The Detroit Public School debate league, administered by Wayne State University, will hold its second annual awards banquet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, at Steve's Soul Food Restaurant, 8443 Grand River.

The keynote speaker will be Larry Patrick, former chair of the Detroit Board of Education.

Communication Professor George Ziegelmueller directs the league. Under his leadership the league has expanded to reach 10 schools and a successful year.

Students from Northern High School won the national championship at the Barbara Jordan Youth Debate and Detroit students placed into the quarterfinals for the Michigan State Summer Debate Institute Tournament. Students were in competition for the three final rounds for most weekend tournaments in southeastern region of Michigan.

High school debate teams tend to be well funded in affluent neighborhoods and provide teens with valuable research and critical thinking skills. Most inner city schools, however, lack the resources and capabilities to sponsor a debate program.

The league is funded by the Open Society Institute, an organization created by the Soros Foundation. The emphasis of the institute in Africa, Asia, United States and Europe is to promote open societies and democracy. Central to this goal is the creation of debate programs because George Soros, founder of the institute, believes that free and informed debate is essential to the function of truly democratic societies.

Soros, a Hungarian immigrant who accumulated a large fortune through international investment activities, started the foundation a decade ago. It came to the attention of the institute that many inner city schools in the United States lacked debate programs like their counterparts across the globe.

In response to this situation, the Soros Foundation targets inner city schools. Working through local universities, its institute offers three-year grants to stimulate interest in debate. Detroit is one of three sites in the United States to receive funding. High schools in Atlanta (through Emory University) and in New York (through the home office of the institute) also receive resources to create new debate programs and establish a competitive debate circuit in the inner city.

Beth Breger, grant coordinator for the institute, and Melissa Wade from Emory will attend the awards banquet.

For more information please call Ziegelmeuller at (313) 577-2946.