1997-1998

The Faculty Jim Hanson, Director of Forensics Bob Withycombe, Department Chair, Associate Dean of Faculty No picture available at this time Marilee Mifsud

Diana Thomson, Parliamentary-IE Assistant Abby St. Lawrence, Student Assistant and Intramural Debate Coordinator Becky Galentine, Volunteer Policy Assistant J.P. Lacy, Policy Assistant

Jessica and Ryan with Becky, Jim, and J.P. at the 1998 NDT

Sean and Adam with Becky, Jim, and J.P. at the 1998 NDT.

Jessica, Lisa and Abby talk in Jim’s office.

Whitman News

· Tom Cronin, College President
· Jim Hanson Director of Forensics and Debate Coach.
· Abby St. Lawrence, Whitman Forensics Assistant
· Diana Thompson, Assistant Parliamentary and IE Coach
· J.P. Lacy, Policy Assistant Coach
· Evan Bartlett was student body president.
 
· Professor of Astronomy Kate Bracher retires after 3 decades of teaching at Whitman.
· Professor of English Pat Tyson retires.  Two visiting professors Tara Penry and Jeffrey Thomson join Whitman College English Department.
· Katherine Hoyt joins Whitman College Department of Politics.
· New interest house-The Writing House- is scheduled to open next fall, will focus on creative writing and will house 8 Whitman students.
· The Old music building undergoes construction to become the Hunter Conservatory. The team is excited because this will be the team’s new headquarters.
· Plans commence to renovate Penrose Library.
· Frank Greer, Clinton's media consultant speaks on campus about the role of the media in politics.
· Lynn Paltrow, nationally recognized lawyer on reproductive policy advocates women's rights to abortion on campus.
 

Carolyn Kamau joins the team.
 

Brian Danielson reads the Pioneer in Jim’s office during his first of four years on the team.
 

 
Abby, Claire, Adam, Ryan, and Sean Collins enjoy a Chinese meal.
 

Speech Courses

CHANGE: The department’s name is changed from Speech to Rhetoric and Public Address. A minor is now offered. Marilee Mifsud, Johnstone visiting professor, offers multiple courses in classical rhetoric including Greek Rhetoric, Roman Rhetoric, Rhetoric revisited (comparing post-modern rhetoric with greek rhetoric). The political campaign course is dropped. Rhetorical exploration: race, gender, and class is added and is cross listed with gender studies.

Rhetoric Department Description: Courses treat Rhetoric and Public Address as a liberal art, proposing that such communication is not a skill learned by rule but an exercise of judgment that can be no better than the communicator's understanding of the nature of the communicative acts.

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The Rhetoric or Public Address minor. A minimum of twenty credits in Rhetoric and Public Address that consists of course work in the following areas of study: (A) an eight credit Performance requirement to be satisfied through Rhetoric 110 or four credits of Rhetoric 221 or 222, and either Rhetoric 210 or 270; (B) a four credit History requirement to be satisfied through Rhetoric 370 or the equivalent; (C) a two course Criticism requirement to be satisfied from among the Rhetoric 240, 379 or 380 courses. Minor modifications in this program may be made with the approval of the department.

RHETORIC 110. Fundamentals of Public Address, 4 hours.

RHETORIC 210, Advanced Public Address

RHETORIC 221, Public Address in Intercollegiate Forensics, 1 or 2 hours

RHETORIC 222, Debating in Intercollegiate Forensics, 1 or 2 hours

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

RHETORIC 261, 262, 263 Rhetoric in Greece and Rome; Rhetoric Revisited (taught by Marilee, 4 hours)

RHETORIC 270. Persuasion, Agitation and Social Movements, 4 hours.

RHETORIC 370. Seminar: Western Rhetorical Thinking, 4 hours.

RHETORIC 379, 380. Special Topics Courses. Critiquing Criticism, Freedom of Rhetoric, Background of African American Protest Rhetoric, Argumentation in the Law, Politics and Society, Political Campaign: Persuading America

RHETORIC 401, 402. Independent Study.

Both Ryan Scoville and Adam Symonds spent many hours in Jim’s office which turned into a virtual computer lab with three computers, two hooked up to the network and one with a modem. This is the year the “Quake” craze began.

World News

· President Clinton's scandal dominates the political scene near the end of the school year. He engaged in a sexual relationship with Monika Lewinsky and the Republicans later tried to impeach him for not telling the truth about it.
· Egypt-Islamic militants in Egypt killed at least 70 people including 60 foreign tourists outside an ancient temple in Luxor, Iraq. U.S and British officials speculate on the most unobtrusive time to bomb Iraq.  Iraq accuses the U.S and Britain of using "jungle law".
· Serbia: Serbian Police and military units entered Kosovo and started to use violence.  Turmoil starts in Kosovo.
· Formerly Burma, Myanmar supplies over 60 percent of the world's heroin.

• The newspaper ran adds on Peace Corps, Credit Cards, Computer Storage.

Carolyn Mitchell, Tony Torres, Aaron Walters, Kristen Weaver and in front Akshay Garg formed a core element of the parliamentary debate and individual events portion of the program.

Mike and Melissa competed in the intramural contest. Melissa won first during the fall and at the spring championship tournament.

Team Awards

· Whitman College is made of a team of 25 competitors. The Whitman debate program ranks 22 out of 200 in the nation CEDA debate and 19 out of 200 in the Parliamentary Debate.
· Dovell-Gose oratory contest was held on April 23rd.  This oratory contest was established in 1918 in the memory of William Thomas Dovell, class of 1888, and Christopher Columus Gose, class of 1886, the first graduating class of Whitman.
· Intramural debate.  Topic "Resolved: That Paula Jones was sexually harassed."
· Whitman hosts a successful tournament.  About 300 people participated with 28 schools in attendance.  With over 90 points, the Whitman team ended up number 2 in the Division 1.
· Debate team ranks 11th in the CEDA Debate and 12th in the parliamentary debate in the nation.
· Van accident leaves several debaters injured as they were traveling to a tournament at Puget Sound.  All 13 passengers survived after the left rear tire blew off the van. Mitchell, Whittaker, Danielson, Weaver, Torres, Johnson, Kearney, Lane, Kamau, Walters, Bayley, Schultz and coach Thomson.
 

The school played up the team’s success with a promotion effort including this picture. The team’s combined parliamentary and policy success were the best in the nation and continued that way until 2000-2001 when Berkeley beat our squad in parliamentary debate and virtually tied us in policy debate.
 
POLICY DEBATE

Team	Division	Prelims	Win %	Elims	Win %	Awards
Lisa Beyl-Erin Carlson	Open	2-4	33%	NA	NA	NA
Lisa Beyl-Beau Brandow	Open	6-6	50%	NA	NA	NA
Mike Caughey-Lisa Beyl	Junior	5-1	84%	0-1	0%	2^nd (L & C)
Mike Caughey-Lisa Beyl	Open	6-7	46%	0-1	0%	5^th (Whitman)
Mike Caughey-Sean Collins	Junior	12-2	86%	3-1	75%	1^st (USC)
3^rd (SIU)
Mike Caughey-Sean Collins	Open	17-24	41%	NA	NA	NA
Brant Olson-Sean Collins	Open	5-8	38%	NA	NA	NA
Matt Johnson-Lisa Beyl	Junior	6-2	75%	2-0	100%	1^st (USC)
Matt Johnson-Lisa Beyl	Open	3-5	38%	NA	NA	NA
Bobby deGrouchy-Keola Whittaker	Public	4-6	33%	NA	NA	1^st (Whitman)
Bobby deGrouchy-Tony Torres	Junior	2-4	33%	NA	NA	NA
Jessica Clarke-Ryan Scoville	Open	57-32	64%	6-6	50%	5^th (WWU Scrimmage) 5^th ( L & C) 9^th (Central Oklahoma) 17^th (USC) 1^st (PLU) 5^th (WWU) 17^th (Heart of America) 1^st (Whitman) 17^th (CEDA Nationals) 2^nd (NW NDT Qualifier)
Sean Harris-Adam Symonds	Open	65-20	76%	14-5	74%	3^rd (WWU Scrimmage) 1^st ( L & C) 5^th (Central Oklahoma) 17^th (USC) 9^th (USC-Long Beach) 1^st (PLU) 17^th (Northwestern) 1^st (Whitman) 1^st (NW CEDA Champs) 9^th (CEDA Nationals) 1^st (NW NDT Qualifier)
Overall	All	189-126	60%	27-14	66%

PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE

Team	Division	Prelims	Win %	Elims	Elim %	Awards
David Kearney-Dave Perry	Senior	32-16	67%	7-5	58%	9^th (Colorado)
2^nd (Willamette)
5^th (Point Loma)
5^th (DSR-TKA)
17^th (NPDA)
Bobby deGrouchy-Tony Torres	Senior	3-3	50%	NA	NA	NA
Tony Torres-Aaron Walters	Junior	1-5	16%	NA	NA	NA
Brian Danielson-Dave Perry	Senior	4-2	67%	1-1	50%	5^th (L & C)
Brian Danielson-Brant Olson	Junior	3-3	50%	NA	NA	NA
Brian Danielson-Akshay Garg	Junior	7-5	58%	1-1	50%	5^th (Whitman)
Chiasha Dickens-Brian Danielson	Senior	3-3	50%	NA	NA	NA
Chiasha Dickens-Matt Johnson	Senior	7-5	59%	4-0	100%	1^st (L & C)
Matt Johnson-Bobby deGrouchy	Senior	3-3	50%