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The old story is that in the 1880s, a woman spotted some tobacco-chewing debaters on the veranda of the Long Beach Hotel and complained to a friend: “All they do is spit and argue.” …and so became the Spit ‘n’ Argue Club of Long Beach. They met daily to chew tobacco and debate everything from the existence of God to the most effective methods of harvesting wheat.

The group would draw huge crowds of both locals and tourists – sometimes upward of 1,500 audience members a day. The forum eventually became called “University by the Sea,” and finally withered away in the 1940’s. This month, the event will be revived at Harvey Milk Park on Thursday, April 27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

As part of the ongoing activations at Harvey Milk Park by the City of Long Beach iTeam and WeLabs, the event will invite debaters to take on the topic of plastic and styrofoam bans in our city – both for and against.

The event is free and open to the public.