2008-2009

The Faculty Jim Hanson, Director of Forensics Bob Withycombe, Professor of Rhetoric

Mike Meredith, Parliamentary-IE Coach Christine Simbolon and Nav Aujla, Student Assistants Aaron Hardy, Policy Debate Coach Eric Chalfant, Assistant Policy Debate Coach

Jim took tons of pictures this year.

Whitman Leadership

· George Bridges, College President
· Jim Hanson Director of Forensics and Debate Coach.
· Nav Aujla (fall and spring semester) and Christine Simbolon (fall semester), Whitman Forensics Assistant, IM Debate Assistants
· Mike Meredith, Assistant Director of Parliamentary Debate and IEs
· Aaron Hardy, Assistant Director of Policy Debate
· Eric Chalfant, Assistant Policy Coach
 

World News

A. Senator Barack Hussein Obama, is elected the first Black president in the history of the United States of America after triumphing over his opponent, Senator John McCain…Whitties take to the streets in celebration.

B. The financial meltdown causes a quick collapse of the U.S. economy, George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress wards of disaster through quick, decisive, bailout action.

C. Bill Clinton negotiates to save the lives of two American journalists held in North Korea who had been arrested and imprisoned for illegal entry into the country. Kim Jong-Il personally asks to meet with Clinton himself, who convinces the despot to set his people free.

D. European astronomers discover 32 exoplanets.

E. Dubai requests a debt deferment following its massive renovation and development projects, as well as the late 2000s economic crisis. The announcement causes global stock markets to drop and Ski Dubai to temporarily close down.

F. The UNFCCC's United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 conference is held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

G. Israel announces a unilateral ceasefire in the Gaza War. It comes into effect the following day, on which Hamas declares a ceasefire of its own.

H. Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow is enthroned as the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.

I. A Russian and an American satellite collide over Siberia, creating a large amount of space debris

J. Former Serbian president Milan Milutinović is acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia regarding war crimes during the Kosovo War

Whitman News

A. The Whitman College Debate Team becomes the first debate team in the country to transition to paperless debate. 
B. Swine flu becomes a major health concern at the college. The Welty Health Center quickly coordinates with health care professionals to inoculate students with flu-shots. 
C. Whitman Muslim students and faculty are joined by Muslim high school exchange students, their host families, and guests for Eid ul-Fitr, a joyous, fast-breaking meal celebrated at the end of Ramadan.
D. Whitman tops a list of colleges with wind turbine installations on their campus lands produced by Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASH).
F. As part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Barbara Maxwell introduces the highly lauded ‘Green dot/Red dot’ program which encourages responsible decision making by the entire community. 
G. “Poetic License,” an extremely popular art installation featuring license plates created at the Walla Walla Penitentiary, by professor Katrina Roberts is installed on campus. 
H. A generous gift to the college by Trustee Emerita Dr. Elizabeth “Libby” Welty makes possible the creation of the Written and Oral Communication Initiative (WOCI), a program for the support of faculty members’ instruction in writing and speaking. 
I. The New Fouts Center for the Visual Arts is completed and opens up a vast new creative space for Whitman’s art students. 
J. 56 Whitman students head for academic study on four continents, setting a record for the Study Abroad program. 
 

Megan Salzman Medica and John Medica, two big team supporters visited us in the fall.
 




 
Team Members 2008-2009

UPDATE Staff: Jim Hanson, Director of Forensics, Aaron Hardy, Policy Debate Coach; Mike Meredith, Assistant Parliamentary and I.E. Coach; Eric Chalfant, Policy Debate Assistant Coach; Nav Aujla and Christine Siimbolon, Student Assistant; Bob Withycombe, Professor, Rhetoric and Film Studies; Robert Sickles, Chair, Rhetoric and Film Studies Department; Lori Bettison-Varga, Provost and Dean of Faculty, Chuck Cleveland, Dean of Students; and George Bridges, President.

40 Competitors, Fall 2008 and Spring 2009: Adam McKibben, Alex Zendeh, Ali Edwards, Allison Humble, Blake Barnett, Brian Cole, Brie Coyle, Carson Booth, Charlie Weems, Chris Fleming, Daniel Straus, Dave Mathews, Drake Skaggs, Galen Phillips, Geni Venable, Harry Hixon, Joel Wilson, John-Henry Heckendorn, Jon Riley, Kyle Moen, Lewis Silver, Nate Cohn, Nick Griffin, Nigel Ramoz-Leslie, Paul Wyatt, Roman Goerss, Ruben Raychaudhuri, Sarah Golden, Spencer Janyk, Tim Wilder, Tom Friedenbach. Plus Amy Soderquist, Brett Konen,Kelsey Highet, Manuel Mora, Michael Bell, Olivia Zale, Peter Quattere-Burcher, Sara Rasmussen.

Rhetoric and Film Studies Courses

Hunter 307, 306, and 304 are preparation rooms. 305 is used by students. The team receives more new computers and so we now have 6 computers in all labs (304, 306, 307).

Bob is in 204. Jim’s office is 308, “The Cove” for debate tubs is hunter 310.

Traditionally, the discipline of rhetoric focused on the effectiveness of the spoken or written word as it is driven by the rhetorical situation (audience, purpose, and context). Over the last several decades, persuasive media have expanded well beyond the conventional spoken and written message. The increasing pervasiveness of film, video, TV, and the Internet in world culture has expanded the mission of rhetorical studies. To reflect these advances in technology and understanding, we now focus on the uses of language and image to characterize social reality, to debate and confront controversies, and to aid in the transformation of social institutions. Accordingly, the department of rhetoric and film studies is a multidisciplinary program that enriches understanding of the complexity of contemporary communication by providing a solid grounding in the theory, history, production, interpretation, and criticism of a wide variety of written, oral, visual, and filmic texts.

Rhetoric and film studies courses satisfy humanities distribution requirements (language, writing, and rhetoric in the previous distribution requirements) except: Rhetoric and Film Studies 110, 160, 250 and 360 meet fine arts distribution requirements. Rhetoric and Film Studies 240 and 340 may count toward the alternative voices distribution requirement. Rhetoric and Film Studies 121, 221, and 222 do not count as distribution requirements and may not be taken P-D-F.

The Rhetoric and Film Studies major: A minimum of thirty-four credits in rhetoric and film studies, including the following: Rhetoric and Film Studies 160 Introduction to Film Studies. One additional film course (365, 366, 367, 368). One rhetoric course (240, 250, 340, 350, 351, 352, 371, 378). Rhetoric and Film Studies 487 Rhetoric and Film Criticism. Either 491 or 498. Additional work in rhetoric and film studies to make a total of thirty-four credits. Students may substitute up to eight of the elective credits with approved rhetoric and film courses (e.g., transfer credits, and/or credits from other Whitman departments). Students may not count more than four credits of 121, 221, or 222 toward the major.

The Rhetoric and Film Studies minor: A minimum of twenty rhetoric and film studies credits, with at least four credits from the Rhetoric area and four credits from the Film area. Students may substitute up to four of the elective credits with approved rhetoric and film courses (e.g., transfer credits, and/or credits from other Whitman departments). Students may not count more than four credits of 121, 221, or 222 toward the minor.

Bob Withycombe, Jim Hanson, Robert Sickels

RFS 110. Fundamentals of Public Address, 4 hours.

RFS 121, Fundamentals of Debate, 1 hour (no longer includes speeches/dramatic interpretation)

RFS 160, Intro to Film, 4 hours

RFS 165, Intro to Filmmaking, 4 hours

RFS 221, Intercollegiate Parliamentary Debate and Speaking Events, 2 hours

RFS 222, Intercollegiate Policy Debate, 2 hours

RFS 240, Rhetorical Explorations: Gender, Class and Race, 4 hours

RFS 250. Persuasion, Agitation and Social Movements, 4 hours.

RFS 340, Background of African American Protest Rhetoric, 4 hours

RFS 350, Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment, 4 hours

RFS 351, Argument in the Law and Politics, 4 hours

RFS 352, Political Campaign Rhetoric, 4 hours

RFS 360, Advanced Film, 4 hours

RFS 365, Special topics: Studies in Film Genre

RFS 366, Special topics: Major Figures in Film (The Independent Revolution, The Silver Age of Cinema, The Golden Age of Cinema)

RFS 368: Special Topics, World Cinema (Cross listed, Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Hispanic and Brazilian Film; (De)constructing "Third World" Poverty: Imagery and Ethics in the Developing World, Pedro Almodóvar's Spain)

RFS 371, Rhetoric in Early Western Culture

RFS 379, 380. Special Topics Courses

RFS 380 Special Topics: A History of American Public Address

RFS 401, 402. Independent Study.

RFS 487, Rhetoric and Film Criticism

RFS 491, 498, Thesis (Regular and Honors)

Team Awards

Policy Awards

ADAM MCKIBBEN AND TOM FRIEDENBACH

Idaho State FIRST JV

WNPT SECOND JV

USC SECOND JV

ALEX ZENDEH AND BRIAN COLE

UNLV OCTAS

Idaho State OCTAS

USC 4-3

Berkeley, Octas

Northwestern, 4-3

NW CEDA Champs, QUARTERS

NDT Second Round Bid

CEDA Nationals, DOUBLES

ALI EDWARDS AND DAVE MATHEWS

UNLV DOUBLES

Idaho State, OCTAS

Berkeley, 4-2

ALLISON HUMBLE AND LEWIS SILVER

Idaho State, OCTAS

WNPT Quarters

Berkeley, 4-2

CEDA Nationals, TRIPLES (Lewis, Academic All American Award)

BLAKE BARNETT AND SPENCER JANYK

UNLV, DOUBLES

Idaho State, QUARTERS

WNPT, SECOND (Spencer solo)

Berkeley, 4-2

NW CEDA Champs, SEMIS

CEDA Nationals, TRIPLES

DANIEL STRAUS AND NATE COHN

Gonzaga, QUARTERS

Georgia State, SEMIS

Kentucy, OCTAS

Idaho State, SEMIS

Wake Forest, OCTAS

USC, DOUBLES

Fullerton, QUARTERS

Berkeley, SECOND

Northwestern, DOUBLES

NDT, First Round Bid (15^th)

NW CEDA Champs, FIRST (Nate, First Speaker—Becky Galentine Award)

CEDA Nationals, QUARTERS (Nate and Daniel, Academic All American Award)

NDT, DOUBLES

JON RILEY AND NICK GRIFFIN

UNLV DOUBLES

Northwestern, 4-3

NW CEDA Champs, QUARTERS

CEDA Nationals, TRIPLES (Nick, Academic All American Award)

Parli and IE Awards

ALI EDWARDS AND BRIE COYLE

PLU, OCTAS.

ALI EDWARDS AND BRIAN COLE

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, OCTAS.

ALI EDWARDS AND DAVE MATHEWS

NPDA, QUADS

BRIE COYLE AND NIGEL RAMOZ-LESLIE

Utah-NAU Swing, SEMIS

BRIE COYLE AND DANIEL STRAUS

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, OCTAS.

BRIE COYLE

WWU Impromptu, SEMIS, JV

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, Impromptu, SECOND, JV

CARSON BOOTH

Lewis and Clark, Jr Extemp, FOURTH.

CARSON BOOTH AND SARAH GOLDEN

Lewis and Clark, SEMIS, JV.

CHARLIE WEEMS AND MICHAEL BELL

PLU, SEMIS Novice.

CHARLIE WEEMS

WWU Impromptu, SEMIS, Novice

CHARLIE WEEMS AND RUBEN RAYCHAUDHURI

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, FIRST, Novice

CHRIS FLEMING AND PAUL WYATT

PLU, OCTAS

UPS, OCTAS

WWU, SEMIS

UPS Free, OCTAS

Whitman Classic 1 McSloy: QUARTERS

NPTE At Large Bid

NPTE 16^th Place (4 elims)

CHRIS FLEMING AND JOEL WILSON

Washburn Swing, Part 1, OCTAS

Washburn Swing, Part 2, DOUBLES

CHRIS FLEMING AND NICK GRIFFIN

NPDA, DOUBLES

CHRIS FLEMING

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, Impromptu, FIRST, JV

DAVE MATHEWS AND CARSON BOOTH

PLU, OCTAS.

DAVE MATHEWS AND NICK GRIFFIN

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, DOUBLES

DRAKE SKAGGS AND ROMAN GOERSS

Lewis and Clark, QUARTERS JV

UPS, FIRST JV

WWU, SECOND JV

UW JV CHAMPS, FIRST

GALEN PHILLIPS AND JOHN-HENRY HECKENDORN

PLU, FIRST Novice

Lewis and Clark, FIRST Novice

WWU, OCTAS, JV

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, SECOND, JV

UW JV CHAMPS, FIRST

GENI VENABLE AND TIM WILDER

PLU, SECOND Novice

UPS, QUARTERS JV

HARRY HIXON AND KYLE MOEN

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, SECOND, JV

HARRY HIXON AND TOM FRIEDENBACH

Lewis and Clark, FIRST JV

HARRY HIXON AND RUBEN RAYCHAUDHURI

UW JV CHAMPS, QUARTERS

HARRY HIXON

WWU, SEMIS, Extemp, JV

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, Extemp FINALIST

JOEL WILSON

Pacific, Sr Impromptu SEMIS.

WWU, JV Impromptu FOURTH

JOEL WILSON AND NIGEL RAMOZ-LESLIE

Pacific, DOUBLES

UPS Free, SEMIS

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, OCTAS

NPTE At Large Bid

NPTE 6-6 (missed advancing on tie breakers)

NPDA TRIPLES

JOHN-HENRY HECKENDORN

WWU Impromptu, SEMIS, Novice

KELSEY HIGHET AND TIM WILDER

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, FIRST, Novice

KYLE MOEN

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, Extemp SECOND, JV

NIGEL RAMOZ-LESLIE

Lewis and Clark, Jr Impromptu, SECOND

WWU Impromptu, SEMIS, JV

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, Impromptu, FINALIST

PAUL WYATT

Pacific, Sr Extemp, SEMIS

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, Extemp FIRST, JV

Whitman Classic 2 Withycombe, Persuasion, FIRST

PETER QUATTERE-BURCHER AND SARA RASMUSSEN

PLU, QUARTERS Novice