Beyond Winning the Debate: The Politics Club, Munk Debates, and Open Mike’s
Since 2022, the Politics Club has grown into one of the most vibrant communities at St. Michael’s College School (SMCS), drawing more than 100 students who gather each week to wrestle with the questions that shape our world. The club’s mission is deliberately inclusive: to create a space where students with every viewpoint can explore ideas, examine the day’s news, and learn that disagreement, done well, is a sign of a healthy intellectual community. Students have the opportunity to stand up in front of their peers to debate on a range of topics at Open Mike’s. “Students from all grade levels can be part of these conversations,” says Andrew Kos, moderator of the Politics Club. “Members participate in conversations which mature into a three-part education in citizenship—one that moves from low-stakes discussion among peers to encounters with the world’s foremost thinkers at the Munk Debates to students defending their own convictions before a live audience at Open Mike’s.” That foundation is built week to week through after-school debates, guest speakers, and the club’s trademark ‘pizza and politics’ sessions, led by Kos and David Lee ’94, vice principal. “Conversation flows as freely as the food,” notes Kos. “These gatherings give students a welcoming place to test ideas and listen generously to one another—and they have made the Politics Club a model for civic engagement at SMCS.” Debating at the Highest Level From there, the club’s partnership with the Munk Debates lifts students onto a far larger stage. Founded in 2008, Canada’s premier public debating forum convenes some of the world’s sharpest thinkers before audiences of more than 3,000 at Roy Thomson Hall and, more recently, Meridian Hall—where the crowd votes before and after each contest to decide which side has truly changed minds. SMCS students and staff at a Munk Debate. SMCS students have now attended seven consecutive debates, encountering
