Whitman Forensics Newsletter
Vol. 10, No. 3, December, 2003
Jim
Coach of the Year
After a long exhausting day of debate at
the Wake Forest policy tournament this fall, the Whitman policy squad walked into
the banquet hall for dinner, awards, and tournament announcements. The team was approached by a group of
excited former members and friends of the team. Charles Olney, Whitman
College Class of ’03, and current assistant coach of policy debate at Michigan
State University explained what the excitement was all about, “You might want
to get Jim on the phone, he is winning the coach of the year award tonight!”
Jessica Clarke and Beth Schueler immediately began running from table to
table asking if anyone had a cell phone to loan. Finally, they found one,
forgetting the fact that Beth’s debate partner Eric Suni had a cell phone,
and made a frantic phone call to Jim’s office but unfortunately, for
once, Jim was not in his office. After a long list of tournament related announcements Charles was
called up to the podium. Charles gave an eloquent yet light-hearted speech,
giving well deserved credit to Jim’s ability to manage an extremely
successful policy, parliamentary, and individual events program while at the
same time grilling him over his tyrannical control over the van ride music
selection. Here is a highlighted copy of Charles speech. “When I found out Jim was going to receive
this award, I was extremely happy. He is extremely deserving of it, and I’m glad
that he is starting to get some of the recognition that he well-deserves. His
record as a coach speaks |
Jim, sans the beard, is humbled by
his recent award. |
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for itself: When Jim took over
the job at Whitman in the early 90s, the team was solid.
However, Jim made a very deliberate |
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The
defining characteristic, I think, of the Whitman team during Jim’s tenure has
been the almost overwhelmingly positive atmosphere. Debating for Jim was just plain fun. Sure, he’s a little goofy at times, sometimes a little hard to
deal with, and not quite a card-cutting machine. Nobody’s perfect, but Jim is an amazing coach, and a great
friend. I think the best compliment I
can give is that I would choose to debate at Whitman again in an
instant. There’s no team in the world
that I would rather have been on, and there’s no coach I would rather have
had.” Charles also pointed out Jim’s computer related innovations which have
sparked positive change throughout the college and high-school debate
circuits, “Will Repko said this in regards to the technology: “Whitman
College -- I think -- has really pushed forward the online component of
debate. Their electronic resources are impressive, and they are selfless with
them. Jim is definitely central to this component of their squad.” I would
very strongly concur. While it
terrified me to give up the scissors and tape when I started debating at
Whitman, I can’t even imagine having to go back to those Dark Ages now. I really believe that before |
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too long, everything in
debate will be on computers, and a lot of the credit for initiating that
revolution belongs to Jim for cajoling, encouraging, and ultimately demanding
that Whitman toss the scissors into the garbage. Jim had this to say about receiving this award, “I am
honestly humbled and even kind of embarrassed by receiving this award. I
think I've done some good stuff but wow, this was a real surprise. I have to
thank all of the people who have made up what this represents to me: a
dedicated and very hard working group of coaches and assistants who have made
our program successful. If you’ve coached, been a team helper, you are this
award.” Beth Schuler had this to say about
Charles speech, “Above all, the speech highlighted Jim’s supportive attitude.
For Jim, winning debates truly is the byproduct of a healthy happy team.
Congratulations Jim!” I think that is
a sentiment that we can all echo; “Congratulations Jim!” |
Beth and Eric gear up for the Gonzaga
tournament where they advanced to semis! |
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Chris
and Bridget Win Three Times in a Row!
Following a great season
last year, Senior Chris Gorman and Junior Bridget Kustin, got off to an
amazing start this season racking up 3 consecutive tournament wins at Reed
College, Lewis and Clark College, and Pacific University. Unfortunately that marks the end of a
great partnership between Bridget and Chris, with Bridget traveling abroad to
India during the spring semester and Chris graduating this May. Bridget is looking forward to her time in
India where she will be studying Hindi, and learning about the arts,
politics, culture and history of India from local professors and artisans, in
both urban and rural environments. Bridget and Chris have been debating
together for the past year and a half and |
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over
that time have developed into one of the strongest teams in the nation. Last year they finished 11th in the nation
at the NPTE. This year they have
faced stiff competition in the Northwest defeating some of the top teams in
the nation on their way to victory in each of the tournaments. At the Reed College tournament, Bridget
and Chris faced off against the University of Oregon team of Craven and Stone
who are currently ranked as the 13th team in the nation. Following their victory at Reed, the team
traveled to the Lewis and Clark tournament which found Whitman GK winning
against Lewis and Clark BW (Bingham and West) who are currently ranked as the
number one team in the nation--we dispute that ranking! J And at Pacific, this duo
knocked off Oregon again for a third straight victory! |
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Brian Danielson returns as the master of
parliamentary ceremonies!
Joe Carver, the team’s new policy assistant
Katie Imbeau, back for another year of outstanding
interp coaching!
Samantha Howell continues her
dedicated support for the team as our team assistant! Staff: Jim Hanson, Director of Forensics, Joe Carver, 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; Bob Withycombe, Chair, Rhetoric and Film
Studies; and Thomas Cronin, President, Whitman College. 33 Competitors, Fall 2003: Alex Bollinger, Ben Meiches,
Beth Schueler, Bridget Kustin, Chandra Carlisle, Chris Chamness, Chris
Gorman, Christine Cleland, Danielle Williamson, Dawn Holmes, Emily Marr, Eric
Suni, Holly Black, Hugo Vargas, James Hovard, Jeff Buntin, Jessica Serisky,
Kathryn Bergh, Kimberly Schlesinger, Kyle Gotchy, Laura Hanson, Lydia Eberly,
Matt Schissler, Meghan Hughes, Nav Rekhi, Patrick Carter, Rob Olsen, Ross
Richendrfer, Sam Spiegel, Sarah Zangrillo, Stephen Reed, Teri Swartz, Tyler
Kent |
The 2003-2004
Staff Joining
Jim this year are three returners and a newbie. The newbie is Joe Carver who
takes over for Brian Simmonds as our assistant policy debate coach. Joe joins
us after successful stints at Pace University and College of Eastern Utah. He
has a great sense of humor, a good work ethic, and has even said good things
about some of Jim’s music (mainly when he is trying to avoid being fired).
Brian Danielson returns after a successful season last year for a sixth year
involved with the team. We’re lucky for that even if we do have to listen to
his tirades against the “state.” Katie Imbeau also returns producing some
amazing interpretation performances with team members. Samantha Howell also
has come back as team assistant, gleaming over the “You suck and that’s sad”
sign that sits above her desk. Team attends
Reed Tournament run by Alumni! This
year the Whitman Parliamentary debate team had the pleasure of attending a
brand new tournament September 27th through the 28th
hosted by Reed College in Portland, Oregon.
This was a special tournament for the team because the tournament was
administered by one of our very own, Keola Whittaker, Class of 2001, and
former Assistant Parliamentary Debate and Individual Events coach. Keola is currently pursuing his Masters
degree in Liberal Arts at Reed and serving as their Director of
Forensics. During the tournament, the
team was also able to catch up with David Kearney, former coach and class of
1999. Beyond seeing old team friends,
the Reed tournament served the Whitman Speech and Debate teams by prpviding a
great start up the mountain with Chris and Bridget winning the tournament
(see story on page 1). Junior Chandra
Carlisle and Sophomore Kathryn Bergh ended up taking 3rd
place. The Senior duo of Emily Marr
and Sam Spiegel along with Sophomores Rob Olsen and Lydia Eberly both came
away with 9th place finishes.
Way to go! Prep Session –
Base Camp for Climbing the Mountain Policy, Parli, and Individual Events
competitors rev’d up the mountain at this year’s Prep Session. The
policy work during the prep session was productive and fun. This year’s
policy topic is very broad and wordy; 160 plus words describing a series of
propositions toward Europe. Throughout the week we were joined by esteemed
Whitman grads like Thad Blank and David Guidry who judged practice rounds and
helped shape our negative strategies for the first tournament. Eric Suni
produced a 650 page file on the Turkey- Greece topic area (including 5 pages
on Greece!) and it became an immensely valuable tool on the Negative for us. Individual
Events got off to a good start this year at the prep session. Junior Bridget
Kustin let us in on a few secrets about the soybean industry with her
informative speech. Sophomore Rob Olsen’s POI roped together the mythology of
the American Cowboy and the American President. First year Stephen Reed delved into the love between a father
and son as explained in Dennis Leary’s book No Cure for Cancer and
forced us to ponder the question whether we would all be vegetarians if cows ruled
the world in a hilarious POI. Kim
Schlesinger, another incoming first year student, put together a great ADS on
disaster preparedness. First year
Hugo Vargas’ speech focused on oral versus written Nazi propaganda. Senior
Patrick Carter focused on the tools used by Christian Radio to communicate
its message. Not to be outdone, first
year Chris Chamness’ satirical ADS on the future of civil liberties struck a
little bit of fear and a whole lot of laughter into people’s funny
bones. In addition, everyone helped
to fill the extemp tubs with literally thousands of pages of research. Working
on parliamentary debate, the team covered the basics of parliamentary debate
to the incoming students and then had an example debate to get them into the
swing of things. The team then set to
work researching and preparing positions for potential resolutions. Each incoming student was paired with a
senior debater for his or her first practice debate. The action was fast and furious as
everyone engaged in intellectual battle.
After watching the first round of debates, Brian Danielson was heard
to say: “The incoming class of students is great and so large!” The
prep session wasn’t all work and no play.
As always there was a team barbeque with burgers and brauts for the
meat eaters on the team and boca burgers for the herbivores. Incoming policy coach Joe Carver was brave
enough to let the team invade his home by hosting the BBQ. Later that night, Brian made good on his
summer of smack talking about his bowling skills by rolling a 179, soundly
defeating everyone else. And
throughout the prep session, impromptu Frisbee games and hacky sack circles
broke out when staring at a computer screen became too much to handle. The Brits
debate the Whits! The team was honored to host two of Britain’s
finest for a debate about the way the United States is approaching the war on
terrorism. Over 100 people attended the debate between British award winners
Tom and Tom against the Washington University champions Chris and Chandra.
The debate involved heated as well as humorous arguments about George Bush,
Tony Blair, Iraq and Afghanistan. Audience members participated too, making
arguments and asking questions during several portions of the debate. In the
end, there was no victor but people had an enjoyable and thought provoking
evening. |
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One of two NFL National champions
joining this year, Ben Meiches from Minnesota demonstrates that the team has become
a national attraction with students from all over the country contacting Jim. |
Chris and
Bridget knock off one of the top teams! While coaches Jim Hanson and Brian
Danielson paced the halls, Chris and Bridget were confidently taking care of
business, handing the team of Bingham and West the second place trophy and
taking top honors for themselves. Chris and Bridget have been good friends in
their partnership. Chris said: “I think the fact that we're
great friends is what made the whole experience really cool.” When Bridget was asked what her favorite
round for the year was she replied, “My favorite round this year was the
final round of Lewis and Clark: the whole room was on our side, I got to
speak French in the round, the policy kids were laughing every time we said
"link turn" or something like that and going crazy with the
knocking on the desk. Or it could be
the time we almost lost a round because the judge thought that I was rude. I
feel that I can speak for both Chris and myself when I say that's one of our
proudest moments because the 'Chris means loud, Bridget means nice' image was
gone forever!” Good Cop or Bad Cop,
this duo has been an outstanding team!
Emily, Joe, and Beth smile for
the camera. You look mahvelous! Intramural
Tournament Whitman College has a long tradition of
fierce competition for the coveted Intramural T-Shirts. Debaters argued over the topic “Resolved:
I support X as the Democratic Presidential Candidate for 2004” while the Dramatic
Interpretation section of the tournament featured smoking hot performances by
Andrew Lum, Laura Nelson, Tyler Kent, Eli Block, Jackie Baxter, and Veronica
Willeto. Patrick Carter had this to
say, “I was really impressed with the quality in the Whitman community.” Top honors were taken by Andrew Lum, Laura
Nelson and Tyler Kent in the Dramatic Interpretation events. The top 3
debaters in the inexperienced division were Aaron Mandel taking first place,
Sam Morris-Rosenfeld taking second, and McLean Eames, third. The experienced division was hotly
contested with a two-way tie for first place occurring between Mike Winnike
and Matt Jumago. Taking third place
was freshman Andrew Deming.
Dawn and Kathryn prepare for a
parliamentary debate. Holiday Party Besides the stress of finals, the
ever-present fog, and the outbreak of the flu, December brings with it some
holiday cheer for the Whitman Speech and Debate team with the annual holiday
party. This year the occasion fell on
the date of December 9th and was hosted by the always jolly (except in the
mornings) Jim Hanson. The holiday
party serves as a way for the team to gather together in friendship as they
plot to steal away the best gifts in the white elephant gift exchange. The competition over the gifts is always
fierce and this year was no exception.
Top gifts included a CD/radio alarm clock, a miniature zen garden,
hemp t-shirts and Washington lotto scratch tickets, fresh baked corn bread,
and a Mr. Potatohead. Jim was the
initial recipient of the Mr. Potatohead and you could tell by the look in his
eyes that there was some serious rage at the carbohydrates that Mr.
Potatohead symbolized. Fortunately,
Mike Winnike stole the Mr. Potatohead from Jim during the gift exchange and
ensured his safety throughout the night.
While the carbohydrates could be saved the same cannot be said about
protein. Jim broiled up some
succulent steaks and amazed many with his tasty Thai seafood tom ka
soup. Don’t worry though, Jim made
sure that there was some delicious four-cheese ravioli for the vegetarians on
the team. With special guest
appearances by Bob Withycombe, and recent graduate Charles Olney, the night
was a smashing success. Mr.
Potatohead had this to say, “I was a little scared at first, but once they took
me away from that scary Atkins diet fanatic I had a great time.” |
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NPDA
Rankings—Whitman is looking very good As the rankings stand, Whitman’s parli
squad is currently ranked 2nd in the NPDA Season Sweepstakes race,
just a few points behind Lewis and Clark College in NPDA points—with only
three of the four tournaments the team has attended recorded. The NPDA Season Sweepstakes award is one
of the most important measures of a program’s success. “I think that Whitman is poised to be at
the top of the season sweepstakes for a long time to come because of the
strength of our younger teams,” says Assistant Coach Brian Danielson. The Lewis and Clark tournament was one of
the best tournaments that the Parli team has ever had with first place
finishes in Open by Chris Gorman and Bridget Kustin, and in Junior by Rob
Olsen and Kim Schlesinger, and second in Novice by Laura Hanson and James
Hovard. At the Pacific University
tournament, the first year team of Chris Chamness and Stephen Reed had an
outstanding second place finish in the Junior division. And lets not forget about the duo of
Chandra Carlisle and Kathryn Bergh.
They had an outstanding finish at the Reed tournament taking 3rd
in Open division. Whitman is looking
to solidify its position as the top team in the nation over the upcoming
semester and at the NPDA tournament, which begins April 6. WHITMAN DEBATE CAMP Whitman’s debate camp grew even more this summer
attracting 70 plus participants from all over the nation. Evals were very good
and Jim hopes to see the camp grow even more for 2004!
Stephen’s work on his interps has
paid off very well with multiple awards! |
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Rob shows the audience how to
emphasize a point as Holly looks on. |
Dana (back), Patrick, Lydia, and Emily
(behind Lydia) listen to a debate. |
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Whitman
Forensics Newsletter
Vol. 10, No. 1, December, 2003
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Withycombe and Walker Fund Contributions We are grateful for your
contributions to the forensic team! Generous donors May 1, 2003 through December 12, 2003 include: Nancy and Robert M. Withycombe, R. Paul
Beveridge and Lysle Wilhelmi, Jennifer Becker & Andrew Backlund, Patricia
and Charles P. Nelson, Drummond and Daphne Teals Kahn, Susan R. and Lloyd T.
Danielson, Stephen C. Rowe, James B. Hanson, Kristofer N. Peterson, Erik
Highberg, Jessica A. Clarke, John R. Miller, and the Microsoft Corporation. If we missed you, please tell us because we
do appreciate your support! |
Nav, Jeff, Ben, and Eric get
ready to load up the van at Gonzaga. |
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SEND
CONTRIBUTIONS 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. |
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Ross reflects; Jim and Samantha
reorganize files; Sam, Bridget, Chris listen to a speech; Bob kicks back; and
Matt and Meghan prep for their round. |
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The Team’s History Page: www.whitman.edu/rhetoric/history/ Where we’re going The climb up the mountain isn’t over yet, and
that means that you still have an opportunity to cheer the team on to further
victories as we head into the second half of the season. We will be attending tournaments across
the nation and if you are nearby we’d love to have you drop in and watch a round
or two. Our tentative schedule is
posted at our team web page. If you have any questions about how to meet up
with us, feel free to email Jim Hanson at hansonjb@whitman.edu. See you on the circuit. |
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Policy Awards ALEX BOLLINGER AND DANIELLE WILLIAMSON: Lewis and Clark, Junior FIRST; Alex 1st speaker; Danielle 2nd speaker. BETH SCHUELER AND ERIC SUNI: Gonzaga, SEMIS, Beth 7th speaker; Kentucky, 5-3, missed on points; Lewis and Clark, SECOND, Beth 2nd speaker; Eric 1st speaker: Wake Forest, 5-3, missed on points JEFF BUNTIN AND ROSS RICHENDRFER: Gonzaga, QUARTERS; Lewis and Clark, FIFTH; Jeff 8th speaker. Parli
Awards BRIDGET KUSTIN AND CHRIS GORMAN: Reed, FIRST; Lewis
and Clark, FIRST; Pacific, FIRST. CHANDRA CARLISLE AND KATHRYN BERGH: Reed, SEMIS,
Chandra, 8th speaker; Lewis and Clark, OCTAS. CHRIS CHAMNESS AND STEPHEN REED: Lewis and Clark, SEMIS; Pacific, SECOND, Stephen 7th speaker (Junior) CHRIS GORMAN AND CHANDRA CARLISLE: Washington U., FIRST, Chris, 9th speaker. EMILY MARR AND SAM SPIEGEL: Reed, OCTAS. JAMES HOVARD AND LAURA HANSON: Lewis and Clark, SECOND, Laura 4th speaker (Novice). KIM SCHLESINGER AND ROB OLSEN: Lewis and Clark, FIRST. LYDIA EBERLY AND ROB
OLSEN: Reed, OCTAS. PATRICK CARTER AND HUGO
VARGAS: Reed,
Patrick 7th speaker (Novice); Lewis and Clark, OCTAS, Patrick 5th speaker
(Junior); Pacific, OCTAS. |
Individual Events Awards BRIDGET
KUSTIN: Informative, FINALIST, Lewis and Clark CHANDRA
CARLISLE: Impromptu, SECOND, Washington U. CHRIS CHAMNESS:
After Dinner Speaking, FINALIST CHRIS
GORMAN: Impromptu, THIRD, Lewis and Clark HOLLY
BLACK Dramatic, FINALIST, Pacific (Novice) KATHRYN BERGH: Impromptu, FINALIST, Pacific (Novice) Extemp, FINALIST, Lewis and Clark (Novice) KIM SCHLESINGER: Extemp, SECOND, Lewis and Clark (Junior) KYLE
GOTCHY: Dramatic, THIRD, Lewis and Clark LAURA
HANSON: Extemp, FIRST, Lewis and Clark PATRICK
CARTER: CA, FINALIST, Lewis and Clark; FINALIST, Pacific Impromptu, FINALIST, Lewis and Clark (Junior) ROSS RICHENDRFER: Impromptu, FIRST, Lewis and Clark (Novice) STEPHEN
REED: Dramatic, FINALIST, Lewis and Clark; FIRST, Pacific POI, FINALIST, Pacific TERI
SWARTZ AND TYLER KENT: Duo, FINALIST, Lewis and Clark |
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Danielle and Alex prep; Jeff and Dave wonder why they are
being photographed; Ben, Ross, Meghan, Nav, and Danielle review choices at the
Outback.
Visit our Web Page! www.whitman.edu/rhetoric/000forensics.htm