Barometer The Daily
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2012 • OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY CORVALLIS, OREGON 97331
DAILYBAROMETER.COM
VOLUME CXV, NUMBER 89
PAGE 8
SPORTS
8 – Women beat Ducks 6 – Wrestling wins Pac-12s
NEWS
2 – Lack of trust in Afghanistan
CIVIL WAR: Beavers drop fifth in a row, lose to Oregon by one.
FORUM
4 – ASOSU House opinion 4 – On Quran apology
Parties share political debate Friday With no winner declared, Democrats, Republicans face off for First Amendment Week
said David Del Moro, president of the College Republicans. The College Republicans raised awareness for First Amendment week this past week with a booth in the Quad where students could write whatever messages they wanted on a By McKinley Smith piece of butcher paper. The Daily Barometer Del Moro hoped that the event would help Last Friday night, the Oregon State University College Republicans and College Democrats to get people talking about issues concerning met in the La Raza room in the Memorial the country. “We’re not going to criticize you about what Union in honor of First Amendment Week to you say,” Del Moro said. debate important issues. Among some of the messages written on “We kind of had intent to more-or-less get people involved. When you see the First the posters were: “Everything happens for a Amendment, you don’t really think about it,” reason,” “The First Amendment protects the n
freedom of religion as well as the freedom from religion,” “Familiarize yourself with the Bill of Rights,” and “I’m not gonna be a part of this system.” The debate centered on issues such as education, corporate personhood, the federal deficit and foreign policy. Audience members were encouraged to participate and ask questions to both sides. Topics such as classroom size, union power and constitutional amendments were brought up and discussed in detail. One audience member expressed concern for the forecasted deficits continuing through the next ten years. “I actually think it went really well,” said
Allison Gicking, president of the College Democrats. “It’s okay to have a little heat on both sides, as long as we’re comfortable with the issues.” According to Gicking, it was impressive to get the campus so involved in a constructive debate. “We can agree on some things,” Gicking said. The debate was the first between the College Democrats and the College Republicans since 2008. No winner was declared. “It’s more like saying ‘This is what we believe,’ and why and what they believe,” Del Moro said. McKinley Smith, staff reporter 737-2231 news@dailybarometer.com
Forensics team competes with thirteen schools this weekend n
Director defines involvement in OSU’s forensics team, results of weekend’s competition By Gwen Shaw
The Daily Barometer
For the past eight years, Oregon State University’s Forensics team has hosted the Earl Wells Memorial Speakeasy, named after a former member of the department of speech communication and the director of forensics — speech and debate. This past weekend, the tournament featured 14 schools from around the Northwest and according to Mark Porrovecchio, current director of the forensics team, the tournament had close to 100 students competing in international public debate and over 200 individual event entries. Liberal studies student Jana Hodgins of Clackamas, Ore., won fourth best speaker in open international public debate and was a finalist in open persuasive speaking. History student Cody Connolly of Honolulu, Hawaii, was a finalist in novice impromptu speaking. Porrovecchio said that they compete in the International Public Debate Association’s style of one-onone debate.
“We also compete in individual events that are sponsored by both the American Forensics Association and Pi Kappa Delta,” Porrovecchio said. For the individual events, there are three different categories: limited preparation, which is extemporaneous and impromptu speaking; platform, which includes persuasive and informative speaking; and interpretation, where students can perform poetry, drama, prose and other similar pieces. “Students are free to choose which events suit them. But they are encouraged to try as many types of events as they can,” Porrovecchio said. Having been on campus for over 100 years, the forensics team is one of the oldest on campus. “The purpose of the team is to improve students’ critical thinking and public speaking abilities. Though competitive, the overall focus of the team is on the educational and co-curricular benefits of forensics,” Porrovecchio said. “Not to mention the abilities that students take with them once they graduate.” Any undergraduate student in good academic standing is encouraged to try the team, regardless of their major or experience.
Kelsey Irish, a senior in speech communications took Comm 214, a forensics class. “That class requires that you attend three tournaments and participate as a member of the team,” Irish said. “I really enjoyed being a part of the team and the competitive nature of the tournaments, so I decided I wanted to continue being a part of the team.” OSU graduate student Forest Ledbetter also took Comm 214. “[I] took [it] as an electrical engineer student and found myself more interested in researching for argument than doing math homework.” Once Ledbetter realized he could coach the forensics team while working on his masters he took the offer. He is now an assistant coach to the team and his favorite part is debate. “It’s like mental chess. Any argument can be won given proper framing matched with the audience and evidence.” The season falls during fall and winter terms. Porrovecchio said this year they have about 15 students and they meet Mondays and Wednesdays in Shepard Hall, room 209. They compete in 10-12 tournaments a year, regionally, nationally and occasionally internationally. Students can either compete for credit or not, and
contributed photo
| courtesy of Mark Porrovechio
The Forensics team that participated in this weekend’s competition; Back: Michael Walters, Cody Connolly and Bronson Ayala; Front: Esther Rodriguez, Jana Hodgins, Brianna Gellner. Not pictured: graduate assistant coaches Forest Ledbetter and Kori Thornburg. have a lot of flexibility in how much they want to participate. They can attend tournaments or just go to meetings. “The team is always looking for new students. If a person wants to develop into a more reasoned think-
er and a more confident speaker,” Porrovecchio said. “There is no other club on campus that can provide students with the benefits of forensics.” Gwen Shaw, staff reporter 737-2231 news@dailybarometer.com
Fairbanks exhibits “Material Traces” by Clarence Morgan n
Clarence Morgan shares his abstract art for the next week in Fairbanks Gallery, focuses on lines, shapes By Annecy Beauchemin The Daily Barometer
As part of the visiting Artists and Scholars Lecture Series, Material Traces, a contemporary abstract art exhibit by Clarence Morgan, will be in the Fairbanks Gallery until March 6. The artist gave a lecture as part of the series on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at the LaSells Stewart Center. Coordinator of Fairbanks, Douglass Russell, describes Morgan’s mixed-media art as “The art of discovery,” and Morgan as one of the most articulate artists he knows. The pieces in Fairbanks focus on lines and shapes used in a winding, cloud-like manner. In the 2011 piece “Uncertain of Representation,” the swarming lines that overlay the rest of the piece relate and unify even the most contrasting colors beneath. Some of the exhibit’s pieces fill every corner of the medium with action, while some focus on what can be within a single shape. “The images are not referring us to a landscape or a bowl of fruit,” Russell said. “These are archetypal images.” Said Morgan on archetypal imagery in his work and art in general, “Things that are symbolic or abstract are no less real See FAIRBANKS | page 7
contributed photo
| THE DAILY BAROMETER
Clarence Morgan, Open Arrangement, 2010. Mixed-media drawing & collage, 11” x 11”.
contributed photo
| THE DAILY BAROMETER
Clarence Morgan, Beyond Collaboration, 2010. Mixed-media drawing & collage, 14” x 11”.