Bates College and the Brooks Quimby Debate Council welcomed Yale University debaters Grant May, Steven Kryger and Josh Kalla for the Brooks Quimby Debate Council's annual Bates-Yale debate. Many members of the Bates community filled the College Chapel to watch Brooks Quimby debaters Ariela Silberstein, Rachel Kurzius and Matthew Marienthal face the team from Yale. They debated the resolution, "This house would create Spanish-language schools in California."

Members of the audience also delivered floor speeches to supplement the debaters' remarks. The guest speakers included two current Bates students who shared their experience learning English as a second language.

The Bates-Yale debate continues a longstanding tradition between the two schools. As in previous years, the debate served as a prelude the Brooks Quimby Debate Council's debate tournament, which takes place this weekend.