1986-1987

The Faculty

(picture from the late 90s)

Sean O'Rourke, Acting Director of Forensics

Bob Withycombe, Director of Forensics (on sabbatical).

Whitman News

A. Robert Skotheim was the college president.

B. Total student fees were $11,680.

C. Donald Sherwood donated $1.8 million to the school as the Annual Fund broke $1 million and the Campaign for Whitman was ahead of schedule. The Olin Foundation also awarded Whitman $1.8 million for an addition to the Humanities Building.

D. The Phi Delta Theta House was closed.

E. Skotheim did not ban CIA recruiters from campus despite major protests.

F. Dean Foster held a forum on the sexual harassment policy after the policy was severely criticized.

G. The philosophy department received a letter form the American Philosophical Association stating that the department was the best undergraduate philosophy department in the nation, only to later discover that it was a hoax.

Speech Courses

Courses remain the same.

Speech Department Description: Courses treat public speaking as a liberal art, proposing that such speaking is not a skill learned by rule but an exercise of judgment that can be no better than the speaker's understanding of the nature of the communicative acts.

SPEECH 110. Fundamentals of Speech, 3 hours. (description changes; 11 and 12 are focus more on delivery and articulation)

SPEECH 221, 222. Principles and Practice of Forensics, 1 hours (individual events), 2 hours (debate).

SPEECH 270. Argumentation and Persuasion, 3 hours.

SPEECH 370. Seminar: Western Rhetorical Thinking, 3 hours.

World News

A. Nicaragua dominated the foreign policy news; President Reagan signed a secret order selling arms to Iran to fund the contras in Nicaragua.

B. Elie Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize.

C. Drug abuse was a hot domestic topic.

D. President Reagan’s civil rights record was criticized.

E. “Platoon” did well at the box office.

F. Aretha Franklin became first rock and roll hall of famer.

G. Anti-smoking ad airs featuring Yul Brynner.

H. Gary Hart quick the Democratic race for President after pictures of him and Donna Rice were published.

Team Awards

A. The team participated in an Oxford-style debate during Homecoming Weekend.

B. The fall debate topic was “Resolved: That improved relations with the Soviet Union are a more important objective for the United States than increased military preparedness.” In the spring, the topic was drug testing.

C. Sean O’Rourke was the director of forensics; Bob Withycombe was on sabbatical.

D. Intercollegiate season

1. Western Washington University Scrimmage

a. Thomas Felt and Kevin Connolly had a 3-3 record in debate.

b. Drummond Kahn and Erik Highberg had a 1-5 debate record.

c. Joel Nixon and Tony Markey had a 0-6 debate record.

2. Gonzaga University

a. Carla Widdell and John Lange broke to quarterfinals with a 3-3 record.

b. Highberg and Kahn had a 2-4 record.

c. Felt and Connolly earned a 3-3 record.

d. Novice debaters Antilla and Browers broke to quarterfinals with a 4-2 record.

e. John Moe and Jennifer Russell were both finalists in poetry and prose.

f. Nixon was a finalist in dramatic interpretation.

g. Connolly and Russell were finalists in extemporaneous speaking.

h. Kahn was first in championship impromptu speaking and third in championship extemporaneous speaking.

i. Highberg was third in extemporaneous speaking