Whitman College Forensics
A Newsletter of the Whitman College Forensics Team, Vol. 4, No. 2,
May, 1998
The Team That Bonds Together Wins
Together
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Team members Carrie
Mitchell, Tony Torres, Aaron Walters, Kristen Weaver and Akshay
Garg smile for the camera. What do Disneyland, bowling, and the game of Risk all have in
common? These three experiences and many more are just a few of the good
times which the team has spent together. What better way to celebrate a job
well done than to spend even more time together? Over the winter holiday, the CEDA/NDT team spent nearly two weeks
at the USC-Long Beach swing tournament. Understanding the importance of
having fun, the team dragged Dr. Jim to Disneyland… or was it the other way
around? ? Everyone had a blast and came home with
plenty of souvenirs. On weekends during the regular school year, the team also takes
time to unwind by hitting the bowling alley, watching movies, and playing
Risk, a game where players try to take over the world. Schoolwork, practicing
speeches, and preparing for debate are all important, but relaxing and
getting to know each other is also time well spent. After all, the team that
bonds together celebrates wins together!
Aaron Walters enjoys
being on the speech and debate team at Whitman Whitman Establishes New Travel Safety Standards After the team's brush with danger this past October, the college
has set strict measures for travel to ensure passenger safety. New driver
standards require anyone behind the wheel of a Whitman vehicle to complete an
extensive driver orientation program involving a three-hour class focusing on
defensive driving, preventing fatigue, and learning about emergency
procedures. Van speeds must not exceed 60 mph, less depending on weather
conditions. Drivers must also stop every two hours to avoid fatigue, and on
any trip longer than five hours, there must be at least two qualified
drivers. Improved transportation safety includes the purchase of five new
vans and a Suburban. The school will replace these vehicles on a three-year
cycle with yearly general inspections & monthly tire inspections by an
outside agency. Specific weight and load restrictions will also be enforced. The goal of these new requirements is to provide a safe learning
environment for academic and co-curricular programs. Coaches and students are
pleased with the quick and thorough nature of new measures, especially the
new standards for tire safety! Since the van accident team members have
recovered and look forward to traveling in brand new, comfy vehicles!
Abby, Claire Cowen, Adam, Jim, Ryan, and Sean Collins eat Chinese
food following a hard day's work! Dovell-Gose Speaking Contest At this year's annual Dovell-Gose persuasive speaking contest,
Dr. Jim and Diana had a very hard time deciding who deserved gold! After the
votes were counted, the team's very own Jessica Clarke spoke with enough
gusto and conviction to dominate the women's competition. Jessica's
award-winning speech discussed how cultural relativism hampers the way
countries interact. Jessica argued that action is warranted in troubling
situations because we should recognize an individual's humanity before
ethnicity. Second place went to Karen Skantze who
discussed the Communication Decency Act and censorship in the U.S. Third, but
by far one of the more outspoken contestants, team assistant Abby St.
Lawrence, left an impression on the audience with her stunning analysis of
"hello communication." |
There's a Doctor in the House!
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Jim Hanson works in his office in front of the computer where he
completed his Ph.D. After many, many long years of toil and trouble, Jim Hanson,
Whitman's fearless director of forensics, has finally finished his dissertation!!!!
Yells of joy could be heard all across Walla Walla!! Better yet a bottle of
champagne and "It's about time" congratulation cards were waiting
for Jim when he returned from California. A celebratory vacation in
California you ask? No, well, not yet anyway! Jim, excuse me, Dr. Jim,
received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California Dr. Jim is very excited with his newfound free time and has already informed Glenn Kuper, coach at the University of Puget Sound. Glenn and Dr. Jim had a bet to see who would be first to finish his dissertation. As their titles in this article suggest, Dr. Jim won and is eagerly waiting to claim victory, namely that Glenn gets to judge all rounds for Dr. Jim at one tournament. Congratulations Dr. Jim, we knew you could do it!!! The only question is: when are you going for a second Ph.D.?!
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Robert Withycombe Recognized as Outstanding Coach!
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At Whitman's college tournament Bob Withycombe was recognized by
the Northwest Forensics Conference for 12 years of dedication, caring, and
contributions as a coach for Whitman College and to the speech and debate
community. Over the years Bob has coached more than 400 students and judged
between 10-15,000 competitors, which is a whole lot of handwritten comments
on ballots! Although he has hung up his coach title and now serves as chair
of the rhetoric department and humanities division, Bob always makes time to
listen to speeches and help run tournaments. Bob's sense of commitment over
the past 20 years is why the community recognized him!
Larry Richardson, former Western Washington University Director
of Forensics and Jim's former coach, awards Bob Withycombe an honorary degree
for his outstanding contribution to the forensics community. Becoming involved with forensics as a competitor in 1968, Bob has been coaching ever since 1971. Bob's first coaching job at South Salem High School in Oregon, lasted nine years. Bob qualified students to NFL Nationals in every event (policy debate, Lincoln-Douglas debate, and all speech events). Then in 1980, Whitman College recruited Bob to turn their already successful team into a nationally competitive squad, and he did just that. In the early '80's, Bob led his team to two back-to-back nationally ranked seasons. In two years at Nationals, Whitman placed 10th & 5th in CEDA, 5th & 2nd in speech and was ranked number one in the Northwest. Over those two years the squad brought home 1st place at every tournament which the squad attended. Whitman was unbeatable! |
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Bob has also tabulated, assisted, or directed a
half dozen national CEDA tournaments. Bob served on CEDA topic
selection committees for six years researching, discussing, and writing
debate topics. Writing topics may seem easy, but writing competent and
interesting topics which people like takes a lot of time and effort! During
his years as director of forensics, Bob helped to start the Northwest
Forensics Conference, one of the most emulated and valued debate
organizations in the country. The goal was to further a sense of community
and teach strong argumentation and delivery skills at tournaments. Bob was
also one of the first serious promoters of CEDA debate in the Northwest. Bob's coaching philosophy is very "big picture"
oriented, as is his admonition "that would be a good thing." Bob's
advice is always to have fun and to take pride in one's accomplishments.
Three cheers to Bob for 20 years of taking the time to coach and here is to
20 more years of involvement. Congratulations Robert Withycombe! |
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Congratulations to Karen Skantze, who
we believe is the first rhetoric major (political rhetoric major) at Whitman
since 1955. Karen's achievement is exemplary of the revitalized rhetoric
department.
Carolyne Kamau
shows who is best in Individual Events Individual Events Rock! Whitman saw tremendous success in individual events, especially at
its own tournament this year. Adam won junior extemporaneous speaking and
Matt placed second while David Kearney placed fourth in senior division.
Holding his own in novice extemporaneous speaking, first year student Aaron
Walters placed third by discussing the internet's affect
on China. Every Whitman competitor entered in extemporaneous speaking brought
home a trophy, and the team looks forward to future success in this event. Continuing the team's goal to inform the world about current
issues, first year student Tony Torres placed fourth in junior informative
speaking. Tony has placed in this event at every tournament and has already
started to research for next year's competition. Following Tony's success
first timer Rose Alappat won novice informative
speaking and first year student Kristen Weaver placed fourth with her topic
on government seizure of property. (Hey, don't take Kristen's well-earned
trophy!) In novice impromptu, one of the largest events, new comer and first
year student Thad Tierney smooth-talked his way into fourth place by
discussing the virtues of female communication. In a new event, extemporaneous-Lincoln-Douglas debate, Sean
Harris brought home the gold. Extemp LD gives
students thirty minutes to research and prepare a case in support of or
against a topic. Later in the year at DSR-TKA Nationals, Matt placed ninth in
fierce competition in NFA Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Matt debated changing U.S.
policy toward Taiwan and is looking forward to next year's topic about the
internet. Whitman is very proud of its individual event participants!
Throughout the season, Whitman brought home more trophies from a wider ranger of events. With strong returning members the team
looks forward to continue building a bridge to greater success next year! |
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Team Readies to Move to Hunter Conservatory! The team is preparing to move into the Hunter Conservatory,
a.k.a. the new and improved Old Music Building. The team's new home will host
the Writing Center, audiovisual service, and rhetoric and public address
department. The construction is ahead of schedule and below cost! Come this
August, there will be video cameras for reviewing speeches, new practice
rooms, computers, workspaces, and the team assistant, Abby the Terminator,
gets her own office. Everyone will find peace of mind because Abby will have
her own workspace far, far away from the team. J
Contributions to the Walker Fund are appreciated! Thanks for your contributions to the Walker Speech and Debate Fund!
Generous Spring '98 donors include Megan Medica, John Miller, Hariette Small, Jared Phillips, Loan Lam, Daphne Teals,
and Drummond Kahn. If we missed you, tell us because all contributions made
to the Walker Fund are appreciated greatly! Contributions to the Walker Fund should be sent to: Annual Fund Office Checks should be made to Whitman College with a note that says to place the contribution into the Walker Fund. |
The layout for the "Rhetoric Floor" in Hunter shows the team and department have new and excellent facilities. |
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Some Awards to
Talk About!
Sean Harris '98 and Adam Symonds '99 were honored at the CEDA
National Championship Tournament for their participation in debate, academics,
and their communities. Sean received the All-American Award for his outstanding
debate ability and contribution to the debate community. Adam received the
prestigious Scholastic Debater Award for being both an outstanding debater and
scholar. Adam maintains a high GPA which is not an easy task for someone who
spends so much of his time working on debate and with his sweet girlfriend.
Intramural
Debates Heat Up Campus
Whitman College has a long history of intramural debate on campus,
a history revived in the 1990's by the squad and President Thomas Cronin.
Anyone not on the full-time forensics team may compete in these fun and
educational debates. This year saw continued growth in intramural debate
participation with new faces and more debates and awards than in past years.
Abby St. Lawrence, coordinator this year, encouraged and sometimes lovingly
coerced many campus groups to compete in the afternoon affairs. Abby has done
an outstanding job of single-handedly organizing and running the event, and
plans to keep debates running on time next year. Check the table for the
winners!
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1998 Champions Experienced |
First Spring '98 Contest Experienced |
Second Spring '98 Contest Experienced |
Jessica Clarke and Lisa Beyl talk with Abby St. Lawrence whose is tabulating intramural debate results while Jim (hidden in the background) reads the Pio school newspaper. |
CEDA Continues to Move up in the Rankings
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J.P. Lacy and Becky Galentine smile. Their hard work paid off as the CEDA-NDT team had one of its most successful years ever. |
The CEDA/NDT team had an outstanding second semester! Beware, the next few paragraphs will amaze and astound because Whitman has done it again. Whitman brought home more trophies and qualified more students to nationals than ever before! Major accomplishments include veterans senior Sean Harris and junior Adam Symonds, and the ever adorable sophomore Jessica Clarke and first year student Ryan Scoville closing out both spring NFC designated tournaments. Sean Harris and Adam won the Northwest CEDA Championship Tournament, Whitman's first ever! Whitman qualified two teams to the NDT, the only school in the Northwest to qualify teams. First year students Sean Collins and Mike Caughey took third place at Southern Illinois University and tied for first place at the University of Southern California with sophomore Lisa Beyl and junior Matt Johnson (who usually did parli this year). In Public CEDA, a new slower version of policy debate, sophomore Bobby deGrouchy and first year student Keola Whittaker placed 1st at the Whitman Tournament. Jessica and Ryan took 17th and Sean Harris and Adam took 9th place at CEDA Nationals (losing a close 2-1 decision to the team that took first place--the second year in a row which that has happened!). The team's trophy cases are overflowing with trophies, and they would not have it any other way! |
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Additional accomplishments include Mike and Lisa placing 5th at Whitman. Jessica and Ryan placed 17th at USC, 1st at PLU, 5th at WWU, 17th at Heart of America, 1st at Whitman, and 2nd at the NW NDT Qualifier. Continuing Whitman's winning streak Sean Harris and Adam placed 9th at USC-Long Beach, 1st at PLU, 17th at Northwestern, 1st at Whitman, and 1st at the NW NDT Qualifiers. Individually the team brought home many, many speaker awards (okay, this is overload, but here goes). At USC in Junior Division, Sean Collins took 1st, Matt 2nd, Mike 3rd, Lisa 4th and Adam placed 14th in Open. At CSU-Long Beach Sean Harris took 14th and Adam 6th in Open. At PLU in Open, Adam took 1st, Sean Harris 2nd, Ryan 3rd, and Sean Collins and Jessica tied for 5th. At Southern Illinois University Ryan placed 10th in Open, and Sean Collins took 2nd and Mike 3rd in Junior. At WWU Ryan was 10th in Open. At Whitman Adam tied with his partner, Sean Harris, for 1st speaker, Ryan was 4th,, and Jessica 5th. At the Northwest CEDA Championship Adam tied for 4th and Sean Harris tied for 7th. Finally at CEDA Nationals, Adam was 20th, Ryan 23rd, Sean Harris 34th, and Jessica 32nd. Congratulations to all of Whitman's fine speakers! While both of Whitman's teams lost their break rounds and went 4-4 at the NDT, their ability to qualify and do so well speaks volumes for future success! |
Ryan Scoville had an outstanding season as a first year student including taking 17th at the CEDA National Championship Tournament. |
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Parliamentary Debate Takes 12th in the Nation!
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Matt Johnson had a very successful season. |
Whitman's parliamentary debate team talked their way into 12th place out of 180 schools. The Twin Davids, Kearney and Perry, debated like national champions during the season. This dynamic duo placed 2nd at Willamette University, 5th at Point Loma, 5th at DSR-TKA Nationals, and 17th at the National Parliamentary Debate Association National Championship. David Kearney received many individual speaker awards including 8th at Willamette, 12th at Point Loma, 4th at Whitman, 6th at DSR-TKA Nationals, and 21st at NPDA Nationals. David's partner, Dave Perry, was not just another pretty face as he received speaker recognition for placing 13th at Point Loma and 9th at Whitman. David and Dave received a standing ovation at NPDA Nationals when they collected their 17th place trophies. David is well known for his professor-like bow ties while Dave can not be missed with his booming voice (which is why his nickname is Boomer). The Davids are highly respected among the debate community and their presence as outstanding competitors will be missed in the Northwest and national competition! |
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The whit and style of sophomore Brant Olson and the logic of
junior Matt Johnson exhibited Whitman's excellence in parliamentary debate.
Brant and Matt did very well this semester placing 5th at
Willamette, 17th at Point Loma, and 3rd at Whitman. Brant
and Matt culminated their season with a 9th place showing at the
NPDA National Championship. This is the team's first year in parliamentary
competition (Matt had done CEDA previously). Brant will be spending next year
learning Japanese in Japan, but plans to return after that. Matt will be back
next year as a formidable debater and team leader. Continuing the Whitman winning tradition the team of first year
student Brian Danielson and sophomore Akshay Garg placed 5th at Whitman. Brian and Akshay lost their break round at NPDA Nationals. Brian
and Akshay's 4 wins and 4 losses record at
Nationals spoke volumes for their potential and future success. Brian is most
known for his love of Chile's social security system. Brian also received
individual recognition taking 10th speaker in junior division at
PLU and 5th at the WWU William O. Douglas Invitational. Brian's
partner, Akshay, is known for having an unlimited
knowledge of foreign affairs. When we say unlimited we mean more than
Madeline Albright! Akshay has received individual
speaker awards including 1st at Western Washington and 8th
at Whitman. Parliamentary debate has flourished throughout the year. Whitman
is blessed with very interactive and encouraging team members. During
competitions seniors took the time to discuss judges, opposing teams, and
debate strategies. Between rounds, teammates discussed debates, introduced
each other to rival teams, judges and coaches, and continued Whitman's
winning tradition. |
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Also competing in parliamentary debate at the Whitman Tournament, Whitman had four teams that just missed advancing to outrounds. Appearing for the first time, first year students Thad Tierney and Brendon Nafzinger debated like champions. Thad and Brendon had never debated before, but were convincing enough to build a strong reputation for themselves among their fellow competitors. Lea Rees and Tony Torres in junior division acted like winners by helping new team members learn the ropes of tournament life (which is basically to do whatever Jim says). In novice division first year student Aaron Walters joined up with a partner from the University of Washington. Aaron is truly dedicated to the event because he can adapt with any partner. Thumbs up to Aaron for helping out another squad! Whitman's final team in junior division consisted of first year students Kelly Schultz and Patricia Bayley. These two sweethearts won over their competition with their arguments and confident personalities. They are women, hear them debate with class, good fashion sense, and unbeatable arguments! |
David Kearney is proud of the success he and Dave Perry shared this year in Parliamentary debate. |
Changes in the Coaching Staff
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Diana Thomson and Abby St. Lawrence share a happy moment. |
Whitman's speech and debate team will be seeing familiar faces in the coming year. Continuing his quest for truth, justice and the first place title in the Northwest, Dr. Jim Hanson is happy with the team's success this season. With Jim's new status as "Dr.," he will have even more time to spread some major motivation as he leads the team to victory. Coming back for his second year, J.P. Lacy will continue to assist the CEDA/NDT side of the team. Don't be searching for JP's face over the summer because he will be spending much of his break researching and skiing in Switzerland, and working at debate institutes until the season resumes in August. |
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While the team is excited to maintain old faces, they will be saying bon voyage to two coaches. Assistant IE & parliamentary debate coach Diana Thomson will be returning to sunny Nebraska to spend time with friends and family as she pursues a degree in law. David Kearney, who was an outstanding team member, will fill Diana's position. David graduated with honors and distinction in philosophy. Also leaving the team is Ryan J. Hagemann, assistant coach of IE's and parliamentary debate (and an admissions officer on the side). Ryan has been accepted to the University of Oregon Law School and is eager to get started on his new career. While the team is excited to have an outstanding coaching staff next year, Diana and Ryan's presence will be missed. Best wishes to them! |
Adam Symonds will return next year after an incredibly successful season including placing 9th in the nation. |
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