Whitman Forensics Newsletter
Vol. 9, No. 1, December, 2002
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Bridget,
Chris and the entire parli team When it comes to
running with the big dawgs, Bridget Kustin and Chris Gorman are leaders of the pack. They broke at every tournament this
semester with outstanding performances at the Western Washington Scrimmage
where they took 2nd, PLU where they took 9th, the |
Bridget
makes her case as Chris flows. |
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Assistant Coach Brian Danielson noted that: “Both Bridget and Chris
are extremely intelligent and have an amazing way of seeing the big picture
in a debate round.” Chris and Bridget aren’t
the only big dawgs on campus though. With 5 out of 6 teams breaking at the |
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Charles
and Thad have a congenial practice debate but beneath the veneer is a morbid
competitiveness! |
Thad
versus Charles The Western
Washington Warmup was the first tournament of the
year for the Whitman policy crew. Charles Olney and Thad Blank,
had been hard at work preparing for the topic since the early summer months.
Well, at least Charles had been preparing since then. Thad, on the other hand,
had been lounging away on a tropical island or spending his time kayaking in Thad began to
hatch a secret plot to maintain his dominance over Charles: he decided to do
more research about space colonization than was humanly possible. No one was
quite sure why Thad hid in the squad room surrounded by a wall of library
books about space or why space was such an important issue to research on a
topic about |
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international treaties, but Thad pressed on. Unfortunately, he didn’t finish his
space file in time for the By the In the meantime,
our younger teams are doing quite well. Dave and Beth just missed breaking at
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The
2002-03 Parliamentary Debate Teams Front:
Bridget, Chris, Beth P. Rear:
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Matt
and Sam do duo Interp. Corinne,
Harmony, Bridget, Martin, and |
The
2002-03 Policy Debate Teams Front
row: Kathryn, Beth S, Thad, Nav. Second
row: Brian S. (coach), Eric, Jeff, Charles and Emily Rear
row: Kyle and Gareth |
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Jim continues in his 11th year as director. You
can see Bob and Nancy on the left and Mike, Charles, Beth, and Rob on the
right.
Brian Simmonds works hard for
policy debate.
Brian Danielson is a “chill” parliamentary debate and
speaking events coach.
Samantha
Howell enjoys her job as student assistant and intramural forensics manager.
Katie Imbeau is leading our Interp performers to many awards. Jim: “The new students
on our team are easy going and quite talented.” Staff: Jim Hanson,
Director of Forensics, Brian Simmonds, Assistant
Policy Coach; Brian Danielson, Assistant Parliamentary and I.E. Coach;
Samantha Howell, Student Assistant and Intramural Debate Manager; Katie Imbeau, Dramatic Interpretation Student Assistant; Julie Caton Helper in Interpretation; Bob Withycombe,
Chair, Rhetoric and Film Studies; and Thomas Cronin, President, Whitman
College. 28 Competitors, Fall 2002:
Beth Pearson, Beth Schueler, Bridget Kustin, Brian
Ward, Chandra Carlisle, Charles Olney, Chris Gorman, Corrine Gibbon, David Guidry, Emily Marr, Eric Suni, Gareth Campbell, Harmony Paulson, Jackie Jenkins,
Jeff Buntin, Josh Wnuk,
Kathryn Bergh, Kyle Krohn, Lydia Eberly, Martin Ishikawa, Matt Jumago,
Michael Winnike, Nav Rekhi, Rob Olsen, Sam Spiegel, Scott Daniel, Scott
Thompson, Thad Blank. |
The
new assistant coaches don’t look so new! Brian Simmonds is back for another year as the full time
Assistant Policy Debate Coach and part time thesis writer. Despite traveling across the United States
to tournaments such as Wake Forest and the University of Kentucky, and
spending countless hours in the prep rooms working with students, Brian Simmonds managed to finish his thesis…and receive
honors. Known lately for his zombie like
appearance and strange mutterings regarding his thesis, we expect him to be
back to “normal” any day now. When asked what the best part of being done
with his thesis was, Simmonds responded with, “Now
that I’m done with my thesis I get to pursue my true career as a professional
gambler!” While that may be the case,
the odds are good that Brian Simmonds will actually
end up attending law school in the near future. Brian Danielson
is back on the Whitman Team again, but has discovered a challenging new
position, that of the Assistant Parliamentary Debate and Individual Events
Coach. Brian comes to the position
following a brief stint as a “customer care specialist” at a technical
support call center where he was well known by those in the cells....I mean
cubicles around him as the “guy with the radio voice” and was once mistaken
for a computerized voice by a caller.
When asked what his favorite part of being the new coach was, Brian
replied, “The phone never rings….The phone never rings…” while staring into
space with a strange glaze over his eyes.
Known far and wide on the parliamentary debate circuit for his
distinctive camouflage hat, Brian has helped to get the Whitman Parliamentary
Debate team off to a great start. “Being back on the circuit is great,” says
Brian, “these kids work really hard on debate and it’s great to see them do
well at tournaments. Not to mention
the fact that the Motel 6’s that we stay at are way classier than my
apartment.” He’s even willing to shed
a little blood for debate. While
judging the final round of the Lewis Clark State College tournament he
developed a nosebleed but valiantly continued to flow the round and made the
correct choice of who won the round.
(Jim squirreled. J )
Lydia anticipates her gift! Gareth and Beth have fun
filing evidence. Samantha Howell
rejoins the team as the student assistant and intramural debate coordinator
taking over the position from Julie Caton who
graduated last year. Samantha did a
great job this year with the High School Debate tournament, serving as Jim’s
vital communications link and making sure that everyone had a clear
understanding of what was going on in the chaos that is a High School Debate
tournament. Katie Imbeau may not be competing on the Whitman team due to
increased involvement with the theatre department but that doesn’t stop her
from being a coach! Katie and Julie Caton, who is
living in town, have been coaching the dramatic interpretation events with
outstanding results. “Katie and Julie
are amazing,” says Brian Danielson, “you can see a real difference when a
student gives their speech after just one practice with them.”
Jeff smiles for the
camera. Stocking bags await! Kathryn is beaming! |
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The
team engages in the gift exchange—that’s Beth Scheuler,
then on the left, Chris, Rob, Brian D., and guest Patrick Carter who plans to
join the team next semester. Hanson’s Holiday Housewarming Sunday, December 8th marked the
celebration of a Whitman forensics team tradition of the annual Holiday party
and White Elephant gift exchange. This
year was a special year however as the party also served as an unveiling of
Jim’s new house to the team. As they
moved from room to room admiring Jim’s decision to move out of his hovel of
an apartment, the team enjoyed roast shrimp, warm breadsticks, cheese and
crackers, and a delicious cioppino made by Jim
himself. Best of all, no one has died
or come down ill with food poisoning….yet.
The gift exchange was filled with its traditional backstabbing in
pursuit of the cast-off trappings of capitalism. Jim unloaded his old microwave on Rob
Olsen, Nav Rehki stole
the box with sox that Brian Danielson had chosen, and pacifist Charles Olney
beat down the competition to get the present he wanted, “The Big Book of
Hugs.” And as usual the team was left
scratching their heads as they opened their stockings to find little glow in
the dark aliens, race cars, stuffed animals, balloons, and strange masses of
fake fur. Strange mass of fake fur
recipient David Guidry remarks, “I’m seriously considering wearing this as a
bracelet full time to make people in classes think I’m crazy.” I don’t know if it will work but I do know
that this year’s Holiday and Housewarming party was a success. |
Whitman
continues speech and Interp success Despite a large changeover,
Whitman continues to do well in IE’s. Sam took 1st with a piece on
the Dresden bombing and recent New York Times articles. Bridget has been
wowing them with her speech on “bloodless” surgery. Beth P. is bringing in
the trophies with her persuasive on invasive species. Bridget and Sam took 1st
in duo with a piece by Christopher Durang. Rob,
Lydia, Emily, Mike, and Chris won awards in impromptu; Corrine, Martin &
Harmony won in Interp; Jackie in Informative. We can go on and on! “I’m
just gonna rock their plan now”
Nav, Martin, and Beth share good
times. Watch out for Martin in debates though! Franklin Delano
Roosevelt once said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” For anyone going against the dynamic duo of
Martin Ishikawa and Jackie Jenkins, they’re too afraid of to be worried about
fear itself. At the PLU tournament
Martin and Jackie took first place in novice division, at which the famous
phrase “I’m just gonna rock their plan now” was
first uttered by Martin during the Leader of Opposition speech during the octa-final round.
Taken slightly off guard by the government case Martin stumbled for a
moment then “rocked” the governments plan by putting forth a flurry of
disadvantages to adopting the plan.
“As soon as I heard Martin say that,” says assistant coach Brian
Danielson, “I knew that the round was over.
The entire mood of the audience swung and Martin and Jackie played it
to the hilt.” Martin and Jackie aren’t
just great debaters, they are both outstanding in Individual Events as well. Martin has been performing an amazing piece
on cars and sexuality featuring pieces varying from the poet E.E. cummings to the band Cake. It’s also true that Jackie
Jenkins is astounding critics and competitors alike with her speech on lie
detection devices and persuading individuals that the incredible edible egg
just might be an eggcellent way to get salmonella
poisoning. Scott
and Charles make a Movie To
the left, Charles has been working on the script, filming, and acting for a
parody of the “Return of the King” movie he and Scott Daniel are producing.
Intramural
Debate and now Drama! The 2002
intramural debate season got off to a great start this December 6th, when
students debated the topic “Resolved: The United States should attack Iraq
only if the United Nations Security Council approves.” Competition was fierce in both the
Inexperienced and Experienced divisions with Todd Blodgett and Sean Beaver
coming out victorious. This year also
marked the introduction of the Intramural Dramatic Interpretation competition.
Jeff Tillinghest and Cat Posey won amazing the
members of the judging pool. |
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Whitman Forensics Newsletter
Vol. 9, No. 1, December, 2002
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Withycombe and Walker Fund Contributions We are grateful for
your contributions to the forensic team! Generous donors May 1, 2002 through
December 11, 2002 include: Kelly and Matthew Cleman,
Andrew Backlund, Jennifer Becker, Janice Berman,
Jim Hanson, Drummond Kahn and Daphne Teals, Charlotte and David McClusky, Keola Whittaker, Bob Withycombe, Polly Rae, Stephen Rowe, and Peter Stiffler. If we missed you, please tell us because we do
appreciate your support! Send contributions to the Walker Fund or the Withycombe Fund
to: Annual
Fund Office Whitman
College Walla Walla WA 99362 Checks should be made out to Whitman
College with a note that says to place the contribution into the Walker or Withycombe Fund. |
Beth
and Thad ham it up at the Wake Forest tournament. |
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Check the History Pages: Are
they Correct? Check your years at
www.whitman.edu/rhetoric/history/ E-mail additions and changes to Jim at hansonjb@whitman.edu Alumni visit During this year’s alumni weekend, we were lucky enough to be visited
by Kristofer Peterson with Pascal Goorbin, and Amanda Elegant as well as Karen Schack (Skantze). Following a
brief tour of the debate offices, most of this group jaunted off to dinner at
the new and rather good Creektown Cafe. Team story after team story bubbled around
the table during the meal and a good time was definitely had by all. If you are ever in Walla Walla, feel free to drop by the forensic offices on the
third floor of Hunter and say hello and meet some of the team. Chances are
you could probably convince Jim to show you his new place. Charlotte McCluskey (Smith), Abby St. Lawrence, Jared Phillips,
Loan Lam, Keola Whittaker, and several others
visited earlier in the year. |
Abby, Julie and Samantha all together. Representing seven and
continuing years of service, these three have kept Jim’s sanity. Jim noted:
“It was cool to have them here all together. Hmmm, well, even Abby was good
to see.” |
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Policy Awards “Thad and Charles are racking up accolades across the
country but as you can see, our younger folks reveal a promising policy
future for us.” Beth Schueler
and David Guidry: Sr., Western Scrimmage, 3rd;
University of Puget Sound, 5th; University of Oregon, 3rd; Wake Forest, 5-3,
missed on speaks. Emily Marr and Michael Winnike: Sr., Western
Scrimmage, 4-2, not breaking. Eric Suni and Nav Rekhi:
Jr., Western Scrimmage, 1st; Sr., University of Puget Sound, 5th; University
of Oregon, 3rd. Gareth Campbell and Jeff Buntin: Jr., Western
Scrimmage, 1st. Kathryn Bergh and Kyle Krohn: Jr., Western
Scrimmage, 1st; University of Oregon, 3rd. Thad Blank and Charles Olney:
Sr., Western Scrimmage, 1st; Kentucky Round Robin, 6th in a 6 way tie for
1st; Kentucky Regular, 3rd; Harvard, 3rd; Wake Forest, 9th. Parli Awards “We are strong in all
divisions of parli this year. It’s very exciting.” Chris Gorman and Bridget Kustin: Sr., Western
Scrimmage, 2nd; PLU, 9th; University of Oregon, 5th; Lewis Clark State, 3rd Jackie Jenkins and Martin Ishikawa:
PLU, 1st; Oregon, 3rd. Lydia Eberly
and Rob Olsen: Jr., University of Oregon, 5th; Lewis
Clark State, 2nd Matt Jumago
and Rob Olsen: Sr., Western Scrimmage, 4-2, not
breaking; Jr., PLU, 4-2, missed on speaks. Sam Spiegel and Beth Pearson:
Sr., Western Scrimmage, 5th; University of Oregon, 9th Scott Thompson and Brian Ward:
Sr., Western Scrimmage, 4-2, not breaking; University of Oregon, 5th. |
Individual Events Awards “I am really pleased at our I.E. success. Many students
graduated or moved on and this year’s kids stepped up to the plate.” Beth Pearson:
Jr. Extemp, 4th, Oregon. Beth Pearson:
Jr. Persuasion, 1st, PLU, 1st, Oregon. Bridget Kustin
and Sam Spiegel: Open Duo, Finalist, PLU; 1st, Oregon. Bridget Kustin:
Sr. Informative, Finalist, PLU, Finalist, Lewis Clark
State. Chris Gorman:
Sr. CA, 1st, Lewis Clark State. Chris Gorman:
Sr. Impromptu, 4th, Oregon. Corrine Gibbon:
Jr. Drama, 4th, Oregon. Emily Marr: Jr.
Impromptu, 2nd, Oregon. Harmony Paulsen:
Jr. Drama, 3rd, Oregon. Jacki Jenkins:
Jr. Persuasion, 6th, Oregon. Jacki Jenkins: Sr.
Informative, 1st, PLU; Jr., 4th, Oregon. Jeff Buntin: Jr.
Extemp, 5th, Oregon. Lydia Eberly: Jr.
Impromptu, 3rd, PLU; Finalist, Lewis Clark State. Martin Ishikawa:
Jr. Programmed, 4th, Oregon. Mike Winnike:
Jr. Impromptu, 1st, Oregon. Rob Olsen:
Jr. Impromptu, 1st, PLU; Finalist, Lewis Clark State. Sam Spiegel:
Sr. Programmed, 1st, Oregon. Scott Thompson:
Sr. CA, 3rd, PLU. |
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