

When pondering over the motion for YHD 2014, it may be a useful exercise to think beyond the realms of globalization and ethnicity alone, and to place them in the context of the larger picture, in which many forces work simultaneously - sometimes in conjunction, and sometimes in opposition. "We All Can Do It" certainly has YHD thinking.

This year, Yale will host...

March 05, 2014  /  Akhil Sud

Harvard

Princeton

Cornell

Columbia

UT Austin

NYU

UCLA

UPenn

Wellesley

Wesleyan

Rutgers

The invitations have been dispatched. Let's give our guests a warm Yale welcome when they arrive for the national round, on 18th April. Yalies, sign up to host a student for the night of the national round!

Thinking about the motion

March 04, 2014  /  Akhil Sud

Globalization diminishes the significance of ethnicity. For or against?

Click to read about the homogenizing effect of gloablization

Click to read about the homogenizing effect of gloablization

Click to read interviews with international students at Yale (The Vicarious Globetrotter, The Yale Globalist)

Click to read interviews with international students at Yale (The Vicarious Globetrotter, The Yale Globalist)

Explore, and pick your side. Come and see if our skilled debaters can change your mind.

Yalies, sign up to host a student!

February 26, 2014  /  Akhil Sud

Be a Yalie - and host a student on the night of the national round (18 April).

The motion is on the table

February 25, 2014  /  Akhil Sud

The motion for YHD 2014 has been decided.

 

Globalization diminishes the significance of ethnicity.

वैश्वीकरण में जातीय सांस्‍कृतिक पहचान का महत्व कम हो जाता है| 

 

Come see it be debated - defended staunchly or torn apart - in the Luce Hall Auditorium, on 4 April (Prelim) and 18 April (National), at 6 pm.